Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your website

of the obscurity of the computer rooms and give them some of the attention and acclaim

that they deserve.

New toys

Because the SEO campaign can depend on IT for so many things, such as

server uptime and server log analysis, the SEO campaign may be a driving force behind

getting some new hardware.

Can you think of any other ways that SEO might be positive for IT in your

organization?

Graphic Designers

Graphic designers are those creative souls responsible for the look and feel of your web-

site. In a larger organization, style developers create the style guides that all of the other

web page creators have to follow. In a smaller company, you may be dealing with just a

few designers or even an individual who is a combination of graphic designer and web

developer. The graphics portion of the SEO team is responsible for setting up search-

engine-friendly standards in the style guide, if there is one; soliciting input from the SEO

team leader during site updates; and, because SEO has a way of dropping off the radar

after a while, making sure that the standards are mandatory and ongoing.

If you’re on your own, you won’t have anyone else to persuade. But if you’re

assembling an SEO team that includes Graphics, you’ve got some convincing to do!

You’ll have the best chance at success with this department if you include the follow-

ing steps:

• Recognize the value of the work that the Graphics department does.

• Educate about graphics-related SEO skills.

• Formalize your agreements.

Let’s look at these three steps in depth.

Value Graphics

First, recognize the importance of what your designers do. Like the IT department,

graphic designers often feel that their efforts are undervalued. The “look” of a site is

not just an aside. In a visual medium, the look is the fundamental substance of your

visitors’ experience. And it’s not just a cosmetic thing—your designers are responsible

for

usability

factors as well. Your organization may have the benefit of user testing, or

the designs may be created in a more seat-of-the-pants fashion. Either way, we can tell

you this right now:

Pearl of Wisdom:

Designers want you to let

them

be the designers.

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