{"id":13761,"date":"2022-06-02T07:00:24","date_gmt":"2022-06-02T07:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginejournal.com\/build-remote-team-seo-planning\/451303\/"},"modified":"2022-06-02T07:00:24","modified_gmt":"2022-06-02T07:00:24","slug":"how-to-build-a-remote-team-for-seo-planning-structure-via-sejournal-helenpollitt1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/?p=13761","title":{"rendered":"How To Build A Remote Team For SEO: Planning & Structure via @sejournal, @HelenPollitt1"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As the first pandemic lockdowns went into effect, many companies scrambled to find a way to make remote working possible.<\/p>\n

When lockdowns lifted, a lot of these companies decided that the way of \u201coffice-first\u201d working patterns was no longer necessary, especially in the digital marketing industry.<\/p>\n

Agency owners realized the cost savings in giving up their offices.<\/p>\n

Employees discovered the freedom of a one-minute commute to their desks.<\/p>\n

Remote work<\/a> is here to stay.<\/p>\n

Your team may have recently moved to become fully remote, or you are hiring your first of many remote SEO pros.<\/p>\n

Either way, you\u2019ll need to make many considerations for it to be a well-functioning team.<\/p>\n

This is the first part of a series of articles about how to build a fully remote team for SEO and in this first step, we\u2019re going to talk about planning and structure to set the foundation for your success.<\/p>\n

How Your SEO Team Is Structured<\/h2>\n

Your team\u2019s structure will make a difference in your success in setting up a remote team.<\/p>\n

For instance, there will be different considerations for remote SEO teams in one country versus teams spread out across time zones.<\/p>\n

Not all remote teams became remote in the same way.<\/p>\n

Because of this, the individuals on those teams may have different expectations and experiences of remote working.<\/p>\n

When building or scaling a fully remote SEO team, this is important to remember.<\/p>\n

Types Of Remote Teams<\/h3>\n

Remote teams function in different ways, each with benefits and challenges.<\/p>\n

National vs. International<\/strong><\/p>\n

A remote team with employees all in one country (or if in the U.S., in just one state) will be easier to administrate.<\/p>\n

There will be one set of tax laws, one set of employment laws, and one set of public holidays.<\/p>\n

There are fewer administrative hurdles for a manager of an SEO team operating in one location, albeit remotely.<\/p>\n

Managers of international teams will need to remember that there can be significant differences in how you treat employees depending on the country they reside.<\/p>\n

Meet-up Space vs. No Meet-up Space<\/strong><\/p>\n

When creating or growing your SEO team<\/a>, you may offer your employees access to a physical location that they can choose to attend for meetings and in-person collaboration.<\/p>\n

Some companies have retained small office space despite going fully remote just for this purpose.<\/p>\n

Others choose to give their team membership or allowances for co-working spaces.<\/p>\n

By giving your team members this option, you allow them to choose to hold a face-to-face meeting or remain remote.<\/p>\n

It also enables them to get out of the house and sit among people (without the latte bill of visiting a caf\u00e9).<\/p>\n

However, offering this sort of arrangement can go against the fully remote-first culture of a company.<\/p>\n

If not properly monitored, you may find team members agreeing to meet up every week at a convenient co-working space.<\/p>\n

While this is not a problem, if it starts to become expected that team members meet together regularly, it is considered a hybrid model.<\/p>\n

Again, this is not an issue if your team is expecting it. However, it can add undue pressure and remove the benefits of remote working for some workers if it\u2019s not truly remote-first.<\/p>\n

How the Company Is Set Up<\/h3>\n

How the rest of your company approaches remote work will also impact how to manage your remote-first team.<\/p>\n

Hybrid Companies<\/strong><\/p>\n

If the SEO team is fully remote but operates within a larger organization that isn\u2019t, you may see your team pressured to visit the office more often than they would like.<\/p>\n

This is particularly the case in hybrid organizations that offer an office and a remote-based contract.<\/p>\n

Even if every team member is on a remote-first contract, they may be asked to join other department meetings in the office.<\/p>\n

This can be particularly stressful for employees to navigate, and managers may need to help set boundaries with their participation in those face-to-face meetings.<\/p>\n

You may find yourself as one of the few managers within the company who leads a fully-remote team.<\/p>\n

That can be a great learning curve and allow you to help set parameters and guidelines, but it also can be a struggle.<\/p>\n

Remote Companies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fully remote companies will likely be better equipped to handle the challenges of remote-first working.<\/p>\n

When all of your staff are working remotely, a company needs to get good at handling video-call fatigue, async working, and team-building quickly.<\/p>\n

As a manager of an SEO team that sits within a fully-remote organization, there will likely be a lot of support for you in running your team well in that environment.<\/p>\n

Considerations For Reward<\/h2>\n

How you pay your team, the benefits, and the remuneration rules will differ greatly by location.<\/p>\n

Having a team that is spread across states or countries means there may be some work and research to consider the best pay structure.<\/p>\n

Compensation<\/h3>\n

How much you pay your remote team is not as straightforward a decision as for a team that is all based in one location. There are several factors to consider that can complicate payment structures.<\/p>\n

The main complication is that the wages you pay in one country for an SEO manager will be different compared to another.<\/p>\n

This can be down to average wages differing.<\/p>\n

The scarcity of skills in some countries drives SEO salaries<\/a> up. Even unfair perceptions of SEO talent from one country being better than others.<\/p>\n

This can all culminate in candidates from different countries having wildly differing salary expectations for the same role.<\/p>\n

Pricing Models<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are two main schools of thought on identifying how to pay staff across different locations.<\/p>\n