115 - How to Build a Team for Search Marketing in AI Times with Wil Reynolds

In today's episode, Gert had an interesting conversation with fellow SEO expert, Wil Reynolds. Wil started Seer Interactive as a one-man operation but now, Seer is home to over 200 team members across Philadelphia, San Diego, and Remote.

Wil shared some valuable insights on the hiring process, promotions, building a team and creating a company culture based on values and collaboration between innovation and the teams. He believes that company owners need to celebrate not just people who get promoted, but also those who choose to stay in their roles, helping others to get promoted and really loving the work they are doing.

Podcast Highlights:

00:00 Prologue

01:02 Podcast INTRO

01:12 Introduction of the episode and the guest

02:26 The future of search marketing, its disruptive changes and what Wil Reynolds thinks of it?

04:28 Automation vs growing the marketing team

06:02 The rapid pace of change and why Wil see it as a massive reset?

08:05 How did Wil Reynolds grow his team to 200 people?

12:37 Embracing change and innovation in a growing agency.

14:28 Will the people that lean on innovation drivers be the better team leaders? 

15:48 A collaboration between innovation and the teams

17:12 How does Wil integrate company culture and values to over 200 team members across Philadelphia, San Diego, and Remote?

22:32 What a good hiring process should look like, according to Wil?

28:16 The downside of having a group of unicorn style people.

30:32 There is a need to celebrate those who chose to stay in the same role, helping others get promoted and are happy with what they are doing.

33:53 Putting a systemic schedule in place, say six months to check in with employees about their career growth. 

35:31 Where to connect with Wil Reynolds?

36:49 End

Connect with Wil Reynolds: 

Website - https://www.seerinteractive.com/

Website - https://wilreynolds.com/

You Tube - https://www.youtube.com/user/wilreynolds

Medium - https://wilreynolds.medium.com/

Connect with Gert Mellak:

Website: https://seoleverage.com/

Email: [email protected]

How to Build a Team for Search Marketing in AI Times with Wil Reynolds

In digital marketing, where algorithms evolve by the minute and search engines become more intelligent, building a team for search marketing is crucial.

In a recent conversation, Gert had the privilege of sitting down with a seasoned SEO expert, Wil Reynolds. He’s the visionary founder behind Seer Interactive, a company that embarked as a one-man operation.

Here’s how to assemble a team for search marketing in the era of AI.

How Wil Sees Search Marketing in the Future

If you narrowly define SEO as the quest for search engine rankings, it is far from being obsolete. SEO isn’t facing extinction. It’s more like a pie that might be slightly smaller, but it’s still substantial.

As an SEO agency, the key focus lies in determining the optimal timing. After all, in the midst of this disruption, you must consider when it’s the right moment to embrace new technologies. It’s crucial to avoid prematurely adopting innovations like Chat GPT, Google’s Bard, or Bing’s chat search without solid data.

The ability to create content efficiently will have a profound impact on those involved in organic search. This, too, is an area where you see substantial change on the horizon.

Building a Marketing Team for the Age of Automation

There’s always a value in using automation not to reduce the size of the teams but to enhance efficiency. Gert and Wil believe that these efficiencies can drive growth rather than downsizing.

Every now and then, there’s a rapidly changing landscape in marketing, where possibilities and strategies evolve at a pace. This makes it challenging to rely on consistent data or trusted experiences. The unpredictability of how search users will react further complicates the situation.

The growing importance of branding in search marketing means the need for educating platforms like Google about a brand’s essence. It’s more than focusing solely on individual articles or content.

The rapid pace of change in SEO is a massive reset, according to Wil Reynolds. SEO agencies should leverage automation and SEO to improve efficiency and expand offerings. 

Wil’s Secrets to Growing a Successful Marketing Team

Initially, Wil didn’t have plans to expand his team significantly. In fact, he deliberately turned down many client opportunities as the team approached a size of around 10 members. He believed that keeping a small, close-knit team is the ideal approach.

However, he also recognized the value of collaborating with a team rather than working as a solo consultant. He found the dynamic of working with others to be more engaging and rewarding.

Over time, as he met talented individuals and saw opportunities for growth, he began to expand the team. He adjusted his approach based on the opportunities that presented themselves.

Wil also added that growth is essential not only for business but also for providing career development opportunities for team members. If a company remains stagnant, it can become challenging to offer new challenges and experiences to employees.

The Importance of Change and Innovation in Growing Agencies

Managing change becomes more complex as a company grows. Smaller agencies can adapt quickly, while larger ones, like his 200-person team, require a more systematic approach.

The challenge is that change should demonstrate the new reality and brainstorm in each department. It’s about aligning the team so that the client’s experience at every touchpoint is improved.

So, how about the collaboration between innovation and your team?

Innovation is a collaborative effort within the agency. It shouldn’t solely come from the boss or any single team member. Instead, it’s best to have an open atmosphere where ideas are constantly generated and shared.

The collaboration of your team and innovation means:

• Having a proactive interest in tackling teams’ challenges.
• Spending time thinking about and exploring solutions.
• Having team members who are closely connected to client issues and the day-to-day realities.
• Contributing insights and ideas to drive continuous improvement and success for clients.

However, not everyone inclined toward innovation makes a great team leader. Many people prefer stability and clear documentation of their roles to feel confident in their work. Therefore, being an innovation driver doesn’t necessarily equate to being an effective team leader.

How to Integrate Company Culture and Values Into Remote Work

Maintaining a strong company culture despite the geographical diversity of the team is vital for success.

For Wil, he believed in the importance of recognizing employees as individuals with their own dreams and aspirations. To achieve your team’s success, being close to team members, fostering transparency, and encouraging open communication are essential.

Some of Wil’s strategic methods to continue integrating culture and values are:

• Relocating a group of experienced employees. This move is strategic to ensure that the culture and values of the company are maintained in a new location.
• Maintaining apartments in various locations. This enables employees to connect with colleagues in person as needed.
• Hiring former team members who had transitioned to remote work. This recognizes their value and desire to continue contributing to the company.
• Providing employees with three flights in their first year. In such a way, employees can visit company offices whenever they feel disconnected.
• Emphasizing the “why” behind the company’s actions. It involves communicating the company’s values and strategies to each team member.

What a Good Hiring Process Looks Like

A good hiring process for small teams should focus on seeing people’s work and how they present their work product. This can be done through group interviews or sample tasks.

Here’s what a good hiring process looks like:

• Knowing that hiring is a contact sport. The more people you meet and see their actual work product, the better.
• Understanding that resumes and interviews are all a waste. It’s better to give people a real project to work on and have them present it to you.
• Identifying group interviews. It can be a great way to see how people work under pressure and how they present their ideas.
• Filtering out people who are lying on their resumes.

It’s important to be realistic about your expectations when hiring. Sometimes, you may find a candidate who is a unicorn. This means they can do everything well.

However, it is important to remember that these candidates are rare. Also, it can be difficult to scale a team of unicorn people.

Managers should be careful not to put pressure on employees to constantly be moving up the ladder. Instead, they should focus on creating a culture where employees feel valued and appreciated, regardless of their position.

What You Can Do

It’s important to support employee career growth, even for those who are content in their current roles. Wil Reynolds challenged Gert’s approach, suggesting the need to take a proactive stance in checking in with content employees.

He proposed setting reminders every six months to meet with them. It’s either for a casual gathering or a one-on-one discussion. This proactive approach ensures that employees who might not know how to initiate career growth conversations feel valued and that their development is considered.

Both Mellak and Reynolds agree that it is important to have a systematic approach. This prevents them from feeling undervalued and ensures their ongoing development.

Wrap-Up

As search marketing continues to evolve with AI and technological advancements, the insights shared in this conversation serve as a valuable resource for an ever-changing landscape.
If you want to leverage SEO, don’t hesitate to ask for help from an SEO agency. SEOLeverage can help you scale your website. With the right approach, you can achieve greater outcomes.