Areej AbuAli shares her experience implementing technical SEO recommendations at agencies and clients. She outlines the problems with traditional lengthy audit reports that see low implementation rates. Her solution is the RPI framework: 1) Recommend - Conduct focused, template-based audits with detailed fixes. 2) Prioritize - Prioritize recommendations based on their SEO impact and development effort using a priority matrix. 3) Implement - Implement the highest priority recommendations one at a time using Agile methodology, with testing and monitoring throughout. The goal is continuous improvement rather than a "done" state.

1. @areej_abuali
Getting Tech SEO
Implemented
Areej AbuAli
July 2, 2020

2. Quick Intro!
➔ Founder of Women in Tech SEO
➔ SEO Manager at Zoopla
➔ 7+ years in SEO: Agency-side → Client-side
➔ Co-author of Mastering In-House SEO
➔ The bigger & messier a site is, the happier I am!
@areej_abuali

3. @areej_abuali
In 2019, I did a 220-slides talk
on indexability issues.
There was one slide that
resonated the most with
everyone.

4. https://www.slideshare.net/areejabuali/restructuring-websites-to-improve-indexability-140072104

5. @areej_abuali
I did this talk when I was
agency-side but lots of
client-side SEOs told me
they also fully relate to it.

6. @areej_abuali
This time round, instead of reflecting on the
problem, I want to focus on the solution.

7. @areej_abuali
The Audit Curse

8. @areej_abuali
The Audit Curse
When I was agency-side, I used
to send 100 pages worth of
audit documents to each client.

9. @areej_abuali
The Audit Curse
The amount of recommendations
that actually got implemented?
TINY

10. @areej_abuali
A 10 day technical audit
retainer should not equate to
a 100 page audit document.

11. @areej_abuali
The Audit Curse
In order to be part of the
solution, I need to change the
way I deliver audits.

12. @areej_abuali
Whether you’re agency-side
or client-side, this talk is
applicable for both.

13. @areej_abuali
The Power of Three
1) Recommend
2) Prioritise
3) Implement

14. @areej_abuali
1) RECOMMEND

15. @areej_abuali
1. Conduct one audit at a time
→ Don’t try to cram everything in one audit
Recommend
Schema Audit Mobile Audit Speed Audit
On Page Audit Internal Links Audit Indexability Audit

16. @areej_abuali
2. Split out recommendations by site templates
→ This is essential for large websites
Homepage Content Hub Product Pages
Recommend

17. @areej_abuali
3. Document Issue and Fix
→ Outline each fix in detail and provide evidence
Example URLs Screenshots Appendix
Recommend

18. @areej_abuali
Bonus → Deliver your recommendations in a format that
works best for the developer
Excel/Sheets Word Doc JIRA
Recommend

19. @areej_abuali
2) PRIORITISE

20. @areej_abuali
SEO Impact → How much of an impact will this
recommendation likely have on your overall organic traffic?
Small (S) Medium (M) Large (L)
Prioritise

21. @areej_abuali
Dev Effort → How much effort will this recommendation take?
★ Do not try to answer that yourself on behalf of the
developer, ask them directly.
Prioritise

22. @areej_abuali
Dev Effort
This can be measured in number of sprints
Small = 1 sprint Medium = 2 sprints
Large = 3 sprints
Prioritise
X Large > 3 sprints

23. @areej_abuali
Prioritise: Prioritisation Matrix
SEO Impact Dev Effort PRIORITY
For every identified issue:

24. Prioritise: Prioritisation Matrix
PRIORITY RULE PRIORITY
If SEO Impact = L & Tech Effort = S High
If SEO Impact = L & Tech Effort = M High
If SEO Impact = M & Tech Effort = S High
If SEO Impact = L & Tech Effort = XL Mid
If SEO Impact = L & Tech Effort = L Mid
If SEO Impact = M & Tech Effort = M Mid
If SEO Impact = S & Tech Effort = S Mid
If SEO Impact = M & Tech Effort = XL Low
If SEO Impact = M & Tech Effort = L Low
If SEO Impact = S & Tech Effort = XL Low
If SEO Impact = S & Tech Effort = L Low
If SEO Impact = S & Tech Effort = M Low

25. @areej_abuali
3) IMPLEMENT

26. @areej_abuali
1. One at a time gets the job done
Implement
PRIORITY RULE PRIORITY
If SEO Impact = L & Tech Effort = S High
If SEO Impact = L & Tech Effort = M High
If SEO Impact = M & Tech Effort = S High

27. @areej_abuali
2. Be the product manager of your own recommendations
→ Write those JIRA tickets yourself
Implement
Stand Up Backlog Refinement Sprint Planning

28. @areej_abuali
3. Test & Monitor every step of the way
→ Test on dev environment before pushing live
→ When live, monitor changes in logs/traffic/rankings
→ Update issue status in audit and annotate changes in GA
Implement

29. @areej_abuali
The RPI Framework

30. @areej_abuali
IMPLEMENT RECOMMEND
PRIORITISE
The RPI
Framework
The RPI Framework

31. @areej_abuali
There is no “done” when it
comes to Technical SEO.
It is a continuous process
of improvement.

32. @areej_abuali
bit.ly/areej-turndigi

33. Thanks!
Questions?
@areej_abuali