Welcome back. Case studies are always an interesting view on how work gets done. In these few case studies, we'll look at launch processes and timelines required to implement the global strategies. The step-by-step procedures will give me a better awareness of what kind of resources and teams you need to have in place to do localization at this level. You'll learn to determine how what kind of launch strategies and planning you need to have in place to do global web marketing, the specific roles and teams you need to have in place for this to occur and what kind of plans and processes that enable you to get the most out of these teams. Nearly, every web initiative requires working within cross-functional teams. It's inherent in how web development and SEO is done today. This may include representatives from a campaign team, web marketing, web production, those from other marketing channels including paid search, social, display media, and web. It may also include representatives from localization and complementary teams from a business unit or product standpoint. Setup complex teams and working groups to ensure a successful product launch are deliverable. These teams work together most effectively when they develop great relationships emphasizing collaboration. Beyond that core group, additional functionality might be needed perhaps drawing from quality assurance. Testing, automation, IT, operations, support or other services. In large organizations, you need to assign owners to the core launch team and extended team. Owners can be kept informed on progress to stay on track with timelines and deliverables. I'll share a real life example of a web launch process which started here in the middle talking about planning based on business objectives. That planning led to a content and design effort from various teams. They developed a baseline of what might be launched on the website months or quarters down the road. This content goes into a production and development lifecycle in which other teams might be providing input on what's required. Once this is all agreed to a launch and then a post-launch phase occurs. This is the most exciting time when everything coalesces around that particular date and timeline. But after that, it's important to have metrics and measurement in place so you can assess whether what you launched his working. You need to know how you're measuring that and from that discovery, new project definitions occur whether it's another launch, an update, or a new way of communicating something because the data is showing it's not resonating with your audience. To ultimately achieve the revenue impact the launch was intended to have. End-to-end buy-in is required throughout the project cycle to successfully keep to timelines and reach the intended milestones. Now, let's break this down further taking a waterfall approach. This doesn't mean things happen only in one or two month cycles. Typically, these delivery cycles need to happen on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. However, it does mean having some sort of planning chart that extended teams can all visually grasp. This helps everyone across teams adhere to the vision of the project plan. For example, you might have different elements related to content or production, quality assurance, translation in the launch process. These all need to be put in place with associated dates and deadlines. This is where somebody from a project management perspective who's not as attached to doing the work can guide the team to follow a realistic timeline that's doable. Next you should break the larger project into phases. Start with the end date and work backward. The end-point may be the launch or when you start to look at metrics. Different phases include user acceptance testing, quality assurance, production, and translation. Do a reality check against what can be delivered then be agile on how you manage towards the global launch deadline. In this way, you can bring creativity and flexibility into what's being delivered while you still need to hit milestones and deadlines. This flexibility within each of the phases accounts for a natural sense of flex or delay in some projects. It also builds in a buffer that allows you to still hit the end date without having everything thrown off by missing your deadline in certain phases. From an SEO perspective, I recommend a simple project plan document like this. The columns might include, the SEO work being done. Perhaps the SEO weight meaning the emphasis from an algorithmic standpoint on that particular element, the way you've estimated it and maybe a column related to progress; how far along you are in the launch process and then components the details that support each of those categories. So in this example, I'm talking about external linking and domain health, content and optimization, social media, internal linking and so on. Thinking about the weight of each element. How far along we are in the launch and what the components are can be a simple way to instruct clients or stakeholders on progress you're making. Let's consider the specific category called content optimization and break that into phases. Your launch plan might include phases like number one, identifying keywords, number two organizing those keywords into a spreadsheet or a format in which other clients can have input. Number three, then optimizing those keywords for the content that's being written. Number four, If working toward a global capacity localization. Five, then you want to socialize the work being done to other teams to notify them that these are the correct URLs the ones you might want to cross promote. These are the important pages. This is what's going live. These are the keywords associated with those URLs and six finally, you'll report results from various platforms and analytics packages that you're learning about. You're in a regional capacity, you may want to think about how to give a baseline of value to all of the content that's global in nature meaning not in your native language. For example, all countries might receive improvements across the content management systems you're working in. You might employ XML sitemaps or Href Alternate Language sitemaps to all countries and perhaps you also put in place technical SEO or redirect maps for all countries. This requires that you have the resources in place to do so. But by giving a baseline of value to multiple languages or regional parts of your site, you can then also prioritize your emphasis on countries or languages where you want to emphasize keyword research, content analysis, and strong linking. Think about the quality of the content for the countries that matter most to you. Having a baseline of value assigned to all of your country's content but also prioritizing the work you do for those countries of highest value enables you to graduate the service you're delivering based on the ultimate impact to the bottom line. Let's make this really practical. When it comes to keyword research, I'd recommend using a spreadsheet. That spreadsheet might include having categories like the keyword. How that keyword applies to the H1 tag, the title tag, and the meta description for the content you're working on. Perhaps the URLs and the names of them and some of the keyword demand for those terms. You're able to organize the URLs and therefore your keyword research into a document that can then be shared with web production, social media, or paid search teams. You can act on your web strategy much more effectively. This also positions the SEO team in a leadership role because you're presenting incredible value and guidance to teams that are dependent upon those recommendations. You're also doing it in a way that is clear, transparent, and can hopefully be easily understood. You then take a document like this into a meeting. This is what gets discussed on a regular basis leading up to the launch in terms of what kind of changes or optimization we want to make to content like this. If you can then take this English driven spreadsheet and create versions of it for translated content you will become more effective. You're telling a team who might be translating into French, German, Chinese or Japanese or whatever your priority languages are that these same URLs and keywords on the English content need a new format that will be localized for various countries. In this way, you are improving the clarity of communication across dependent teams. Those from a web strategy or a web production viewpoint will have better insight into the localized keyword and content recommendations being made by the team. This case study gave an overview of the type of workflow needed to be effective at planning for global online marketing. Good timelines, plans, and processes will help any business as complexity and demands grow. While this specific case study may not apply to your business, applying similar planning techniques will improve any work you do.
