SEO doesn’t have to be one-sided type of service, where the client is passive and waits for the results. From our experience, we can tell you that it can be fruitful cooperation that brings benefits to both parties. However, in order for this to happen, you need quality, and reliable SEO project management tools that help you keep the flow and perform all the activities effectively. Want to know which solutions we choose in our daily work? Keep reading!
Communication with an SEO agency can be effective and free of misunderstandings. By using the righttools to manage SEO projects, you can easily exchange insights with the specialists, and achieve even better results.
In today’s entry, you’ll learn what tools we use at Delante to communicate with clients and how they help us organize the workflow.
SEO Project Management Tools at Delante
Trello
Trello is the firsttool to manage the SEO project on our list. It’s intuitive and easy to use.
At Delante, we use it to organize the link building, and on-page SEO process, list and mark activities that:
Have to be performed in a given month,
Are in progress,
Have already been performed.
Moreover, we also create extra boards with valuable insights, important information from the client, or our notes that facilitate the work of other team members.
Thanks to it, each of our specialists has access to necessary information and can see what activities should be completed next.
What makes Trello stand out from the crowd?
Well, it’s popular - both our team and our clients are usually familiar with this tool. Moreover, the boards can be moved freely which allows us to organize the data in a transparent, visual way that suits our needs.
We use this SEO project management tool for the vast majority of our clients.
Apart from keeping our clients’ data organized, it helps us structure our work, and develop a certain process scheme, which is of course modified depending on the needs of individual clients.
Trello offers four pricing options:
$0 - free
$5 - standard
$10 - premium
$17.50 enterprise
As you can see, the tool doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. If you haven’t heard about it before, it’s worth investing in it or checking out the free version. It can take your SEO project management to the next level.
[caption id="attachment_53348" align="aligncenter" width="750"] An exemplary board showing how we use Trello as an SEO project management tool.[/caption]
Asana
Asana is anotherSEO project management tool on our list. It’s also intuitive, and easy to use.
At Delante, it’s not as popular as Trello, and we don’t use it for every client. When looking at the screenshot below, you’ll see that its interface resembles Trello.
It allows you to organize boards and label them as:
In progress
Complete
Do later
Recently assigned
And so on. Of course, similarly to Trello, you can modify the labels and change them according to your needs.
At Delante, we frequently use Asana to cooperate with clients who work in sprints (e.g., software houses). The tool helps us organize the workflow, and monitor the progress.
Our specialists have the “my tasks” section, where they prepare lists of activities they want to complete, or have recently completed. Apart from that, there’s a board that can be accessed by both the specialist responsible for the SEO process and the client.
Asana is an intuitive and functional tool for organizing the workflow. It’s customizable, therefore, you can create different boards depending on the client, and business profile.
It’s a greattool to manage the SEO process of a client that frequently modifies the website or publishes new content, wants to take an active part in the process, and has a significant budget.
Asana is a bit more expensive than Trello, and offers three pricing options:
€0 - basic
€10.99 - premium
€24.99 - business
[caption id="attachment_53354" align="aligncenter" width="750"] An exemplary board showing how we use Asana as an SEO project management tool.[/caption]
ClickUp
ClickUp is the third tool that can be used to manage the SEO project and communicate with the client.
With its use, you can create lists, projects, and tasks. They can be assigned to specific people.
You can also set due dates, track how much time it takes you to complete the tasks, and use color (red, green, or yellow) flags to mark the priority.
Once you enter your profile, you’ll see your activity, assigned, and completed tasks together with the progress bar.
It’s a greatSEO project management tool that allows you to quickly access necessary information, check what tasks should be performed, and when they should happen.
What makes Clickup stand out from the crowd?
It offers multiple views, can be customized, encourages team collaboration, and communication, and enables real-time reporting.
ClickUp offers five pricing options:
$0 - free
$5 - unlimited
$12 - business
$19 - business plus
Enterprise - to get the offer, you need to contact the sales team.
If you’re looking for a very visual and straightforwardSEO project management tool, it might be the right fit for you.
[caption id="attachment_53358" align="aligncenter" width="750"] An exemplary board showing how we use ClickUp as an SEO project management tool.[/caption]
Google Tools
Free tools offered by Google such as Google Docs or Google Sheets are simple, intuitive, and versatile solutions that can be used to manage the SEO process, and communicate with the client.
In our work, we use Google Docs for content creation purposes, and we frequently benefit from Google Sheets to prepare and monitor the list of recommendations, and tasks that should be performed either by us or by the client’s dev team.
These aren’t all the available tools to manage SEO projects.
There are also solutions such as Jira, Basecamp, Heyspace, IC Project, and many more.
The possibilities are endless. In fact, it’s up to the client, and the agency to decide which tool will work best in a given process.
Of course, it’s worth remembering that using completely new solutions requires some time to explore their functionalities.
It’s also crucial to mention that every cooperation is different, and the use of such tools requires appropriate resources.
[caption id="attachment_53360" align="aligncenter" width="750"] An exemplary Google Sheet showing the list of tasks for the client and our team.[/caption]
Tools for Communication With an SEO Agency
The process of planning an on-page and off-page SEO strategy is one thing, but finding an effective channel for communication with the client is a completely different aspect.
Depending on the type of contract and preferences of our clients, we use the followingtools for communication with an SEO agency.
Slack
Slack can be used for both in-house communication and communication with the client.
At Delante, we use it mainly to keep in touch with dynamic businesses, and software houses that invest a lot in the cooperation, frequently modify websites, need our assistance on a regular basis, or want to keep us up to date with the changes.
It’s worth mentioning that our specialists can’t be reached via Slack 24/7. They have special consultation hours when they reply to messages, and when the client can reach out to them.
Discord is another popular tool for communication with an SEO agency, and it works similarly to Slack.
You can also use it for internal or external communication, create channels, or message someone individually.
It’s a great tool for discussing current issues and reaching out to the SEO agency with just a few clicks.
Both Slack and Discord allow you to share files, which makes them useful alternatives to mail.
[caption id="attachment_53366" align="aligncenter" width="750"] A screenshot showing Discord. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tampilan_Peladen_Mobile_Discord.jpg[/caption]
Mail
Of course, we couldn’t forget about it.
This is the most old-school and classic tool for communication with an SEO agency.
It’s worth mentioning that it’s also effective and efficient, so if it works well for you, and helps you organize the work, it’s a good idea to stick to it.
Remember that as long as a given communication tool works for the agency and the client, the strategy doesn’t require refinement.
Video Calls
For video calls, you can use solutions like Zoom, Google Meets, Microsoft Teams, or even Skype.
Although emails and messages are great, sometimes it’s good to see the specialist or the client face-to-face. This is when the above-mentioned apps come in handy.
How does Delante communicate with clients? Find out here - https://delante.co/how-to-communicate-with-customers/
It’s worth remembering that even the most advanced tools won’t improve the cooperation between the client and the SEO agency if there aren’t clearly defined rules.
While SEO specialists should try to put themselves in the clients’ shoes, the clients need to be patient, and aware that specialists aren’t always able to reply to their messages immediately.
When starting the cooperation, it’s worth discussing various aspects that are important to both parties, including communication strategy.
If you want to use Slack or Discord to talk with the agency, ask for consultation hours when the specialist will check the channel, and resolve your doubts.
Remember that finding a communication pattern that suits both the client and the agency takes time. It’s a continuous process and discussing your expectations openly right from the outset will save you a lot of trouble.
Who Should Use SEO Project Management and Communication Tools?
There is nothing wrong with trusting an SEO agency and outsourcing the entire process to it.
If the client is comfortable with not being involved in the activities and receiving a report with completed tasks once a month, this solution also works for us. Especially if we've access to all the necessary elements and tools.
Cooperating with a reliable SEO agency means that the specialist will become a part of your team, ready to take care of everything for you, so that you can focus on other business aspects.
Of course, you don’t need all theSEO project management tools to ensure that SEO will bring you the desired results. Don’t try to bite more than you can chew. Think about available resources, and try to use them as effectively, as possible.
Keep in mind that although you can be passive, and outsourcing the entire process to the agency can also work, cooperation is a much more lucrative option.
After all, there is no one who knows your business better than you!
While we’re experts in SEO, you can help us create content or give us valuable tips and resources to prepare substantial, unique, and quality texts, that will show off your expertise.
It’s a win-win scenario.
So, who should useSEO project management and communication tools?
Clients with sizable budgets who are involved in the process, and perform some tasks (e.g., dev tasks, or content creation).
Clients that want to coordinate large projects that involve many people both on the agency side and on the client-side.
Clients who want to understand the SEO process, value transparency, and need to know exactly what has been done on the page and what will be done in the near future (e.g., software houses that work in sprints and need this information to plan their work).
It’s worth remembering that every client and every website is different. For this purpose, not all industries and business types will benefit from the above-mentioned tools.
While some clients (like software houses working in sprints) will need transparency, well-structured cooperation, and regular communication e.g., via Slack, others (like clients we do mainly link building for) won’t require such tools and Trello will be satisfactory in their case.
Therefore, when selecting SEO project management tools, it’s crucial to consider the objectives of the cooperation, and available resources.
Why Is It Worth Using Tools for Communication With an SEO Agency and Project Management? The Takeaway
Tools to manage the SEO project and communication with an agency help to organize the workflow and use available resources as effectively as possible.
Since everyone has different preferences, using specific channels for communication and work management helps to structure the process. With the support of tools described in today’s entry, it’s possible to easily assign tasks, set deadlines, add comments, monitor the work, and exchange views.
Moreover, storing project information in one place that can be accessed both by the client and the SEO agency has a lot of benefits:
Allows both parties of the contract to monitor the process on an ongoing basis,
Reduces the need for regular phone, or video calls to discuss the progress of the work,
Helps prevent situations when two people perform the same tasks, miscommunicate, or don’t know what to do next, because they don’t have access to updated project information,
Makes it possible to effectively continue the cooperation even if some team members are absent for a longer period of time. Both the client and the SEO agency can easily check what activities have already been performed, and planned. This helps to use the budget efficiently.
We hope that with our guide it will be easy to choose the best solutions for you and your SEO agency. If you would like to check how cooperation with Delante works in real-life- contact us!
At Delante since August 2017. A humanist with a marketing bent, interested in UX. She knows how important content is in SEO, so she also took care of the copywriting department at our company and conducts trainings on the subject. And after work: cinema, travel and Heroes III.
At Delante since August 2017. A humanist with a marketing bent, interested in UX. She knows how important content is in SEO, so she also took care of the copywriting department at our company and conducts trainings on the subject. And after work: cinema, travel and Heroes III.