Chances are good that you are in the SEO field because you are passionate about it. More than likely, you have a variety of ideas that you’d like to try and implement. As you continue to delve deeper into SEO and gain more experience, creative inspiration will likely hit.

However, unless you have complete creative freedom in your role, you’re going to have to get the go-ahead on your proposals, which probably means you’re going to have to run them by your manager.

In part four of this series on in-house SEO, we’re going to take a look at how to turn your manager on to an SEO strategy.

Learn Their Language

Communicating with your manager is a lot like learning to talk to your audience. If you’ve done your market research correctly, you should already understand the needs of your customers, and, hopefully you’ve also learned how to speak their language. Using too many unfamiliar terms, esoteric words, or analogies that your market isn’t likely to understand can work against you.

Think of your manager as your target market. What are his or her needs? How do they interact? What do they like to do?

If you can find some common ground and interact with your manager at the appropriate time, in the right location, in the manner they are likely to be receptive to, you should have a better chance of turning them on to your idea.

Develop Trust

Developing trust goes hand in hand with learning to speak your manager’s language.

When reviewing a proposal, a manager has to consider whether or not your idea is a good one. They also have to think about whether or not your strategy is going to work, and if it will indeed produce the kind of results you think it will.

If your manager does not trust you with bigger decisions yet, it’s time to start earning their confidence by managing smaller projects well. Remain accountable to the goals you set, and your manager will open up to more of your ideas.

Plan And Organize

The problem with many proposals is that they just aren’t adequately polished. Unless your pitch is fleshed out and easy to approve, it could get passed up.

If you want your idea to get noticed, you need to put it into terms that your manager will not balk or roll their eyes at. This might involve tweaking your idea to fit with your manager’s goals as well as business goals.

It’s like a band seeking a record deal. Unless they can be marketed out-of-the-box, most record labels just aren’t going to be interested in signing them. They have to be seen as a viable option.

Mitigate Risk

Risk mitigation is often seen as something entrepreneurs or bosses are responsible for. However, in pitching an idea to your manager, if you can reduce or curtail the potential losses that might result from failed campaigns, they are more likely to give your strategy a thought and consideration.

Another way to approach your pitch is to structure it in stages. An in-depth, multi-page strategy report can seem overwhelming or tedious to your manager. They already have work to do. If you can deliver your proposal in bite-size chunks, you may be able to increase your chances of getting it approved.

Embrace Company Goals

If your proposed strategies are in-line and on-point with company goals, it will increase their chances of being approved.

Your manager has his or her own ideas about how things work, and you have your own. If you can work towards building mutual understanding, your manager will begin to trust you more with the company’s vision.

Get to know what your manager’s priorities are. Take some time to think about how you fit into their plans.

Conclusion

Finally, as long as you are working with people that you trust, it’s okay to give credit away. People that insist on getting all of the recognition are often blind to the team, the knowledge and the inspiration that played a part in helping them to develop their pitch in the first place.

In short, become outcome focused. Think about the potential benefits that your strategy will deliver rather than what it will mean to your ego if your plans are implemented.

Editor’s Note: This is the fourth article in an in-house SEO series. Please read part one, two, and three here.