Starting a new job

Thank you, you two. I appreciate the supportive and kind words.

Yeah, you won't see new balance come up for "pink shoes" because all women's shoe pages rank on page 1. We don't have a women's pink shoes page. Only a single catch-all page for men, women, and kids pink shoes, clothing, and accessories. So this new page in fact won't rank for anything!!! I pointed this out to my boss today. What we should have done, and she agreed, is create a women's pink shoes page, a men's pink shoes page, and a kids pink shoes page. Then each would rank separately and for the right keywords. She said it was a learning experience for us, which it was.

I've tweaked the SEO of this page to try to at least rank for "new balance pink", but it's unlikely since it is a catch-all page covering everything. Google is deeming other new balance pages relevant for this search and is ranking those on page 1, and specifically, a women's running shoe page that has some pink colored products.

So, yeah, that's a part of my job and a part of what I do.

Right now, I am trying to see if i can target better, higher volume keywords for the home page. Another project!

Ok, so SOME progress was made after tweaking the SEO of the "Pink" category page on New Balance.

This page now ranks #6 on Google page 1 for the search "New Balance pink" - at least I got it to rank for the brand's own search term! YAY.

I made additional tweaks yesterday and need to submit the page again to Google for crawling and indexing. Hopefully, the page will rise in ranking above current competitors who rank well for the search, "new balance pink".

Thank goodness it's at least now showing up on page 1, however. I can show my boss this today, to support that I do know what I am doing. I want her to have faith and trust in me. It does take tweaking sometimes to obtain the #1 ranking.

WOW. So, I am shaking things up at work! LOL!

They have done the same ole thing for 30 years, and here I am, coming in with totally fresh eyes, trying to make vast, wide-sweeping changes and advocating for it. Thank goodness my amazing boss is backing me up, supporting me, and advocating on my behalf to higher ups who are decision makers.

For example,. for their massive Holiday promotions, during Oct-Dec, they've always named their holiday gift page, "gift guide". I proposed that they change this and aim to rank instead for the keyword phrase, "gift ideas", which has a far higher search volume than "gift guide" - like FAR HIGHER.

My boss is rooting for me and spoke in a couple different meetings about how "gift ideas" makes so much more sense. When you're searching in Google, do you type in "gift guide" or "gift ideas"? Or, perhaps "holiday gift ideas"? The latter, I am sure. What consumer really types in "guide"? Not a huge volume.

So, I had provided my boss with an example to follow of a holiday gift ideas page created by Target, who right now ranks #1 on Google for "gift ideas". I took screenshots and showed her how Target achieved this ranking by tailoring specific elements on the page to support gift ideas. She forwarded my example and screenshots to a whole slew of higher ups who are decision makers for this holiday promotions. Well, one higher up responded by saying how can you compare our Brand to Target? LOL.

So, I chimed in at this point and told him Target is only used as an example to follow because their page ranks #1 for this highly competitive keyword - I told him Target's page is strategically structured so that it WILL rank high for this keyword.

He hasn't replied yet. I am a little anxious to see the response. And, I am rocking the boat.. not in a bad way of course, it's all good. My intentions are to deliver significantly more website traffic and revenue.. all good, right?

But there's a good-sized group of higher ups who are stuck in their ways of doing things the same way and for the last 30 years, that I am now trying to change.

I had NO idea what I would be up against coming into this company. But, if I can convince these people to make some much needed changes in their approach, I can be successful. If I cannot get them to change their minds, I will feel a bit defeated.

This is only one of two battles I am fighting to make much needed changes. Nike surpasses them in every way on Google and dominates the search landscape. Same with Adidas. Other changes I am proposing would give NB far greater search engine presence, perhaps almost equal to Nike. Nike is #1.

Sounds like a good plan. “Gift guide”. Really? No. I’d never think of typing that. Yes certainly your idea makes more sense. I hope they try that and it works. Maybe show them how other shoe companies do their gift pages and are more successful in that way. Maybe not Target.

Thanks... no shoe company ranks on page 1 for "gift ideas". I had to give a top ranking example for NB to model their page after and not just provide a sports company page that is comparable to the brand but doesn't rank well.

I think the question to ask is do they only want to improve their web page rank vs their category competition or do they want to increase their brand awareness by ranking higher than most of the other places people shop during the holidays?
To compete against just their category means what they sell needs to be a desired holiday gift. To compete against all online shopping means they want to increase their visibility and brand awareness to holiday shoppers. He's failing to see where the footwear as a holiday gift category is in relation to all other holiday gift options IMO.

Glad things are going well for you. It's wonderful that you feel so supported there!

Thank you... .and agreed. I think this one guy's viewpoint is myopic. He' s not seeing the whole picture or the value of online search. Everyone uses the internet these days to conduct research and to shop, especially during the holidays. And since Covid, ecommerce sales have skyrocketed, making it even more critical for ecommerce businesses to rank on page 1 and to be found. It's a vast mistake to ignore or dismiss online shopping overall, and to dismiss their own consumers who shop on Google, Yahoo and Bing, the 3 top search engines. And yes, by targeting "gift ideas", they can compete with all other ecommerce shops during the holidays.

I do feel very supported by my boss and by my team. It"s a welcome and very refreshing change from sexist old boys clubs in past jobs.

Believe me, all of my shoe shopping is done online. I know my size with every company, what doesn’t work for me, everything. I liked the Beacon line a lot.

I’m super anxious. I have to give an hour long training next week, another half hour training on Monday, and a major presentation, all next week. How am I going to pull this off? I’m going to have to work tomorrow for several hours to pull together these trainings. How did this all fall into one single week? Ugh!!

Well, I got the page I was working on to rank #1! HOORAY!!! That took a few tweaks, but I did it.

Now I need to work today... like all day. UGH. Prepping for the trainings I am giving.

I got through and finished 2 out of 3 presentations I have to give.

The first presentation was an SEO 101 that I pulled together and presented to a group of about 20 people. The 2nd presentation was a proposal for this massive change I want to make to all product pages across the whole website.

A colleague who is higher up in the organization gave a couple of very nice compliments to my boss afterwards. She said that I am "great" and that she has learned more from me in just a few weeks' time than she did over the course of two years working with the former SEO Manager. That's QUITE the compliment!!!!

I am proud of how far I've come along. I used to physically shake when public speaking because of PTSD. Now, I seemingly breeze right through it and present with confidence. Amazing. I am growing and improving!!!

Very nice!!!! Proud of you

Thank you!

I have to give a third presentation today. A training on SEO copywriting for the copywriters. I am getting burnt out already in this job. It's demanding and there are SO many meetings.

I also am having trouble keeping up with my workload. With so many meetings, and so many different needs pulling me in different directions, I am getting lost. There's so many people I must deal with in this role, in the north america group and globally. I am getting confused and lost. I need help. I need my boss to reign it all in for me.

There's an enormous and growing backlog of deliverables from the agency I work with, dating back to April. I am working through the deliverables, very slowly. I am having to redo a lot of the work myself. I sent back some of the work to be redone by the agency, but they still haven't done the job to my satisfaction. I don't know how to approach that with my boss? I have to tell her that the agency's SEO work still isn't meeting my standards, even after providing a few specific guidelines.

I am starting to get stressed and overloaded. Now I can see why my boss thinks I need someone helping me. And I do! I need an assistant. This is overwhelming for me, and I cannot keep up.

Could you ask for an assistant

My boss mentioned hiring someone to help me in the new year. I may broach the subject with her sooner. I think I gotta give it at least 3 months before I bring it up. I need to account for learning curve time and catching up on the backlog of work.

So, I think I am in trouble at work in my new job?

I've had to send back work done by the external agency twice, both times with instructions, coaching and training on what I expect and am looking for from their work.

The second go around, they still missed the mark.

So, I called a meeting for three of us to talk about what I am looking for. Over messenger before this meeting, I had said that the quality of the work wasn't meeting my expectations, and asked whether a more senior team member could do this work, OR oversee it on their end, per my boss's suggestion.

Between that point and Thurs morning, something bubbled up to the head account manager at the agency about SEO, and the lead account manager now wants to speak to my boss about it and "nip it in the bud before it becomes an issue". We don't know what this conversation is about. My boss told me this yesterday. They are supposed to speak early next week. There was no urgency to talk about it, so the account manager scheduled for Mon/Tues.

So, apparently, there's a problem with our external agency, and I am a part of the problem.

Yes, I am being picky with their work. A far more junior team member from the agency has been handling this particular project, so, naturally, the level of work I expect is different than the level she produces. She needs coaching and guidance. I have provided coaching and guidance twice.

This is a dark cloud hanging over me now.

I am working very hard in my new job, trying to make a positive first impression all around. It's very difficult for me to receive work from the agency that is sub par. I will not approve or implement sub par work.

According to feedback I've received internally at NB, I HAVE made a positive impression. I am receiving very positive feedback from internal team members and higher ups. One long-time team member I am working with even confided in me the other day, so I felt she must trust me to confide in me. My boss's boss also gave me positive feedback yesterday, but did not mention this issue with the external agency.

Regardless, I now I am worried I have screwed something up, perhaps with my direct and honest approach or wording to the agency's team. I told my boss I was nervous I screwed up, and she said no, you haven't.

And now, this dark cloud is hanging over me until they have this conversation and I hear what the specific issue is that needs to be nipped in the bud.

My best girlfriend thinks that the agency is trying to deflect responsibility and make it seem like I am the problem, rather than the fact that a junior level team member is handling important work and the quality is not meeting my expectations.

I cannot with a good conscience approve or implement work that is sub par. And, I thought I had been clear during the first coaching session, but apparently not.

OY! This sucks. I woke up feeling really down about it - like oh great, here we go again. I'm having work issues and I am a part of the problem.

Why are you in trouble? It sounds like someone else isn’t doing the job. Why are you a problem? Don’t have to answer but it seems like something is off.

I think until you know what the content of the conversation is, you won't be able to address it - worrying about it won't fix the situation.

You could be right that the agency may be trying to lay blame on you, so I would mentally review my interactions and make sure they were appropriate.

My interactions were totally appropriate. The first time I had to correct the work, I provided coaching and guidance, along with specific instructions. The second time, the instructions were not completely followed, so I trained more and gave examples of what was wrong.. then I said I don't want to keep having the same. conversation. Then i asked if a more senior level employee can oversee and manage the work of the younger, less experienced employee. Which is what my boss had told me to say to these two. So I did. Nothing wrong with following my boss's direction.