It is time for transparency in SEO
If you don't tell the SEO story, it will be told about you and for you
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SEO often lurks in the shadows of the marketing team, intentionally cloaked in a mystique that obscures its value. SEO practitioners speak of algorithms and crawl budgets, while executives struggle to grasp their contribution to revenue or user engagement. SEO has thrived on using the “black box” as an excuse and a crutch.
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This intentional opacity fosters skepticism and hurts SEO’s visibility as a strategic asset. It is difficult for an executive to fund an SEO ask if they don’t know where that money will be spent. Worse, when it’s time for RIFs (aka layoffs), SEO can be on the chopping block because the contributions from this team are far from obvious.
The solution and the opportunity lie in transparency, with a disciplined approach to communication that integrates SEO with clear, measurable business objectives and encourages cross-functional collaboration. With all the chatter about the death of SEO, transparency is not merely beneficial but imperative for teams and organizations pursuing sustainable growth.
The source of the mystery
SEO’s reputation as black box magicians stems from its inherent complexity. Search engines employ algorithms with hundreds of evolving factors. They (search engine employees) add to the mystique by speaking in hints, supporting subterfuge by their comms teams, and generally making it difficult to ascertain precise playbooks. Yet even so, the actual obstacle is not the technology but how SEO is discussed.
Standard SEO reports frequently emphasize the wrong metrics, like keyword rankings or domain authority, that are not tied to business objectives. Without transparent messaging, leaders must answer their own questions about how these reports show SEO's progress towards broader goals.
This disconnect carries a steep cost. When SEO operates in isolation, it drifts from the organization’s core objectives. Product teams may launch features without considering discoverability, while marketing prioritizes paid channels that organic efforts could amplify. Worse, a lack of clarity breeds distrust. If leadership cannot see concrete results, they may question SEO’s worth or turn to vendors peddling fleeting, low-quality solutions. The price is wasted resources and missed opportunities to invest in SEO. I have met many leaders who have neglected this channel out of a deep mistrust or confusion about investing in it without losing resources.
What’s most telling is that the jokes and mockery of SEO have outlasted the tactics like this one below. This is, unfortunately, what many people think SEO is because they have not been told anything else.
The case for transparency
Transparency does not mean oversimplifying the effort or being too detailed on every initiative. It entails articulating its purpose and impact in terms that resonate across the organization. By aligning SEO with business priorities, companies can unlock their potential as a unifying force. Instead of falling back on SEO only terms like share of voice, domain authority, and CWV, use the standard terms of CAC, LTV, and ROI.
Transparent SEO connects directly to outcomes like customer acquisition, retention, or revenue, positioning it as a core business function. It clarifies the roles of product, marketing, and engineering teams, fostering synergy. Open reporting demonstrates effective resource use and builds credibility. Perhaps most critically, transparency sets realistic expectations, discouraging reliance on short-term tactics that jeopardize long-term success.
Efforts like investing significant resources into page load time would never get funded from the SEO budget without an obvious SEO-only ROI. On the other hand, internal link efforts that were highly confident of increased crawlability AND subsequent ROI would get funded fast.
Transparent SEO framework
Achieving transparency requires a structured approach to communication and integration. The first step is to adapt other channel metrics that reflect business priorities, moving beyond technical minutiae. Keyword rankings may have been the north star for SEO, but especially now, they aren’t correlated to revenue. This link of rankings to revenue is even further frayed when reporting transparency from analytics platforms gets even darker.
Conversion rates from organic visitors (sign-ups, purchases, or downloads) reveal SEO’s impact on growth. Engagement metrics, such as time on page or pages per session, gauge content effectiveness. Where possible, attributing revenue to organic traffic ties SEO directly to financial performance. Revenue reporting for SEO might be fuzzy, but it’s better to be less precise than to have no reporting whatsoever. Weighted attribution can be hard to build, but anecdotally, “where did you hear of us surveys” is a great indicator and easy to implement.
How to report
Reporting must be visual and accessible to non-specialists. If you want to change the narrative, confusing graphs or red, yellow, or green spreadsheets of rankings don’t cut it.
Effective reports summarize actions taken, such as optimizing landing pages or resolving technical issues, and present data-driven outcomes aligned with the business KPI previously agreed upon. If there is no KPI, maybe this isn’t a good use of resources.
Consistent communication is the backbone of transparency. SEO teams should establish a regular cadence through monthly real-time (virtual or in-person) briefings and weekly email updates. These interactions celebrate progress, even incremental wins, to sustain momentum.
They address challenges, such as algorithm updates, in clear, non-technical language and solicit input to ensure alignment with evolving priorities. When anything disrupts traffic, the team should promptly explain the cause, its implications, and the recovery strategy, preventing misperceptions and reinforcing trust.
This applies whether the change in traffic is positive or negative.
Transparency is not without challenges. SEO teams have always feared scrutiny and blame for things outside their control, but the blame is happening regardless. Get ahead of it.
I like using analogies in my updates because SEO is hard to understand. Explain SEO as building long-term equity, just like buying a house. Explain the algorithm updates as product releases by the search engines. Tell the story, or the story will be told for you.
SEO needs to come out of the shadows
When SEO is transparent, it becomes a catalyst for organizational investment. SEO is among the most profitable marketing channels because it drives value long after investing. Don’t let a lack of transparency hold back this channel.
Transparency in SEO is a cultural commitment, not a one-off initiative.
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