In the ever-evolving landscape of search engine optimization, standard operating procedures (SOPs) can mean the difference between success and mere existence. During a recent Unscripted SEO Podcast interview, Jesse McDonald, Senior SEO Director at Siege Media, shared invaluable insights on how his team approaches SEO – particularly the intersection with user experience.
The Evolving SEO Landscape: UX Meets SEO
McDonald’s background in graphic design gives him a unique perspective on the merging worlds of SEO and UX – something more critical than ever in today’s search environment.
“Even more so now, the roles of SEO and UX are almost becoming a bit blurred, which is really cool,” McDonald explains. “At Siege, while I lead the SEO team, our UX web team is separate from our design team… UX actually reports into me. So the SEO and UX team are in sync with each other.”
This integration represents a shift away from traditional SEO thinking toward what McDonald describes as a more comprehensive optimization strategy:
“It’s not search engine optimization anymore. It’s more like search experience optimization… we’re not just looking at those key SEO things anymore. Now you’re looking at other stuff like UX or crawl depth, but also user depth.”
The Two-Algorithm World Approach
McDonald frames SEO as existing in a “two algorithm world” – a concept that perfectly captures the balance modern SEOs must strike:
“SEO is a two algorithm world. You have the crawler algorithm and the user algorithm. If you’re just satisfying the crawler, people will get to the site, but they can’t do what they want to do. So there’s literally no point in getting there. If you’re only satisfying the user, the crawler can’t get to it. So no one will be able to find it anyway.”
This philosophy has helped position Siege Media ahead of algorithm updates like Helpful Content, which increasingly values user experience signals alongside traditional SEO metrics.
Siege Media’s Winning SOP: Keyword to Opposition and Benefit Analysis
When asked for his team’s most reliable SOP, McDonald revealed a process that goes beyond standard keyword research – their Keyword to Opposition and Benefit Analysis:
“It takes the term and you get your general metrics of keyword difficulty, CPC, volume, etc. But then it starts showing you other things like what’s the trend of the volume over the last 12-18 months. So we’re seeing is the content that we’re about to start focusing on in a positive trend or should we think about it later?”
This analysis includes critical SERP intelligence:
- Image presence: “How often are images involved within the actual SERP itself, which tells us that we need to be very design forward”
- SERP features: “What kind of actual SERP features are there? Is there video? If so, let’s consider making some video as well”
- Update frequency: “How frequently is the top-ranking page updated, which gives us an idea of how often we need to revisit it”
These data points create a prioritization framework that goes well beyond simple keyword volumes or difficulty scores.
Testing and Intuition: The Lost Art of SEO
McDonald laments the reduced emphasis on testing in modern SEO, advocating for a more experimental approach:
“Back in the day, we used to test everything under the sun. Like, does this work? Does this work? But as things have gotten more sophisticated, people are just kind of following and saying, ‘Well, this is the exact guidance.'”
He encourages SEOs to trust their intuition more:
“I think intuition and that gut instinct is something that we kind of devalue because it’s hard to quantify, especially in our positions. You gotta be data driven, which is absolutely correct… but at the same time, sometimes there’s something kind of magical about ‘I just have the feeling if we try this, it’ll work.'”
AI and the Future of SEO
As search behavior evolves with AI tools like perplexity and ChatGPT entering the market, McDonald advises a balanced approach rather than abandoning top-of-funnel content entirely:
“I really encourage everyone to not necessarily give that up. Look at your resources and see what you have. If you’re putting out something that’s very high value forward… that’s great, but maybe throw in one of those early learn [pieces] every now and then.”
Even with diminishing direct traffic, these broader pieces still provide value:
“Even if it doesn’t get a click, you’re a little bit there that gives you an opportunity to build your brand… feeding that type of information into the LLM itself gives them a better understanding of your branding, which then gives you more opportunity to rank for relevant searches within their system.”
Implementing These SOPs In Your Own Business
Whether you’re handling your SEO in-house or working with specialists like those at SEO Arcade, these insights can help you develop more comprehensive optimization strategies:
- Move beyond algorithm chasing to create genuinely useful user experiences
- Look at your SERP environment holistically rather than just keyword metrics
- Integrate UX and SEO thinking instead of treating them as separate disciplines
- Continue testing and experimenting rather than just following conventional wisdom
- Use SEO Arcade’s app to help manage and implement your optimization workflow
As McDonald concludes, the evolution of SEO doesn’t mean it’s dying – it means we need to expand our perspectives:
“SEO is not dying, it’s changing and we have to change with it.”
For more insights from Jesse McDonald, follow him as @JesseSEOgeek on nearly all social platforms, where he occasionally shares his expertise despite “pulling back a little bit just for mental health reasons, moral reasons.”
SEO Arcade helps you craft winning search experiences using proven SOPs like those discussed above. Contact us today to elevate your search presence with strategies that balance both algorithm optimization and exceptional user experiences.