Ever wonder how easy it is to implement SEO in a giant company like IBM? Mike Moran was kind enough to sit down with me for an interview, to talk about the positive SEO changes he implemented at IBM, how to allocate costs to guarantee a better ROI, and where the future of search marketing is headed.

Prior to Mike implementing his strategies and SEO changes, organic search accounted for less than 1% of overall traffic to IBM.com. Just a few years after Mike was able to work his magic, IBM's organic search traffic grew to over 25% of total traffic. In order to fully appreciate what an impressive feat this was, first consider what a behemoth IBM is. The corporation spans over 90 countries and 30 languages, according to Mike. So not only did he have to try to implement a strategy that would affect every division and business unit, he needed to distill it down for the executives, and provide actionable items that were easy-to-understand across different roles and professional positions. At a big corporation, SEO is as much about political maneuvers and getting "buy in" as the technical implementation.

Here are some of the key concepts from the interview:

• Stop competing against yourself: Divisions within large companies can end up getting into bidding wars with each other for keywords that are attractive to multiple divisions. For example, "linux" was being bid on by many different departments within IBM, since the term is relevant to software, networking, etc. By centralizing the management of paid search, IBM was able to minimize the intramural competition and reduce cost.
• Automated SEO has benefits: One of the highest impact things you can do is to optimize your dynamic website templates. By changing a few things within the template, you can affect a huge number of pages and make them more palatable to search engines. Those few changes cause a ripple effect that can dramatically improve your rankings and organic search traffic.
• Test your search marketing: Search marketers should use the immediacy of feedback to their advantage, and study how people and search engines respond to changes in the content. Make iterative improvements to your paid search campaigns and your SEO based on actual statistics, not just a gut feel.

Listen to the 45 minute interview with Mike Moran, "Distinguished Engineer" at IBM and author of two books, and learn strategies to work around corporate processes, budgets, and differering roles and priorities in order to grow your organic and paid search channels.

Mike and I are both speakers at the American Marketing Association's conference "Hot Topic: Search Engine Marketing" this Friday, September 28th in Boston, and again November 2nd in Chicago, Illinois. There's still time to sign up for the conference! Hope to see you there!

IBM is encouraging its 320,000 employees to start blogging and have even written up a policy for them. If you want to see a good Corporate Blogging Policy, here is a an example. It is based on common sense, good etiquette, and giving back to the community. It’s about being transparent, honest, fair, respectful, and not infringing on anybody’s copyright or breaking confidentiality.

So if you have staff who want to start blogging on behalf of your company or who may end up, inadvertently or not, representing your company, a blogging policy is good protection.

I particularly like these bits from IBM’s Corporate Blogging Policy:

Be who you are
Some bloggers work anonymously, using pseudonyms or false screen names. IBM discourages that in blogs, wikis and other forms of online participation that relate to IBM, our business or issues with which the company is engaged. We believe in transparency and honesty. If you are blogging about your work for IBM, we encourage you to use your real name, be clear who you are, and identify that you work for IBM. Nothing gains you notice in the “blogosphere� more than honesty – or dishonesty. If you have a vested interest in something you are discussing, be the first to point it out. But also be smart about protecting yourself and your privacy. What you publish will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully and also be judicious in disclosing personal details.

Speak in the first person
Use your own voice: bring your own personality to the forefront; say what is on your mind.

Respect your audience and your coworkers
Remember that IBM is a global organization whose employees and clients reflect a diverse set of customs, values and points of view. Don’t be afraid to be yourself, but do so respectfully. This includes not only the obvious (no ethnic slurs, personal insults, obscenity, etc.) but also proper consideration of privacy and of topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory – such as politics and religion. If your blog is hosted on an IBM owned property, avoid these topics and focus on subjects that are business-related. If your blog is self-hosted, use your best judgment and be sure to make it clear that the views and opinions expressed are yours alone and do not represent the official views of IBM.