This is the latest in a series of HR articles focusing on hiring, training, and shaping expectations of applicants. Spoiler: buried not-so-deep in that link are cheat codes to help you land a position, if that’s your goal.
Several writers send me Word documents (or GDocs) with new and edited content for several websites. I and/or the client review it, edit as necessary, and approve it to go live on the site. Then, somebody has to put it on the site. Make it live. That’s the role.
Using almost no jargon, the work could be described as:
You take word processor documents and copy/paste them into WYSIWYG website editors.
Looking for:
- Attention to detail
- Checks email daily
- Posi-complainicator
If nobody’s ever accused you of being detail-oriented and/or you’re the sort who only checks email a few times monthly, you’re probably not a good fit for this position.
However, you don’t need to know “how to make a website” or “how to code”, but there are other concerns. I’ll blab about it.
How to approach problems
posi-complainicator (noun)
/ˈpäzē-kəmˈplān-ə-ˌkā-tər/
- : a person who complains productively, identifying problems to improve workflows, systems, or processes.
- : one who voices frustrations in a way that encourages solutions rather than just venting.
// “I want a posi-complainicator for this CMS Text Maven position, not someone willing to suffer suboptimality.”
Welcome to my new, perhaps unnecessary portmanteau of:
positive+complaint+communicator
I encourage productive complaining. If something sucks and AI can’t fix it, speak up. If you don’t, it probably won’t get better. But if you shine a light on the squeaky wheel, there’s a chance someone will fix the problem.
In short: Please complain. If something could or should be easier, I might be able to lean on the client’s web team or the writers to smooth things out.
Sometimes we have to live with clunky CMS interfaces or the limits of word processors. But I’ve seen talented developers bend even the worst closed-source, walled-garden CMS to my will.
CMS Platforms Vary
Not all Content Management Systems (CMS) are created equal.
As of this publication, my clients use: WordPress, Shopify, Wix, & Drupal, in that order by popularity.
Knowing how to get to the blog posts in WordPress may or may not help you find them in the backend of Drupal.
Not even every WordPress installation behaves the same. It can be frustrating when common tasks like entering metas, or even less common tasks like creating a 301 redirect — are done differently on two different WordPress sites.
The good news: Once you learn how to do it, and take some notes, it’s easy every time thereafter.
Use LLMs to save time
Don’t let this article about SEO CMS HR fool you, I’m not an expert in any CMS or word processor. When you don’t know how to find or do something, ask a good AI before you ask me. Cut out the middleman.
If you’re new to AI, here’s the spiel. Be clear, specific, and structured when prompting AI. Provide context, and refine iteratively if needed. Don’t be afraid to respond to it with: “No. I meant [clarification].” or “Oops, I left out this detail…” or “I don’t see [what you’re talking about] on my screen.” Etc. Oh, and you can upload a screenshot of what you see. That often helps AI figure it out.
When that fails to deliver great, timely results (and sometimes it will), please punt to me and I’ll get us help!
Documentation
Figure out how to do a task optimally, document it, and then go through the motions. Unfortunately, your predecessors haven’t always documented enough or well. So I want you to document best practices well, even if I hand you frustratingly vague instructions. (Sorry!)
Good documentation makes this job easier for everyone. We don’t always get it right the first time, so if you find a better way, write it down and share it.
Markup Matters
The M in HTML stands for markup. Sometimes we conflate this with how text looks, but markup is more about structuring content, not styling it. Think: Headings, paragraphs, lists, etc.
Headlines (or headers, if you prefer) must be coded as headlines in the CMS. Making them look bigger and bolder isn’t enough. So if headers aren’t pasting in as headers, select each would-be header manually and choose an appropriate header from that drop-down in the WYSIWYG. (h1, h2, h3, etc.) Then, complain to me and we’ll see if we can fix that! It shouldn’t be difficult. We hope.
Word Processor
Use Microsoft Word. If you don’t have Word, I’ll get you a license for it. You must use Word on most accounts, and not Google Docs, Pages, LibreOffice, etc.
Only use approved word processors for this work. It’s not that other apps are worse, but keeping everybody on the same program minimizes problems.
You’ll have to get familiar with the world of tracked changes, switching between showing the edits on a doc, to viewing it without markup. Speaking of, let’s head back to the world of markup…
Bolding Concerns
I blabbed here about why we bold, and then unbold in the SEO process. Please review that. It’s your job to unbold (I mean unbold) keyword instances before they go online.
Most people in this role choose to unbold in Word, before pasting. That’s usually fast and works well. However, a posi-complainicator copypastanator recently shared this nightmare scenario:
- In Word, select all text in edits to a L-O-N-G page.
- Control+b (which bolds it all) – Control+b again (to unbold it all)
- Control+c (copy) – Control+v (paste) into Shopify. Everything looks fine.
- Checks work. Realize headers aren’t coded as headers. Troubleshoot. Eventually figuring out…
- It’s because of step 2 somehow applying the “Normal” attribute to all text
So at least on this site, unbolding is a little more tedious. Unbold each instance manually before pasting. I pay more for work in Shopify because of annoyances like this.
You may also need to manually remove comments from Word docs before copying/pasting into some CMS.
Shopify copy/paste weirdness
I’ve largely switched most Shopify accounts to Google Docs, because Shopify pasting from Word sucks. Often, when pasting into Shopify, you’ll find odd Word-specific markup code when you view the HTML.
e.g.
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[content]</span></p>Instead of simply:
<p>[content]</p>(Why does that happen in Shopify and not in WordPress? Good question.) Regardless, a good Shopify developer can prevent it from affecting the text when the site is published. It will still appear in the backend when you look at the code in the CMS. That’s fine. We only care if it causes problems on the live site.
I also try to remember to ask devs to fix Shopify’s poor handling of inconsistently nested links and spans. But if you notice some anchor text appearing wonky, please let me know, and I’ll have them fix it.
Check your work and the work of others
Once you’re over the hump, the work is easy but largely repetitive. But checking your work—and the work of others—is part of the job.
- Typos & Document Errors – This isn’t an “editor” position, but before pasting, catch obvious mistakes. (They’ll be highlighted in Word.) If there’s a missing space, a super-obvious spelling mistake, dead-end sentences, headers not coded as headers, or weird formatting, fix it and let me know so I can
relentlessly scoldmention it to the writer. - CMS-Specific Checks – Are the headers coded as headers? Does the page look good after publishing? Are the links working? Did you schedule all the blogs? You’re the last person in the SEO content chain—check it all.
- Identifying Fixable CMS Problems – On some accounts, you’ll be the person most often in the trenches, the proverbial canary in the coal mine. If something about the CMS seems clunky, broken, or unnecessarily tedious, posi-complainicate so we can fix it.
Images
With one exception, the CMS Text Maven doesn’t do much with images. So if you’re on that account, I’ll send you specific instructions re: how to pick and place an image. I’m actively trying to talk that account out of leaning on my team for images.
Beg me to regale you with the riveting story of copyright trolls baiting image licensing sites with their content and how the liability and overhead led me to stop offering image services as part of SEO/UX consulting. …And I might.
UI/UX
That’s nerd-talk for user interface and user experience. If you see something goofy, say something posi-complainicatorish. Does the CSS (nerd talk for the way elements on a webpage are styled) look out of whack? Do the bulleted lists display oddly or not at all? Are images too big or small? Etc. Please tell me.
On a similar note, if the site is behaving slowly or there’s an outage, please tell me. (Don’t wait to tell me about outages.)
Security & Agency
You’ll often have admin access to these websites. Treat your site credentials with care. We don’t want them to fall into the wrong hands. Never email plain-text passwords. Use privnote. Some sites require 2FA. I wish more did. I like Authy for 2FA, but some prefer Google Authenticator. Up to you which you use.
You’ll be working in and on several sites, but you don’t work for those companies. If you deem this gig worthy of it, use something like _fficient SEO/UX on your resume.
I require all collaborators to sign a boilerplate mutual NDA. In short: Do not discuss specifics of accounts with others.
Blurbs
Some assignments include little text bits called SEO blurbs. Blurbs can be added to any page that doesn’t already have a blurb. Sites with blurbs have an interface on the backend showing which pages are available so you don’t have to waste time finding pages without blurbs. Easy. Copy/paste. Fin.
Blog scheduling
You’re the timing-pilot; the Goldilocks zone is our target. We don’t want too many blogs in reserve, unpublished, where they’re invisible to Google and the world. Conversely, we don’t want to be left without any blogs to publish for long spells. So you meter them out. Usually.
I’ll give you per-client notes. E.g. startups likely don’t want to be sitting on much if any unpublished articles whereas the old guard might have some event-specific blog posts pre-scheduled half a year in advance.
Writers sometimes specify preferred publication dates for articles. I’m trying to get the writer crew more in touch with the SEO timeline (I assign, they write, I review, client reviews, I send to CMS person) so they don’t rush us, and so they don’t suggest publishing event-based blogs mere days before the event. (Give that stuff some time to breathe online, to be found by Google.) …Which is a longwinded way of saying: Please complain if things are annoying and I’ll endeavor to fix. ❤
We sometimes consolidate, refresh, and republish old blog posts for older, more established sites. While I try to get writers to not request specific future republication dates, they sometimes do. It’s your job to just republish it now, today, or in the recent past. Because if you select a future date, that will UNpublish (delete) the post until that date, which is a non-starter for SEO. It adds an unwanted break in the publishing timeline.
Speaking of timelines
There are rarely emergencies in the SEO world. This copy/paste gig is casual in that sense. If I send you a document to get online, while I’d like you to get to it as soon as you can, I don’t need you to tell me when you’re going to do it, unless you know it’s going to take more than a week or two.
That said, I’ll occasionally send you a rush job.
Hmmm… I’ve written about time-related concerns when hiring writers, and some of that applies here, so I’ll ask you to look at it. Not all of it applies directly. It’s written for a different role. But most is close enough for this gig. E.g. notes about: time zones, aspire to work quickly, time early on, only so much time to give, how I pay (time is money).
Timing Apocrypha
One thing not mentioned in that time article: Invoice one hour minimum for each account you work on. Even when the work order takes less than an hour to complete. Knock it out in 30 minutes? You still bill an hour.
Time off: Going on holiday for a week or three? (lucky!) Please communicate about prolonged absences ahead of time. I can work around your schedule when I know it.
Done!
When you finish an assignment, please reply to the work order email letting me know the work is done. If there were any blurbs in the assignment, please include the URLs for those.
That’s it!
If I sent you here about a prospective offer, let me know what you think. If you’ve stumbled here for some other reason, sorry I’m not hiring right now. Or maybe, just maybe, some other SEO nerds will send potential Content Implementation Specialists here for some HR triage. Unlikely.
Dan Dreifort consults on SEO, UX multivariate tests, and little HR niches like applicant screening, and some preliminary hiring communications. He makes noises with a few bands and pets all the cats.
Dan Dreifort 