What Is Enterprise SEO? [+ Challenges & Tips for Success]

What Is Enterprise SEO?

Enterprise search engine optimization (SEO) is a marketing approach for large-scale organizations that have thousands or millions of webpages to improve their unpaid visibility in search engine results pages.

This approach is specifically designed to handle the scale, complexity, and operational needs of big organizations. The goal is consistent and efficient SEO results that support core business objectives.

Enterprise SEO vs. Traditional SEO

Enterprise SEO uses many of the same techniques and processes as traditional SEO, but they’re tailored to meet the needs of enterprise-level websites.

Here are some of the main differences in enterprise SEO:

Category	Enterprise SEO Approach
Content strategy	Focuses on large-scale issues like page bloat and duplicate content.  Often requires a scalable strategy for multiple regions and languages.
Technical SEO	Relies on automation to maintain performance across many webpages. Often involves prioritizing crawl budget optimization, indexation, and site architecture.
Link building	Leverages brand authority and partnerships to secure high-quality backlinks from major publications. Emphasizes digital PR to acquire high-impact links.
SEO management	Requires coordination across multiple teams and buy-in from multiple stakeholders. Standardized workflows, governance models, and automation help enterprises manage SEO at scale and ensure compliance.
Reporting	Relies on advanced analytics tools and integrations to track performance across multiple locations, teams, and business segments.  Custom reporting for different stakeholders is often necessary.
Risk management	Mitigates risks from algorithm updates, technical issues, and compliance failures to help maintain stability and trust. Safeguards (like recovery plans) are often essential to securing stakeholder buy-in.

6 SEO Challenges for Enterprise Companies

Enterprise SEO management brings a set of unique challenges.

Here are six of the most important challenges to address in your enterprise SEO strategy:

1. Managing and Optimizing a Large Website

Maintaining SEO quality across thousands or millions of webpages is a major challenge of SEO for enterprise companies because each page has to meet search engine standards to rank well.

Regular enterprise SEO audits and updates are crucial.

Optimize your website’s performance by auditing your content regularly to ensure it remains relevant. Then update or remove outdated content.

Here’s how to manage and optimize pages on your enterprise-level website:

• Use analytics. Identify high-traffic and high-conversion pages and optimize them first. 
• Group similar pages. Batch updates make large-scale changes more manageable.
• Create templates. Apply standard SEO practices across similar page types.
• Implement automation. Use tools for meta-tagging, link updates, and content audits.
• Schedule reviews. Keep pages updated and engaging through regular content reviews.
• Train team members. Ensure everyone involved in content management knows SEO best practices and your company’s SEO strategy.

Use Semrush’s Enterprise Crawler to quickly identify underperforming content. Then use automations to create, analyze, and optimize content at scale.

2. Streamlining Site Architecture and Internal Links

A consistent site architecture and well-planned internal linking help distribute page authority across a large-scale site.

Here are some tips to maintain a consistent site structure and improve your internal linking:

• Prioritize links: Structure links to reflect the importance of pages so more vital pages receive more internal links.
• Use keyword-rich anchors: Ensure that internal links use relevant, keyword-rich anchor texts that inform both users and search engines about the page they link to. Have a good blend of anchor text that matches your target keyword exactly and ones that are related to but not exactly the same as your target keyword.
• Review internal links regularly: Periodically review your site structure and internal links and update for new content, discontinued products, or changes in business focus.
• Add cross-links: Link across categories when relevant to guide users to related content or products. This can increase their time on the site and the pages’ SEO value.
• Manage link count: Keep the number of links on a page reasonable to avoid decreasing link value and confusing both users and search engines.

Semrush Enterprise has a Link Recommender Workflow that helps you identify and implement internal link improvements. 

3. Managing Complex Website Infrastructures and Subdomains

Managing multiple domains and subdomains can expand your brand’s reach but creates complexity. 

A centralized enterprise SEO strategy ensures consistent practices across the entire infrastructure.

Actionable tips to handle complex website infrastructures and multiple subdomains include the following:

• Consolidate subdomains. Consider which subdomains you can combine to reduce complexity and improve SEO management.
• Tailor SEO tactics. Focus each subdomain to focus on specific keywords relevant to its unique focus or region.
• Schedule audits. Conduct regular SEO audits for each subdomain to ensure they adhere to the central SEO guidelines and perform well individually.
• Apply canonical tags. Use cross-domain canonical tags appropriately to avoid duplicate content issues between subdomains.

4. Implementing Scalable Content Strategies

Enterprise-level SEO often requires scalable content strategies to meet business growth and evolving needs. 

The key challenge is ensuring content remains aligned with search intent while efficiently scaling across multiple regions, languages, and platforms.

Start with a thorough keyword analysis to identify gaps and opportunities. Then develop a content strategy that involves regularly optimizing content and creating new content.

Here are some practical tips to tackle this challenge:

• Research trends. Spot relevant industry topics and top audience questions.
• Leverage expertise. Engage subject matter experts within your company to provide insights that enrich content quality and relevancy.
• Optimize content. Apply search engine best practices. Semrush Enterprise’s Content Optimization Workflow can streamline the process.
• Syndicate wisely. Consider syndicating top-performing content to extend reach. Ensure that syndicated content follows SEO best practices to avoid duplicate content issues.
• Go global. Translate successful content into other languages to address international audiences.
• Distribute your content. Coordinate with social and paid marketing teams to promote content through various channels.

5. Collecting, Analyzing, and Reporting on SEO Data

Effective data management can help you understand SEO performance, inform strategic decisions, and track ROI. But this can be difficult for large companies with a lot of webpages to track.

Semrush Enterprise’s customizable Data Hub analyzes billions of data points in minutes. Plus, it provides real-time reporting and optimization suggestions to help drive performance and stay ahead of competitors.

Access insights on:

• Market and competitor trends
• Keyword and page performance
• User behavior

Regularly analyze this data to identify trends, opportunities, and areas that need improvement. 

Enterprise business SEO reporting should be routine, with monthly or quarterly reviews depending on the scale and needs of the business.

For example, use advanced analytics to track the performance of your SEO strategy across hundreds of product categories and multiple regions.

Then gather data on keyword rankings, page traffic, and conversion rates. And compile these insights into customized reports for department heads to inform your strategies.

You can:

• Automate data collection. Use tools to automate the collection of SEO data, saving time and minimizing human error. Automation ensures data is consistently and timely updated.
• Segment data. Break down SEO data by department, region, or product line to deliver more relevant insights across the organization.
• Define KPIs. Establish clear and actionable KPIs to measure SEO success, focusing on metrics like traffic growth, conversion rates, and improvements in keyword rankings.

6. Coordinating with Multiple Teams and Stakeholders

Implementing SEO changes in an enterprise environment requires consensus and coordination across multiple departments and stakeholders.

Success often depends on your team’s ability to navigate internal bureaucracies and educate stakeholders about SEO. 

To accelerate implementation, focus on effective communication and demonstrating measurable results to key stakeholders. Engage departments that directly or indirectly impact SEO—such as marketing, IT, content teams, and external agencies—to ensure alignment.

Establish clear communication channels and hold regular strategy meetings to keep teams informed and engaged. Semrush Enterprise’s Collaboration Toolkit can help you to streamline collaboration, track progress, and manage deadlines efficiently.

By fostering a culture of SEO awareness and collaboration, you can reduce delays and drive long-term success.

Here are more tips for success:

• Define roles. Assign clear responsibilities for each enterprise SEO team member to prevent overlap and ensure accountability.
• Schedule updates. Keep all stakeholders informed about SEO progress and to gather feedback from various perspectives.
• Unite under shared SEO goals: Show how each team’s actions support overall business objectives. 
• Offer cross-department training: Foster a better understanding of how various elements of SEO interconnect.
• Collect structured feedback. This can help refine strategies and increase engagement across teams.

How to Choose an Enterprise SEO Solution

To choose an enterprise SEO solution that meets your current and future needs, consider each platform’s tools and features, scalability, integration capabilities, and pricing.

Tools and Features

Choose an enterprise SEO platform that includes all essential tools and features for your enterprise-level company.

This can simplify learning and processes for your team and ensure you’re using comparable data across your SEO activities.

For example, Semrush Enterprise has five core components: 

1. Data Hub: Seamlessly analyze data from third-party tools and Semrush’s vast keyword/backlink databases
2. SEO automations: Automate important SEO tasks, such as content optimization and competitor analysis, to save time and boost results
3. Reporting: Create effective reports to support decision-making and keep stakeholders informed
4. Collaboration toolkit: Effortlessly manage in-house tasks and tap into a network of SEO experts
5. Crawler: Get actionable insights to improve your site’s technical performance and user experience

When evaluating enterprise SEO tools, look for advanced features like AI-powered research, automated compliance checks, and predictive analytics.

These features can provide a competitive edge by saving time, enabling faster decision-making, and delivering unique insights.

Scalability 

Scalability means the platform can expand to handle the growing number of tasks your enterprise may require, from tracking millions of keywords to auditing vast websites as demand grows. 

A scalable SEO platform can manage increased demand, allowing for consistent monitoring and analysis of all keywords. Seek features that automate resource scaling and offer modular upgrades to accommodate growing data volume and complexity.

Integration Capabilities

Integration capabilities determine how well your SEO platform works with business processes and tools—both now and in the future.

Better integration allows you to:

• Access real-time, comprehensive data for better decision making
• Reduce the risk of errors caused by manual data transfers
• Improve communication between teams
• Streamline reporting 

Before choosing a solution, list all the tools you plan to keep, such as your content management system, Google Analytics, and other enterprise SEO tools. Ensure that your chosen platform can integrate with these tools to maintain a connected and efficient marketing ecosystem.

Pricing

Assess an SEO platform’s pricing in relation to its functionality and scalability. 

The best platforms offer customizable pricing that adapts to your usage, preventing unnecessary costs for features you don’t need. Prioritize solutions that provide scalability without rigid pricing structures, so your investment remains efficient and cost-effective.

Create a Winning Enterprise SEO Strategy

Semrush Enterprise has everything you need to create and maintain a winning enterprise SEO strategy, including automations, real-time data, a vast keyword and backlink database, custom reporting, seamless integrations, and collaboration tools.

That’s why Semrush Enterprise is trusted by top brands including Samsung, Salesforce, and TikTok.

Book a demo to discover the platform’s capabilities first hand. And learn how the platform will work for your enterprise company’s unique needs.