Layoffs From SEO Teams, Others Cited In Twitter, LinkedIn Posts – MediaPost

by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, 8 hours ago Shopify CEO and co-founder Tobias Lütke miscalculated the company growth and last week laid off about 1,000 employees. Many of those employees worked in the company’s search engine optimization (SEO) department.“Before the pandemic, ecommerce growth had been steady and predictable,” he wrote in a blog post on the company’s website.Rapid hiring to accommodate increased ecommerce shopping trends does not typically work.Based on company data, Lütke placed a bet on growth as a new normal. “We bet that the channel mix, the share of dollars that travel through ecommerce rather than physical retail, would permanently leap ahead by 5 or even 10 years.”The bet did not pay off.The sales mix reverted to roughly where the pre-Covid data suggested — growing steadily, but not leaping five years ahead, and as a result, he wrote, “we have to say goodbye to some of you today and I’m deeply sorry for that.”advertisementadvertisementOne of the casualties resulting from his failed prediction was the layoff of many employees within SEO, such as Kevin Indig, according to the former Shopify SEO director. He is known in the industry for his SEO and marketing skills with 5,4011 interactions and…
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