TL;DR. RACI stops the two common team failures: activities no one owns (gap) and activities three people fight over (duplication). For each GEO activity, define Responsible (does the work), Accountable (owns the outcome, one person only), Consulted (provides input before the decision), Informed (notified after). Five activities, five rows. Fill this in once, reuse for 12 months.
Quick RACI refresher
| Letter | Meaning | How many |
|---|---|---|
| Responsible | Does the work | One or more |
| Accountable | Owns the outcome, signs off | Exactly one |
| Consulted | Provides input before the work | As few as possible |
| Informed | Notified after the work | As many as useful (see Module 7: reporting, C-Suite, marketing lead, operators) |
The most common mistake: two people marked Accountable for the same row. There can only be one. If two people are accountable, no one is.
The GEO RACI template
| Activity | Responsible | Accountable | Consulted | Informed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prompt group setup (Module 2) | GEO Lead | Marketing Lead | Sales, Product | CMO |
| Monthly diagnosis (Module 3) | GEO Lead | GEO Lead | SEO, Content, PR leads | Marketing Lead |
| SEO Gap fixes (Module 4) | SEO Specialist | Head of SEO | Engineering, GEO Lead | Marketing Lead |
| Content Gap fixes (Module 5) | Content Writer | Content Lead | GEO Lead, Brand | Marketing Lead |
| PR Gap fixes (Module 6) | PR Specialist / Comms | PR Lead / CMO | GEO Lead, Legal | Marketing Lead |
Adapt titles to your org. The structure does not change.
Common RACI failures in GEO
Three patterns kill GEO programs:
- Nobody is Accountable for the monthly diagnosis. The GEO Lead runs the diagnosis but no one signs off on the prioritization. Fixes never get chosen. Solution: GEO Lead is both R and A for the diagnosis itself. The fixes get separate RACI.
- Two Accountable owners on Content Gap fixes. GEO Lead wants the fix. Content Lead owns the CMS. Both assume the other will push. Solution: Content Lead is responsible (A), GEO Lead is asked for input (C). GEO Lead can escalate to Marketing Lead if fixes stall.
- Engineering is Consulted but never looped in until launch. Missing schema markup and JS-rendering issues get caught too late. Solution: Engineering is informed (I) on every diagnosis, asked for input (C) on SEO fixes, and does the schema implementation (R). Treat engineering as a first-class partner, not a backstop.
When to re-run the RACI
RACI is not a one-time document. Re-run it:
- When a new role joins the team.
- When a fix type moves from one-off to recurring (example: grounding page creation becomes a monthly activity).
- After a handoff fails. A failed handoff is always a RACI gap.
Keep the RACI in the same doc as the operating rhythm. When someone asks "who owns this?" you should be able to answer in under 30 seconds.
Do this now:
Copy the template. Change the role titles to match your org. For every row, name a specific person (not a job title) for Accountable. Share the doc with everyone listed. If two people see their name in the same A column, one of them has to move to R or C.