SEO Specialists: Roles and Responsibilities

Digital marketing and SEO go hand in hand, as one doesn't exist without the other. You can't be efficient if you're not effective, and effectiveness is precisely what you'll be missing if you skip SEO. An expert in this area will keep keywords in check and your digital endeavors on the right path.

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SEO Expert’s Roles & Responsibilities

Whenever you look for something online, the results you’re viewing have been carefully sorted by an algorithm and many SEO experts. This profession is for those with an analytical mind and a proactive attitude.

A SEO Specialist’s Typical Day

No two days are the same when you're in the SEO business. If they are, you might be stuck in a rut and may want to keep exploring to get out of it.

Keyword Research

Keywords are the bread and butter of an SEO expert's working day. The effectiveness we mentioned is channeled through adequate keywords. Without them, you may produce tons of content and invest heaps of money, but they won't get you anywhere because you and your potential customers aren't speaking the same language. Nowadays, there are plenty of tools that make the job of finding out what the audience is looking for much more accessible. It's important to remember that search terms change over time. It's a neverending process that requires constant updating.

On-Page Optimization

The SEO acronym contains this very word. Optimizing a website is similar to cleaning one's house: once you think you're done, it's time to start again. There are many aspects to optimization, and not all are connected to the website. They involve a good outreach strategy, up-to-date keywords, quality metadata, top-notch content, good interlinking, mobile device adaptation, clean code, quick page load, link equity distribution, indexation issues, crawling budget optimization, competition analysis, etc.

The more your pages are linked throughout the web, the more significant their authority. Think of it this way: if you were researching a topic, would you quote an insignificant website that offers no relevant information or an established website that evidently invests time and money into producing high-quality content? Likewise, you'll want your pages to be linked from high authority relevant websites in the same topical cluster as your website and get visitors from those backlinks. This way, they'll be ranked better, and their traffic will be boosted. Internally, you may link pages within your website; just make sure to do it logically and tastefully.

Keeping Up With Trends

Search engines make the rules, and they change constantly. To keep yourself in the game, you must stay updated. Algorithms will affect your optimization results significantly, so staying informed on the latest developments is paramount. The other players also influence your rankings, making them the focus of your everyday analysis. To sum up, an SEO expert's business is to keep track of search engine algorithms, their competition's movements, and the ever-changing wishes of the targeted audience.

Cooperating and Communicating

In digital marketing, there rarely operates a one-man band. Usually, the SEO specialist does its part while content writers, PPC managers, and web developers do theirs. This work distribution requires constant communication and feedback. Let's not forget about clients, who need to be contacted regularly in the absence of project managers. Naturally, an SEO expert's daily workload necessarily includes correspondence, meetings, and collaborating with other teams.

Average Salary

Is there any money in the SEO business? Here's what the most relevant platforms have to say. According to Payscale, the average salary per year is $48,807, while glassdoor says it's $52,248.

	PayScale	Glassdoor
SEO Specialist	$48,807	$52,248

Becoming an SEO Specialist: Get Started

SEO is not rocket science, and it doesn't take a Ph.D. to practice it. You don't need a specific degree to be an SEO specialist. However, you will have to learn the basics of the trade and put the knowledge to use.

Start with an SEO-focused course rather than a general digital marketing one.

• SEMrush
• Coursera
• Udemy
• Simplilearn

SEO is in high demand now, so you won't have to go far to find a suitable learning platform, whether paid or free. Try asking the online community for some tips. There are plenty of SEO experts willing to share their experiences. This is not an obscure profession, so you'll find the information you need in a heartbeat; all it takes is some digging and natural curiosity.

Once you've learned the basics, implement them. Create your own website, optimize it, and use it to practice everything you've added to your knowledge kit. It will be handy when you seek employment as an SEO apprentice because it can demonstrate your skills to potential employers.

Your First Job as an SEO Specialist

Don't expect to be a specialist right off the bat. You'll need some training and experience first. Look for companies that hire juniors and try to launch your career from there. You can also try to apply wherever they're advertising for SEO marketers, but be honest about your experience.

The "practice website" we mentioned earlier could be useful when applying for jobs. Certifications are necessary, but they're of no use if you can't apply your knowledge. Surely, you'll have to compile a test to get through interviews, but employers will certainly not frown upon proof of your skills.

Once you get into the digital marketing industry, don't sit with your hands crossed. Try to absorb as much information about all aspects of the job as possible because that will make you an even better SEO specialist who knows not only how to do something but also why it needs to be done.

An SEO Specialist’s Career Path

Can you switch to SEO at any point in your career? Absolutely. It's a fairly new profession, meaning the majority of SEO experts traded one trade for the other. Since previous knowledge or university degrees aren't necessary, getting into the business is quite easy.

On the other hand, this means anyone can quickly surpass you in the rat race. The more you know, the higher your value in the employment market. Make sure to constantly expand your proficiency in the digital marketing, IT, search engine, and data science areas.

Tools

Ahrefs

ActiveCollab

Excel

Google Analytics

Google Search Console

Screaming Frog Log File Analyzer

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

SEMrush

Seolyze

Sistrix

Site Bulb

Slack

SEO work complexity and implementation of SEO recommendations are best managed using a project management tool. Writing technical optimization tickets for developers, content briefings for content writers, and monitoring different tasks for different clients can be demanding.

ActiveCollab projects can help you ease the pressure and help you stay on top of things. Keep up with invoices, budgets and costs, and you can invite clients to participate in the process. Time track to be most productive.

Hiring an SEO Specialist

Let us clear up any doubts straight away: yes, you need someone on your team who will deal with SEO. The only question is, must they be employed full-time or only part-time? It depends on the size of your company and how much you rely on online traffic.

It goes without saying that you shouldn't hire someone with zero experience and knowledge, no matter how enthusiastic they are. Beginners can bring more damage than benefits sometimes. Certificates are no guarantee, but you should look more favorably upon those who have them. Create a test that will prove all candidates' skills equally and ensure they're not getting outside help.

Technical skills are vital in this profession, but you'd be wrong to neglect soft skills. Digital marketing intertwines many roles that need to collaborate closely to obtain the full effect of campaigns. So, your perfect candidate should be able to communicate fluently with other team members.

Also, as algorithms keep changing and trends evolve, you need a proactive person who won't let any opportunities slip by.