An SEO specialist tests, analyzes and makes changes to a website so that it is optimized for search engines. Thus, the respective site will easily go up in searches on most search engines such as Google and Bing.
An SEO expert will optimize all the pages of a website to ensure that it has as much visibility as possible. It will also ensure that the user's browsing experience is as pleasant as possible, so that users do not leave the site in a few seconds because it is difficult to navigate. It will ensure that the traffic to the website, the brand identity and the general browsing experience will increase. In other words, an SEO Specialist is not too different from a digital marketing expert: their main goal is to increase the number of sales for the company that used these services.
When doing a keyword analysis and using certain SEO tools, such as Google Analytics, the SEO Specialist can increase the visibility of a website on Google. These interventions can have a major impact on any company, if they are used properly by a specialist. Usually, SEO specialists work closely with other people in the marketing team. Thus, they ensure that you have the best services copywriting, managing social media accounts and other activities that will increase traffic and the number of customers.
What are the responsibilities of an SEO Specialist?
The responsibilities of an SEO Specialist may differ depending on the nature of his job, if he works for a marketing agency, if he is employed in the marketing department of a large company, if he is a freelancer, etc. The main responsibilities of an SEO Specialist will generally:
- Development of strategies aimed at increasing the website's visibility in search engines
- When paid campaigns take place, an SEO Specialist should perform various tests, collect and analyze the data. It will thus identify different trends that it will use to increase the ROI of the investment
- Manages the campaign budget, trying not to exceed it. It estimates monthly costs and offers optimization alternatives for different months and time periods
- Collaborates closely with the site's technical team to ensure that SEO best practices are correctly implemented on all website pages
- Collaborate with the copywriting team to create quality, informative content that will attract as many profile clients as possible. If necessary, propose descriptive texts for different pages, articles or products
- It ensures responsibility for the optimization of each page, so that it is displayed in accordance with SEO standards on search engines
- He is constantly looking for different opportunities to increase the visibility of the site. Analyze different keywords, how effective they would be, and how they could be implemented
- He is up to date with all the updates and best practices in the SEO world
- Create and execute the link building strategy (both internal and external)
- It proposes changing the website architecture, content, links and any other factors that can improve the SEO position of the targeted words
- Constantly analyze the statistics with the achieved SEO performances. Use tools like Google Analytics to measure SEO efforts, to understand how the SEO strategy should be optimized in the future for even more productive results
- Collaborates with other people from the marketing department, for greater efficiency
- Analyze the competition, to understand what can be done better, what similar keywords can be optimized, or to discover other promotion opportunities
Where can we find an SEO specialist?
Most SEO Specialists and SEO consultants start their careers in other fields of activity. Easily, easily they accumulate knowledge about the IT field, self-educate and acquire information and skills that they transfer in the direction of a game as an SEO specialist.
There is no high school or university that can offer you the SEO Specialist diploma. And certainly no form of 4-year study will be able to provide this knowledge in the future either. This knowledge varies greatly from one year to the next, as Internet technology is in a continuous and rapid expansion. An SEO Specialist constantly documents himself and collects information from the campaigns he manages, or case studies of other specialists in the field.
Most SEO experts understand very well how it works online promotion, both through paid ads on Google or Facebook, as well as organic (SEO). They constantly try to obtain the best results, which they can apply in future seo optimization campaigns. Thus, they can also offer services in the future SEO consulting.
SEO optimization cannot be learned only from an online course. It is learned by applying many different strategies, each bringing different results. Only experience in the field will make the difference between a successful campaign and an attempt.
What are the characteristics of a Successful SEO Specialist?
We will list some of the main characteristics of a successful SEO specialist, skills that will prove him in the world of digital marketing and SEO optimization:
Understand the 3 main levels of SEO optimization
There are 3 different levels of SEO optimization, which any SEO Specialist should know. He should always be aware of them, in order to properly develop the marketing strategy:
- Technical SEO optimization. It refers to the elements of the site that do not belong exclusively to its content. It refers specifically to the optimization strategy of the website structure, to the back-end part and the structure. An in-depth analysis of the website is necessary, which will provide opportunities for improvement for: site loading speed, page indexing, how easy it is to navigate on mobile devices, how easily it is accessed by Google indexing robots and what is the architecture of the site. Technical Seo optimization significantly improves the access rate of the site, which ultimately improves the user experience and thus proves to the search engines that it is a performing website.
- On-page SEO optimization. This strictly refers to the content that is displayed on the website, and its optimization to help search engines understand as well as possible what is the focus of the business, page or product. Help search engines understand why your content is valuable, and why it should respond as well as possible in searches. On-page SEO optimization includes optimizing keywords, meta description, building the structure of internal and external links, choosing meaningful titles for each page, etc. All these are techniques that aim to increase the visibility of the website and bring it as high as possible in the Google results.
- Off-page SEO optimization. This refers to creating a strong link between your site and other sites on the Internet. It calls for reviews on different platforms and the creation of a reference strategy through paid advertisements. They generally try to build a website reputation, to show the search engines that your business website is a reliable source, and that it deserves to rank in the first positions.
An seo expert must know all these SEO aspects, be up-to-date with Google algorithm updates and how the authority of the website can be improved.
Understand how marketing works in general
The technical aspects of SEO optimization are of course the biggest part of the SEO specialist job. Understanding the problems and solutions that can make Google bring the site to the first results is crucial. But once you understand what the idea is, how the Google algorithm works, the SEO specialist tends to capture the knowledge of the other marketing specialists, for a more global understanding of the concept. He must know how to create quality content, how to display its benefits, acquire knowledge of graphics and how they can influence the buyer, etc.
An interesting aspect is the creation of content that is both to the liking of search engines and to the liking of the Google algorithm. This skill is obtained through continuous experience.
The SEO experience required for an SEO Specialist to connect with the area of a professional in the field of digital marketing is quite fine and thorough. To really succeed in SEO campaigns, an SEO specialist must understand marketing content at a much deeper level, understand buyer psychology, which is the target audience, presence on social media, knowledge of web design and web development, viral strategies of marketing, working with influencers and general knowledge to bring results and conversions to campaigns.
The ability to see the whole
As I said, SEO campaigns require a lot of knowledge. An SEO campaign interconnects with all aspects of the business, not just with its website.
It is useful if we have well-defined goals when starting an SEO campaign. As an SEO Specialist, it is important to focus on the results achieved on search engines, on increasing traffic, on increasing brand identity and conversions (the ability to convert a simple visitor into a customer).
By defining these goals, and understanding the general picture of your business, an SEO Specialist will be able to execute a successful SEO Strategy.
Communication skills and team spirit
An SEO Specialist will work with almost all departments of a business: sales, customer support, web developers, statistics, IT, marketing and others. It is not always easy to explain why making some changes on the website will increase SEO results and ultimately lead to more traffic and conversions. This is where communication and understanding skills will come in handy.
SEO specialists must know how to explain in a pleasant and easy to understand way why certain changes are necessary, and how they will impact the company in a positive way. You will have to manage to convince different departments, not just a few people in some cases. So you should arm yourself with patience and perseverance.
You might also end up getting involved yourself in certain technical aspects that will have to be implemented on the website, that's why you should practice these skills.
Curious and easy Adaptable
Google updates its search algorithms constantly. They change most of the time without any prior notification, or any instruction manual. It can become frustrating to see how the positions of different businesses that you have worked on for a long time, change in a single day, because of a simple update. You have to understand what is happening, analyze the data provided by other SEO specialists and opt for constant results.
You have to be agile and persistent in your SEO optimization work. Many professionals have to learn continuously and it would be recommended to do so. An SEO Specialist must do it constantly and immediately, if he wants to maintain the results. You cannot afford to bring unsatisfactory results, as an SEO Specialist you must analyze and reanalyze what is happening on the site outside of it.
What description can have a job that involves the skills of an SEO Specialist?
The following jobs can be included in your future position as SEO Specialist:
Search Engine Marketer
Quite often, search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing optimization (SEM) are perceived as the same thing. In reality they are quite different. Optimization for marketing is a much more general and complex process, which actually incorporates SEO optimization. Marketing optimization requires that you already have knowledge about paid advertising (PPC- Pay Per Click), knowledge about customer relations and knowledge about search engines. While Digital Marketing specialists generally specialize in paid PPC ads (since they have a much lower learning curve), some still have SEO knowledge. You need to understand how keywords work both in the case of paid ads and in the case of SEO optimization. Google Analytics will be used in both situations.
Business Marketing Consultant
SEO professionals have many skills that are in high demand. You will have to prove that you have SEO experience, preferably a portfolio with the successful projects you have had. As a Marketing Consultant you will have to work with other clients, offer them solutions for their specific needs, plan and implement different SEO and marketing strategies. You will have to measure the impact of the implemented strategies, the efficiency of the already existing marketing strategies as well as provide long-term support for the creation of new promotion channels.
Digital Marketing Manager
The world of digital marketing and the world of SEO are closely related. Digital marketing specialists usually take care of all aspects of online marketing, including SEO, SEM, PPC and social media. Digital marketing professionals create and execute marketing strategies, improve SEO strategies, manage content and use social networks to the maximum to generate traffic, increase brand identity and implicitly sales.
Social Media Manager
The job description of a social media manager involves creating content that appeals to most social media platforms. It must be published at the right time, in the right format to generate the greatest impact. Like the SEO specialist, part of the responsibility of a Social Media Manger is to generate traffic to the company's website while interacting directly with consumers and users through social media accounts.
Email Marketing Specialist
If we were to go into a deeper niche of digital marketing, email marketing specialists know exactly how to create content for these campaigns, which will attract customers to click on those buttons. Email marketing campaigns continue to be one of the most powerful methods to increase the conversion rate.
Who do SEO specialists work with?
Most SEO specialists work directly with a company's marketing team. So they will get in touch with social media account managers, copywriters, email marketing specialists, etc.
SEO specialists generally have in-depth knowledge of all aspects of online marketing, because they all directly or indirectly affect the website. In any case, he will have to collaborate with the IT team, the customer relations department and others.
Reasons to become an SEO specialist
There are many compelling reasons to choose a career as an SEO Specialist. It is a rapidly growing field, with practical applications in many other areas of digital marketing. Here are some reasons that could help you think about whether to consider a career as an SEO Specialist:
You know how to write
Sometimes we forget that good writing is the very foundation of SEO. An SEO specialist will need to know how to write clearly and concisely while creating content focused on user intent. In addition, your managers may be happy to see how a few small adjustments to the structure of the words and the choice of keywords can lead to much higher sales. Communicating for people and search engines at the same time while creating content that will be considered high quality by both parties is no easy task, so copywriting skills are quite valuable.
Few jobs are as dynamic
If you're the type of person with an insatiable thirst for information – and an appreciation for the digital world – a career in SEO might be right for you. An SEO expert knows that constantly studying Google algorithm revisions and adjusting accordingly is a key part of driving search engine traffic and maintaining effectiveness as an SEO expert. An SEO specialist needs to stay alert because they never know what changes might be around the corner. If this is interesting to you, then a job like SEO Specialist would be right for you.
Strong job security
Companies have only recently come to their senses in investing more in search engine optimization and search engine marketing. According to a recent report, companies spending more than $25,000 per year on marketing reported that search engine marketing and SEO provided the best ROI, and two-thirds listed SEM and SEO as a very high priority or a very high priority in the future – more than email marketing or social media marketing. Businesses are already funneling more money into digital marketing than ever before – as SEO takes a bigger slice of that pie and continues to provide additional value, it should lead to more jobs for people with an SEO skill set.
You train your eye for aspects related to design
A good SEO specialist never considers SEO in a vacuum. An SEO expert must consider the entire website of a client or company and consider not only the structure, but also the user experience and overall appearance. So, the job of an SEO specialist doesn't just involve writing compelling content, they also need to know how to exercise their eye for aesthetics and web design. There aren't many jobs that allow you to flex as many creative muscles as you would as an SEO specialist, and that's an appealing prospect for many.
SEO skills are transferable
Once you have established an SEO skill and mastered SEO tools, you will be an attractive candidate for a number of other jobs in different industries and businesses. Take a look through a non-SEO specialist job description and you may still find SEO expertise a steady job in areas such as communications, content management, marketing, social media and journalism.
Questions and answers - SEO specialist
What is an SEO specialist?
An SEO specialist tests, analyzes and makes changes to a website so that it is optimized for search engines, to climb higher in searches for different keywords.
What are the responsibilities of an SEO Specialist?
An SEO specialist must have general knowledge of digital marketing, as he will deal with the general promotion of the business.
What are the costs of an SEO specialist?
Costs differ depending on your business, competition, chosen keywords, etc. Contact us for a personalized offer.