What Is an SEO Specialist and How to Get Started

As an SEO specialist, you'll be responsible for ensuring that a website appears at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs). This involves optimizing website content, structure, and coding to make it more search engine friendly.

To get started, you'll need to have a solid understanding of how search engines work and what they look for in a website. According to our article, search engines use algorithms to rank websites based on relevance, authority, and user experience.

A good SEO specialist should have a strong foundation in digital marketing principles, including keyword research, content creation, and link building. They should also be familiar with tools like Google Analytics and Search Console.

By following these guidelines, you'll be well on your way to becoming a successful SEO specialist and improving your website's online visibility.

Becoming an SEO specialist can be a lucrative and in-demand career choice. According to BrightEdge, 53% of all site traffic comes from organic search.

SEO specialists are in high demand as businesses spend money to generate leads through organic search traffic. This demand is expected to continue, with 49% of respondents using search engine optimization tactics at their company.

Another advantage of SEO is the low cost and entry barrier compared with other digital marketing types. You can start by taking a simple SEO certification class, such as Greg Gifford’s SEO Fundamentals course through Semrush Academy.

There are numerous free and low-cost resources available to help you get started, including Yoast Online SEO Training, HubSpot SEO Courses, and Google Analytics Academy.

Becoming a search engine optimization expert can be financially rewarding, with SEO professionals earning at least $56,653 per year. Freelancers can earn even more, with 44.5% of freelance, founder, and contract respondents earning between $75-149,000 per year.

Here are some high-paying career opportunities you can consider as an SEO specialist:

Becoming an SEO specialist is a great career choice, with 53% of all site traffic coming from organic search and 70% of online marketers thinking SEO is better than PPC for generating leads.

You can start by taking a simple SEO certification class, such as Greg Gifford’s SEO Fundamentals course through Semrush Academy, which provides a solid foundation for more advanced SEO training.

Some popular free and low-cost resources for learning SEO include Yoast Online SEO Training, HubSpot SEO Courses, and Google Analytics Academy.

To become an SEO specialist, you'll need to develop a unique set of skills, including analytical thinking, technical SEO, research, content writing, and adaptability.

Here are some must-have skills for an SEO specialist:

Becoming an SEO specialist requires a solid foundation of knowledge, and taking courses is a great way to get started. Consider enrolling in courses that offer certifications, such as Google Analytics or Google AdWords certification, to add credibility to your skills.

Google offers a range of courses and certifications, including the Google Analytics Academy, which provides training on data analysis and measurement. You can also take the Google SEO Starter Guide, which covers the basics of search engine optimization. For more advanced training, sign up for the Google GA4 course to develop skills for SEO-related data analysis.

HubSpot also offers a range of SEO courses, including the HubSpot SEO Certification Course, which covers keyword research, link building, and content optimization. Coursera offers a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialization, which consists of four courses and a final project.

Here are some popular SEO courses and certifications:

Taking courses is just the first step, but it's essential to practice your skills by working on your own website or volunteering on SEO projects for others. This will help you develop practical experience and build a portfolio of your work.

To become a successful SEO specialist, you'll need to understand the different types of SEO specializations. Technical SEO is one area of focus, which involves optimizing website architecture and infrastructure.

You can specialize in on-page SEO, which includes optimizing website content and structure. Off-page SEO, on the other hand, focuses on building high-quality backlinks from other websites.

E-commerce SEO is another area of specialization, which involves optimizing online stores and product pages for search engines. Content SEO is also a key area, which involves creating high-quality, engaging content that attracts links and shares.

Mobile SEO is crucial in today's mobile-first world, where most users access websites on their smartphones. Social media SEO, specifically YouTube SEO, can help you reach a wider audience and drive more traffic to your website.

Voice search SEO is also an emerging area, as more users rely on voice assistants like Siri and Alexa to find information online. Enterprise SEO involves optimizing large websites and complex systems, often for large corporations.

Healthcare and legal SEO require specialized knowledge and expertise, given the unique regulations and requirements of these industries. Financial SEO involves optimizing websites for financial services and products, often with a focus on compliance and security.

Here are some of the main types of SEO specializations:

An SEO specialist's job is to develop search engine optimization strategies that improve rankings, increase visibility, and meet unique KPIs. Their goal is to increase exposure for keywords and search phrases that drive bookings, online sales, or grow brand awareness.

An SEO specialist's responsibilities may vary depending on their employer and employment type, but most require daily tasks such as conducting keyword research, auditing website architecture, and investigating ways to gain backlinks. They must also craft compelling meta descriptions and title tags, optimize web pages using HTML tags, and improve accessibility.

To be successful, an SEO specialist needs to have a range of skills, including an understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, as well as knowledge of keyword research and analysis. They must also be able to create and implement a content strategy that maximizes brand visibility, and collaborate with social and content colleagues to inform content strategies.

Some key responsibilities of an SEO specialist include:

SEO specialists work closely with content marketing teams to ensure that their content plan is SEO-driven. They also conduct keyword research to identify key phrases and words that can improve visibility in search engines. On-page optimization involves optimizing various parts of the website that affect search engine rankings, including title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and content.

Here are some key responsibilities of an SEO specialist:

Overall, an SEO specialist's job is to develop and implement strategies that improve the website's visibility, rankings, and traffic, and to monitor and refine these strategies to ensure ongoing success.

Hiring an SEO specialist can be a challenge, but it's worth it to save time and improve your website. According to the hiring process, it takes time to find the right person, and the process varies from company to company.

The benefits of hiring an SEO specialist are significant. If your website isn't ranking well, an SEO specialist can help identify issues and implement strategies to improve your rankings and visibility in search engine results. In fact, 53% of marketers say that inbound marketing boosts their company's ROI.

You should consider hiring an SEO specialist if your website isn't ranking well, or if you're in a competitive industry and are finding it hard to do business. In these situations, an SEO specialist can help you rank for competitive terms and stand out from the competition.

To find the right SEO specialist, you'll want to conduct a thorough interview. You'll want to ask SEO-specific questions, such as how they learned about SEO, how they stay up-to-date on industry changes, and what their approach is to keyword research.

Here are some specific questions to ask during the interview:

Beware of promises to rank your website first on Google. Instead, look for candidates who set realistic expectations and focus on performance indicators in addition to organic rankings, such as engagement metrics.

As an SEO specialist, I can provide a range of services to help businesses improve their online visibility.

SEO Services cover a broad spectrum of needs, including local SEO, eCommerce SEO, enterprise SEO, small business SEO, and even an SEO reseller program for those who want to offer these services to their own clients.

Local SEO helps businesses rank higher in search results for location-based searches, which is crucial for physical stores or services that cater to a specific geographic area.

eCommerce SEO is designed to drive traffic and sales to online stores, optimizing product pages, categories, and checkout processes for maximum conversion rates.

Enterprise SEO involves complex strategies and techniques to manage large-scale online presence, often requiring specialized tools and expertise.

Small Business SEO is tailored to meet the needs of smaller businesses with limited budgets and resources, providing cost-effective solutions to improve online visibility.

An SEO reseller program allows businesses to offer these services to their own clients, often with a white-label option to maintain their own brand identity.

Becoming an SEO specialist requires a unique set of skills and expertise. Having a degree in marketing, computer science, or a related field can be an advantage, but it's not a requirement. Many successful SEO professionals become experts through self-study, hands-on experience, and trial and error.

To become an SEO specialist, you need to familiarize yourself with popular SEO tools like GA4 (Google Analytics 4) and Semrush. Google Analytics is a web-based analytics tool that tracks website and app traffic, providing insights into user behavior and website performance.

An SEO specialist works with businesses or individuals to develop search engine optimisation strategies that are designed to improve rankings, increase visibility, and meet unique KPIs. Their goal is to increase exposure for keywords and search phrases that increase bookings, online sales, or grow brand awareness.

To succeed in this field, you need to be able to analyze data, possess technical skills, communicate effectively, stay up to date with the latest trends, adapt to changes, and continuously learn and develop your skills. A successful SEO specialist should possess traits such as an inquisitive nature, driven by data, and a tech-forward approach.

Here are some essential skills and characteristics to look for in an SEO specialist:

An SEO specialist needs to understand the ins and outs of search engines in order to help businesses achieve their inbound marketing goals. They should have a strong understanding of SEO best practices, keyword research, and analytics.

As an SEO specialist, you have a wide range of career paths open to you. You can start in a junior role on an internship and then move to SEO executive, and eventually become an SEO manager or account manager.

With experience, you may take on additional responsibilities such as managing budgets and training junior team members. You'll have overall responsibility for managing accounts, strategy, and digital marketing campaigns.

You can also work independently as a freelance SEO consultant, SEO trainer/speaker, or SEO journalist/blogger, or transition to related areas like web development or data analysis.

As an SEO specialist, you have a wide range of career paths open to you. You'll generally start in a junior role on an internship and then move to SEO executive.

With experience, you can become an SEO manager or account manager, then head of SEO to head of digital. However, you could equally move from SEO executive to a copywriter or content marketing manager role and move into a broader digital marketing route earlier on.

Some professionals work independently as freelance SEO consultants, SEO trainers/speakers, and SEO journalists/bloggers. It's less common for SEO specialists to switch to entirely different fields due to the specialized nature of their skills.

If you reach digital account director level, you'll have overall responsibility for managing accounts, strategy, and digital marketing campaigns. You'll take on additional responsibilities such as budgets and training and mentoring junior members of the team.

Reaching digital account director level requires experience and the ability to show that you meet the specified criteria, which includes a certain level of Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

As an SEO specialist, your earning potential can vary greatly depending on your location, experience, and industry. You can expect to earn anywhere from £22,000 to £32,000 for a junior SEO role at an agency.

Freelance SEO specialists can charge anywhere from £100 to £250 per day, depending on their experience. This can add up to a significant income, especially if you're able to secure high-paying clients.

The average pay for an SEO specialist is $61,206, according to Indeed, Ziprecruiter, Glassdoor, and Salary.com. This figure can vary greatly depending on your location, with U.S. SEO specialists earning an average of around $70 per hour.

Your salary can also be influenced by your years of industry experience, the industry you work in, job location, and expertise. For example, experienced SEO specialists with technical or conversion rate optimisation expertise can earn between £35,000 to £45,000.

Here's a rough idea of what you can expect to earn in different countries:

Keep in mind that these figures are just a guide, and your actual earnings can vary greatly depending on your specific circumstances.

As you explore the world of SEO, you may come across two roles that often get confused with each other: SEO Specialist and SEO Consultant.

An SEO Specialist typically focuses on implementing and executing SEO strategies, often working closely with a team to optimize website content, improve page speed, and ensure technical SEO best practices are in place. They may also be responsible for conducting keyword research and analyzing website analytics.

An SEO Consultant, on the other hand, takes a more strategic approach, often focusing on high-level decision-making and providing expertise to clients or stakeholders on how to improve their website's visibility and search engine rankings. They may also offer guidance on content marketing and link building strategies.

An SEO specialist typically works with a small number of clients at a time, focusing on one or two aspects of SEO.

The main difference between an SEO specialist and an SEO agency is the scope of work. An SEO specialist is an independent contractor, whereas an SEO agency has a team of specialists working together to achieve the best outcome.

An SEO agency will have a team of on-site, off-site, content, and technical SEO specialists working simultaneously to deliver end-to-end SEO solutions.

If you're looking for help with a single aspect of an SEO strategy, hiring a freelance SEO specialist might be a good choice.

An SEO company is made up of a collective of SEO specialists with different skills, which can be beneficial for businesses seeking comprehensive SEO solutions.

SEO consultants are in high demand, and qualified professionals have the ability to change the trajectory of a business. Hundreds of factors go into ranking a website, making it a complex and challenging field.

SEO specialists need to stay on their toes and continue to learn about the latest trends and changes in the industry.