Want to know more about being an SEO specialist? Then you’re in the right place.

There are various pathways to becoming an SEO specialist, and in this blog, we’ll provide you with all of the practical steps you need (from online SEO courses to hands-on experience) to help you make your way in the world of SEO.

Let’s dive in! 

What Is An SEO Specialist?

An SEO specialist optimises web pages for relevant keywords in search results.

This effort helps websites grow their search engine rankings, leading to more organic traffic, increasing leads, and elevating brand recognition.

By fine-tuning content and technical performance, website structure and authority, they ensure users find what they’re looking for when they use search engines to find information, products or services. 

Where Do SEO Specialists Come From?

SEO specialists often have diverse educational backgrounds, usually degrees in communications, marketing, or writing.

They typically bring prior experience in marketing, SEO, or communications roles – although many SEO specialists don’t start in this field directly.

They often begin in different areas, then build their technical skills and use their transferable skills and education to switch to an SEO role.

For example, I started in Search Assessment for Bing, then was hired and trained in a junior role for six months until I became an SEO professional. Many of the staff here at StudioHawk come from a variety of backgrounds, from bartending through to marketing or journalist positions.

This is because there’s no specific degree for Search Engine Optimisation – and often education systems that are incorporating this skillset into their course finds their material to be quickly out of date due to the fast-changing nature of the industry.

In place of this, SEO professionals often take courses to supplement their SEO knowledge and have industry-recognised certification behind their skills.

What Are SEO Specialist Job Responsibilities?

An SEO specialist's duties vary based on their work environment: digital agency, in-house, or freelance.

Everyday tasks you'll see in job descriptions include knowledge of SEO, analysing and optimising website content for better search rankings, researching keywords, and developing SEO strategies:

1. Conducting Keyword Research: This is the foundational step for all SEO efforts, choosing the correct key terms to optimise for positions for target keywords.
2. SEO Audits: This is the technical SEO health check-up analysis, ensuring the website is optimised for user experience and search engine readability.
3. Optimising Web Pages: This fine-tuning process involves making technical adjustments to improve search engines' and users' understanding of the website.
4. Improving Accessibility: Ensuring the website is accessible to all users, including those using assistive technologies, enhances the user experience and SEO.
5. Writing Meta Descriptions and Title Tags: Crafting these elements effectively summarises and highlights what users can expect from your web pages, influencing click-through rates.
6. Working with Web Developers: Collaborating with the website development team ensures the website's technical structure aligns with SEO best practices.
7. SEO in Content Creation: Guiding content creators to include search terms and elements that search engines want to see increases content visibility, whether a blog post or a category page for an e-commerce brand.
8. Creating and Executing Link Building Strategy: Strategically planning and establishing backlinks through guest posting, skyscraper method, or digital PR to enhance the site's authority and rankings.
9. Monitoring Changes in Search Engine Algorithms: Staying updated with the latest algorithm changes in major search engines ensures the website remains compliant and effective in its SEO strategies.
10. SEO Experiments: When in doubt, test it out. SEO can be too theory-based on understanding the search engines, so at times, SEO specialists must conduct tests to prove what works.
11. Managing SEO Budgets: Acting as a financial planner involves overseeing the budget, ensuring efficient use of resources for SEO efforts and overall search engine marketing.
12. Building Comprehensive Reports to Track Progress: Compiling data on key performance metrics like rankings, organic search traffic, engagement, and conversion provides insights into the effectiveness of the SEO strategies.
13. Navigating SEO ROI: Return on investment in SEO is one of the hardest to directly measure as it's based on organic reach, which can be merged with other traffic channels. Hence, analysing metrics with SEO tools to determine traffic from search engines and optimisation strategies is a constant task.
14. Managing Overall SEO Strategy: This final step involves coordinating all efforts, ensuring a unified approach to an SEO campaign across the organisation's digital marketing strategy, and aligning with the brand or business's goals. 

Simply put, an SEO specialist is a mix of a strategist, data scientist, financial planner, technician, implementer, networker, team manager, and creative.

Many SEO experts will agree it's a diverse set of skills for this particular field.

Here's a video guide on what an SEO specialist does:

Reasons to Become an SEO Specialist

These are the reasons to pursue a career as an SEO specialist:

1. Easy to Jump Into: This is the first step in your SEO journey. With the availability of online SEO courses, you can begin learning the essentials of SEO from home, setting the foundation for your career.
2. Constant Changes: Once you start, you'll quickly appreciate the complex nature of SEO. Its ever-changing rules and the unique challenges different brands present keep the work exciting.
3. Content Creation: As you delve deeper, if you have a passion for writing or content strategy, you'll find that crafting compelling content is a core of SEO.
4. Diverse Work: Your creativity isn't limited to writing blogs. SEO encompasses many activities, from optimising user experience to enhancing website design, video, etc.
5. High Demand for SEO Services: As you establish your skills, you'll notice the high demand for SEO expertise in companies.
6. Job Security: The consistent demand for digital marketing skills, particularly in SEO, offers job security for working at an SEO agency or in-house, a crucial factor in any career choice.
7. Freelance Opportunities: SEO offers numerous freelance opportunities for those who prefer flexibility. As an SEO consultant, you can work remotely, choose your clients, and enjoy the benefits of being your boss.
8. Promising Career Development Opportunities: Lastly, as SEO evolves, so will your career. Continuous learning and adaptation means progression in SEO and digital marketing.

Traits of Successful SEO Specialists

These top required skills for SEO specialists:

1. Collaborative Nature: Top SEO specialists understand that achieving success in SEO is a team sport. They excel in collaborating with others, integrating various skills from technical SEO to content marketing, and making teamwork easy.
2. Continuous Learning: The best in the field never stop learning as SEO develops and changes.
3. Adaptability: They thrive on change, especially in the face of changes to search engine algorithms, showing flexibility in their strategies and approaches. That's the core of optimisation.
4. Critical Thinking: The best SEO specialists possess sharp analytical minds. They look at data and discern patterns and strategies, understanding what happens and why and what to do about it.
5. Excellent Communication Skills: SEO professionals are also great writers and speakers. They have the rare ability to distill complex marketing concepts into understandable terms, making them effective communicators with teams and clients alike.
6. Strong Soft Skills: Networking prowess and interpersonal abilities are often the secret weapons of top SEO experts. They excel in building online and offline connections, which is crucial for staying integrated into the SEO community.
7. Advanced Data Skills: High ability in data tools like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and scraping tools.
8. Analytical Mind: Their expertise in using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to develop ideas and draw conclusions.
9. Technical and Programming Know-How: While not all top SEO specialists are programmers, their understanding of technical and programming aspects enhances their effectiveness significantly, especially in making informed recommendations on technical SEO.

You'll notice these traits in industry leaders; having 10+ years of experience in the game requires a certain level of mastery of these traits and skills.

Qualifications To Be An SEO Specialist

As mentioned before, there are no official formal qualifications you need.

A degree or diploma in IT, business, technology, or marketing is a great start.

This education gives you a strong foundation; most SEO skills are drawn from working in the industry.

However, being familiar with how search engines work is a very crucial qualification.

Understanding their algorithms helps you create strategies that work.

This is where SEO courses are precious to earn your "qualification" to become an SEO specialist.

Who Do SEO Specialists Work With?

If an SEO specialist is in-house, they are integrated with marketing teams, collaborating closely with social media, general marketing, and email marketing roles.

They may also work with external digital marketing agencies to support their initiatives.

Working as a consultant in a digital marketing agency, however, an SEO specialist will be working with account managers internally and with a marketing team of the brand the agency is partnered with as a client.

SEO Specialist Job Outlook

An SEO specialist's salary varies based on experience and location.

In major cities like Melbourne and Sydney, entry-level specialists might initially earn a lower average salary, while experienced SEO experts can command higher wages.

The SEO industry was valued at $68.1 billion globally in 2022, with projections to hit $129.6 billion by 2030. This suggests increasing salaries as demand rises and exciting career prospects.

However, these forecasts should have accounted for the disruptive impact of generative AI, which poses potential risks to the industry's relevance.

So, How Do I Start My Career In SEO?

Starting is the hardest part. I know personally it€™s quite intimidating to try and learn SEO from the ground up.

I recommend getting an entry-level role at a digital marketing agency focused on SEO.

Is StudioHawk hiring for SEO Specialists?

 Yes, we're constantly looking for new SEO nerds to join our ever-growing team. You can check out our SEO careers page for more information and apply directly to us.

Luckily, I started at StudioHawk and got a robust and first-hand experience in the SEO industry. We also have our own learning platform called Hawk Academy which has a complete roadmap for learning SEO from scratch!

Final Word

Embarking on a career as an SEO specialist combines ongoing learning and adaptability.

This role merges creativity with analytical skills, demanding various abilities, from technical expertise to outstanding communication.

Ideal for newcomers or job switchers, SEO presents a rewarding path with chances for development, innovation, and significant growth in your career.

FAQs for SEO Specialists

How good is a career in SEO for the future?

A career in SEO is a promising path for the future. As technology and digital marketing rapidly evolve, expertise in search engine optimisation offers exciting, challenging opportunities. SEO professionals who keep pace with trends and refine their skills can outshine competitors.

How hard is it to learn SEO?

Becoming skilled in SEO basics is achievable for anyone with time and effort. It involves dedication to learning, practicing, and keeping abreast of evolving SEO techniques. With commitment, one can gain the necessary skills to apply SEO on websites or blogs effectively.

Is SEO a stressful job?

SEO is a challenging and demanding job. Results may take time; however, consistent effort and meticulous progress tracking are crucial for success. This makes SEO a potentially stressful yet rewarding profession.

Is SEO a high-paying job?

Yes, for having experience, the skills to match, and a proven track record of SEO results, SEO can be a lucrative career, particularly as you get the opportunity to become an enterprise SEO manager, senior SEO specialist, or Head of SEO.