Search engine optimization (SEO) is at the very heart of digital marketing. When you’ve got the answer that people are looking for, you need to make sure that they find you first, and that’s where SEO comes in. SEO is both a science and an art, and trained, qualified professionals are in high demand. A career in SEO can be rewarding, exciting, and profitable, but you need to start on the right foot and work hard to achieve your goals. So, how can you achieve a successful career in SEO?
First-principles
Before looking for work or starting formal training and education, you can and should establish a firm grip on exactly how search engines work and what SEO means. Understanding the basic principles will give you a strong foundation on which to build. By becoming comfortable with SEO terminology and knowing your backlinks from your black hats, you’ll be better equipped to start engaging with the field as a student, trainee, or professional.
Learn copywriting
A career in SEO isn’t just about technical skills. Old-fashioned writing ability is also vital if you’re going to get your message across. In essence, SEO is a subset of copywriting, which means that you must be able to create perfectly crafted content to tight deadlines, including titles, headings, meta descriptions, and body text.
Doing this requires first-class grammatical skills, spelling, and the ability to write clear, concise text while understanding that each different market may call for a different tone of voice and being able to supply that. Contrary to popular belief, written communication is more important than ever in the digital age. Read widely, practice regularly, and keep a portfolio of your best work.
Get an education
To pursue a successful SEO career, you’ll need appropriate qualifications. Options range from college degrees to industry-specific training courses and certification. Ideally, you’ll have a combination of both.
If you already have a bachelor’s degree in any subject, you can take an online master’s in marketing that you can complete in as little as 15 months. Because the course is entirely online, you can work at your own pace and fit it around your current job or other responsibilities. This will teach you how to combine strategic storytelling with marketing analysis while using digital technology, which is ideal for a career in SEO.
Technical and developing skills
As an SEO manager, you won’t need to be a website developer, but you will need to communicate effectively with web developers as part of your job. That means you’ll need to understand the basics of what they do, including what can easily be achieved and what can’t, and how to ask for the changes you need. Ideally, you should understand basic HTML coding and JavaScript while having an excellent working knowledge of WordPress and similar content management systems.
You won’t necessarily need to learn about artificial intelligence, but it’s important to have at least an awareness of it and how it affects your work. Basic technical competence in editing and link management is essential and should feel like second nature. It’s a good idea too to refresh your development skills regularly to keep up to date with the fast pace of technological trends.
Data analysis tools
Data analysis is an essential part of SEO work. You’ll need to be at home with tools like Google Analytics as well as with spreadsheets in Excel, Google Sheets, and other widely used productivity apps. Specific SEO tools include SEMRUSH, Yoast SEO, and the various options built into Google Chrome.
Familiarize yourself with Google Webmaster guidelines to avoid being penalized for accidentally breaking the rules. Most people don’t realize that the world’s leading search engine has strict SEO rules and that they are frequently updated. Failure to comply could mean losing ranking and defeating all your hard work.
While not strictly SEO, understanding and being able to use Google Ads generally goes along with SEO in most digital marketing roles. Google is the world’s biggest search engine, and paid Google ads usually top the rankings for any given keyword. You can take a course to become Google Ads certified which will undoubtedly help your search for SEO work in the future.
Creating your website
Creating your own website is the best way to build up your SEO skills and have something to show for it. Your site will be an essential showcase for your abilities when you start applying for jobs. It will demonstrate that you have experience in improving a website’s search rankings. You don’t have to get it right the first time; leaving room for improvement is vital, so long as your rankings visibly improve over time.
Your website should target a specific audience and use relevant keywords to reach them. The goal is a steady flow of organic traffic that you can measure and explain to potential employers and clients. Learning from your mistakes on a live website of your own is the best way to master SEO.
Finding outside work
Once you’ve created your website and completed the SEO process, you should take your skills to your first outside client. This may or may not be paid work. The important thing is to gain valuable SEO experience working for a third party. This will enhance your existing skills and fill out your CV. Also, being able to negotiate with a client and translate their needs into real-world results is an essential skill for anyone working in SEO.
Building a prosperous SEO career relies on having a genuine passion for this field and a willingness to work hard and achieve results. You’ll need to keep your skills and knowledge current while constantly creating fresh content that meets SEO guidelines. With a bit of luck and a lot of graft, you’ll find yourself in a hugely rewarding and satisfying job, offering different daily challenges in a stimulating and fast-moving environment.
