One of the most common questions I get is “what does an SEO Specialist do?”
If are thinking of hiring a freelance SEO strategist or agency and you are wondering what this type of work involves, how much does SEO cost, or if it’s a good career move for you, then you’re in luck! This post will cover all that and more!
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So, what does an SEO Specialist do?
An SEO specialist is someone who is trained to improve your visibility on search engines.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) professionals spend time learning and understating the algorithms behind search engine results so that they can help their clients appear in SERPS.
There are various algorithm updates and changes in the SEO world every day. It’s important to be aware of this.
SEO specialists are hired simply because businesses need web traffic in order to make digital campaigns successful.
There are four main fundamentals involved in SEO work:
- On-Page SEO is about the content on your site and strategies to optimize it. This includes keyword research, content writing, and keyword optimization.
- Off-page SEO is about building your website’s public relations and strengthening these relationships to increase its authority, and reputation. This includes high–quality backlinks.
- Technical SEO is about non-content elements and methods to improve your sites’ backend structure, and foundation. This includes site speed, mobile-friendliness, indexing, crawl-ability, site architecture, structured data, and security.
- Local SEO helps your business be more visible in local search results on Google. This is vital for businesses with physical locations.
In summary, an SEO Specialist will do:
- Keyword Research
- Review of your website content or structure
- Give technical advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, site speed
- Content development strategies
- Management of online business development campaigns
- SEO Training
- Expertise in specific markets and geographies
How to become an SEO Specialist
The common steps to become an SEO professional include:
- Complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing or other business-related fields.
- Upskill: Complete SEO Courses. Some of the best ones are:
- HubSpot Academy SEO Certification
- Yoast Free SEO training for beginners
- SEO Foundations on LinkedIn
- Develop and practice your SEO skills by optimizing your own websites.
- Self-study to learn the basic to advanced SEO concepts, SEO tools, and digital marketing practices.
Who needs an SEO Specialist?
Deciding to hire an SEO expert is a big decision that can potentially improve your site and save time that you can dedicate to other things in your business.
The best time to hire an SEO Specialist is when you are:
- Opening a new business and need web visibility
- Considering a website redesign
Is SEO a one-time thing
No, search engines change EVERY DAY.
SEO is an on-going process because the Google Algorithm is constantly changing. Competitors are creating new websites and content every day and markets are evolving.
SEO needs to be part of your marketing strategy.
Why is SEO a monthly thing
Ongoing SEO is a process that involves maintenance, adapting, and seeing strategies and tactics through. Some other benefits of monthly SEO include:
- Increased visibility of your sites with search engines by improving your rankings
- SEO growth is not tied to a budget like PPC
- Adapt to algorithm updates
- Adapt to competitor changes
- Work with other digital marketing efforts
