What Is an SEO Specialist? And How to Become (or Hire) One

Summary

Learn the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) specialists:

What is an SEO specialist?

An SEO specialist is an in-house, freelance, or contracted professional responsible for improving a website’s organic search result visibility. SEO professionals use soft and hard skills to analyze performance, make site updates, and collaborate with other professionals, like web developers.

What does an SEO specialist do?

An SEO specialist optimizes a website to improve its visibility in organic search results on Google, Bing, and other search engines. Their typical workday includes analyzing website analytics data, developing SEO content, and implementing on-site updates.

How much does an SEO specialist make?

The average salary for SEO specialists is $45,000 to $75,000. How much SEO specialists make depends on several factors, including their location and experience, as well as the role’s requirements and the company’s marketing budget.

What education do SEO specialists need?

Many SEO specialists obtain a bachelor’s degree in areas like:

• Marketing
• Public relations
• IT or computer science
• Data or statistics

But you don’t necessarily need a background in one of those areas to become an SEO specialist. Many SEO specialists receive on-the-job training, especially when working in an agency setting.

What skills do SEO specialists need?

Like any role, SEO specialists require soft and hard skills, including:

Because SEO specialists are responsible for a site’s search performance, they need a diverse skill set that includes multiple types of SEO, like on-page, off-page, technical SEO, and local SEO. 

Let’s dive into the different skills of an SEO specialist:

Soft skills

Preferred soft skills for SEO professionals include:

Adaptable

Search changes fast. As an SEO specialist, you’ll need to adapt to algorithm changes to grow (and maintain) a website’s organic visibility.

Curious

While there are established best practices and ranking factors for search, curious SEOs are the ones that discover new tactics for improving their site’s visibility in search results.

Collaborative

As an SEO professional, you’ll collaborate with other website stakeholders, like:

• Web developers
• Website designers
• Public relations
• And more

In most cases, this requires educating team members about search engine optimization.

Communication

Whether you’re communicating with website stakeholders or business leaders, you need communication skills. This skill includes verbal, text, and even visual communications, like presentations or reports.

Analytical

From Google Analytics 4 to Google Search Console, data is critical to SEO professionals. You’ll review and research this data to determine optimizations, understand algorithm updates, and compile recommendations.

Hard skills

Preferred hard skills for SEO professionals include:

On-page SEO

On-page SEO focuses on website optimization, like enhancing your content and improving your internal linking strategy. Within the realm of on-page SEO, specialists may concentrate in areas like by offering SEO content services.

Off-page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to strategies that take place outside your website, like earning backlinks from reputable sites. SEO specialists in this area will focus on boosting your presence across the web.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO ensures the backend of your site functions at its best, so your site loads and functions at its prime. Often, technical SEO requires development skills.

Commonly, SEO experts work in multiple areas of SEO, combining experience in all areas to promote a comprehensive strategy and results.

Website analytics

As an SEO professional, you’ll use website analytics throughout your workday. That’s why it’s important to build an understanding of website analytics, which can include the different metrics and dimensions, and how to evaluate them.

Platforms

While requirements vary, most SEO specialist positions (unless entry-level) will require Google Analytics 4 and/or Google Search Console experience. Many will also request experience with SEO tools, like Ahrefs or Semrush.

Note: There are plenty of free courses from these platforms for learning how to use them!

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Digital marketing

SEO is a type of digital marketing strategy, and an effective digital marketing plan uses multiple strategies, from SEO to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. When you have digital marketing experience, you understand how to coordinate SEO efforts with other strategies.

Professional writing

Content is a critical part of search engine optimization, which is why having professional writing experience is a plus for SEO specialists. That’s because you can leverage this experience to develop, write, and/or edit SEO content in-house.

HTML

Websites vary, and if your website uses HTML, you’ll need a basic understanding of this programming language to make site updates. Understanding HTML can also help you better communicate with other site stakeholders, like web developers.

Where do SEO specialists work?

SEO specialists can work in multiple capacities, including:

• Freelancer
• Contractor
• At an SEO agency
• As an in-house team member

If you opt to work as a freelancer, contractor, or SEO agency team member, you’ll get diverse experience by supporting companies across industries. In comparison, in-house SEOs focus solely on the business’s site.

How do I become an SEO specialist?

Learn how to become an SEO specialist with these tips:

• Take free SEO courses
• Create your own site and practice!
• Search for internships or entry-level SEO roles (like at WebFX!)

Why partner with an SEO specialist?

SEO specialists partner with businesses in all industries to help them achieve higher online rankings, leads, and revenue.

If you want to show up at the top of online results when people search keywords or phrases related to your business, you’ll want to work with an SEO provider.

While it may be tempting to take on SEO projects yourself, remember that SEO requires technical expertise and experience to yield the best results. As noted above, some SEO strategies require knowledge of development practices that many businesses can’t implement on their own.

Partnering with a reputable SEO specialist, or team of SEO specialists at an agency, will set you up for long-term success.

How to choose an SEO specialist

Here are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind when vetting SEO providers.

1. Check out their portfolio of results

Reputable SEO specialists will have a track record of proven results. Scope out their site for a portfolio or results page, showcasing their work.

2. Review their pricing

Next, make sure their pricing fits your goals and budget. Keep in mind, you’ll often get what you pay for with SEO, so watch out for “cheap” SEO services.

3. Look for client testimonials

You’ll also want to look for testimonials from past or current clients. This will give you an inside look at what it’s like working with a particular SEO specialist and how they manage client expectations.

4. Be wary of “guaranteed” or “quick” results

SEO takes time, and your SEO provider should clearly communicate that expectation. If an SEO specialist promises “quick” or “guaranteed” results, it should raise some red flags.

Join award-winning SEO specialists

Whether you’re looking to become or hire an SEO specialist, you’re in the right place. WebFX (the team behind SEO.com) is an award-winning SEO company with a growing team of 500+ SEO professionals.

Learn more about our careers or SEO services today!