The role of a search engine optimization (SEO) specialist is ever-changing, as the trends and algorithms of online search constantly evolve, so, it is important for an SEO Specialist to be able to think on their feet and stay ahead of these changes.
Because most companies today have a website or some type of online presence, they all need to have good SEO strategies in place to make their content more visible online. Therefore, an SEO Specialist role is relevant to any organization with a website or that publishes content online.
The overarching goal of an SEO Specialist is to drive more traffic to a website and improve the ranking of an organization’s content in search engines by analyzing and reviewing websites and implementing changes to those websites through better search strategies.
What does an SEO Specialist do, typically?
SEO Specialists must be good problem solvers and decision-makers. They should also have a good ability to recognize and prioritize what content will be relevant and engaging to audiences. Their daily responsibilities may include:
- Monitoring search algorithms set by search engines to keep up with changes in the SEO landscape
- Developing and integrating content marketing strategies
- Using social media to distribute content and encourage external sites to link back to the site of the organization
- Driving targeted and loyal traffic to the website through effective community-building
- Employing user experience (UX) and conversion rate optimization methods to turn visitors into active users
- Continually check search terms, rankings and analytics to monitor the performance of websites and make recommendations for improvement
An SEO Specialist is not:
A PPC Strategist
PPC Strategist is focused on purely pay-per-click, whereas an SEO Specialist is focused on both paid and organic search strategies and well as web optimization. See our full description for PPC Strategist here.
A Paid Media Specialist
SEO Specialists are largely focused on search and web best practices, and while search and keywords are included in a paid media specialist responsibilities, paid media specialists are more concerned overpaid and ad strategies across digital platforms. See our full job description for Paid Media Specialist here.
Important metrics for an SEO Specialist:
- Organic traffic
- Geographic location
- Conversion rate
- Number of keyword rankings
- Position in search
