Ameliapro From my point of view, an seo specialist should be : • should have an analytical mind that's capable of differentiating correlation and causation. • requires not only confidence but the ability to distill complex ideas and thoughts down into concepts that non-SEO people can understand and make decisions with. • make recommendations about page speed, rendering, lazy loading, server side redirects, microdata tagging, and basic HTML tags • made so many great relationships and learned so much just by hanging out at the conference bars. To do that, however, you can't be a creep and you have to be able to get along with others. • A basic understanding of business Key Performance Indicators (KPI)s is also required for proper SEO strategy. JungleBruce In your opinion, what do you think are the main tasks for an SEO Specialist at a company? I got out of 4 years in an agency a few months ago. One thing that really irked my former boss was when we'd be dreaming of blue skies and big money. I'd tell him to imagine what it would be like when had big budgets, huge staff, and operated like a real company. As in, with clear roles and defined systems etc. That shit doesn't exist. It's ego-driven fly-by-night winging it all the way. First, sales people (usually great talkers but tech illiterates) will 'hook' business owners who are also tech illiterate. Next, they lock them down into a long-term deal (usually paid up-front). Then the work gets passed on to you, the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) dope of the moment. Yes, it will be writing, and SEO etc. Any time a marketing or sales person farts a whip will crack and you will get assigned new projects. Those usually have vague parameters with high expectations of glory. You'll probably get into proposal writing as well. As in… a salesman will ask you to write a report about why BobsPestBrisbane.com.au isn't ranking #1 for 'termite control Brisbane carpets'. After a while it will descend into a blur of bullshit that goes nowhere. When it goes nowhere, salesmen will yell at you, clients will yell at you. Everyone will treat you like a leper, even though you did exactly what they told you to. From experience, the trick is to work that game as its played. On a business built on bullshit, it's pretty easy to bullshit your bosses (likely fast talkers who don't know Search Engine Optimization (SEO)). I did 4 years working full-time remote but doing 3-6 hours per day. I put the rest of each day (and more) into affiliate sites. Now, my affiliate sites support me full-time. In that regard, it was worth the struggle indeed! 4 years of grinding, but nice payoff! As a job, SEO agency work is a thankless grind – unless you prepare to make the most of it. Play the game, give 'em what they want, use the tools and learn the trade. Then do Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for yourself!!! Sorry for the ramble, super glad to get that off my chest, I hope it helps answer OP's question! My trick when the shit hit the fan was to whip up a new report using shiny new graphics, pitching new ideas. Keyword cannibalization was my go-to. Run any site through Ahrefs and you'll find dozens of pages lol. Write up Google docs report with huge siren and warning images. Fire it off to clients directly in an email, cc salemen/ manager. When the salesmen/manager complain, tell them the problem was too urgent to wait, and you needed to take fast action. That cuts them out of the dialogue and puts everyone off balance and uncertain, with you as the SEO hero. Clients and bosses in unison will drop b1tching, latch on to the new idea, get manic, micromanage new idea down to dust and then start yelling again. That could buy me up to 6 months of easy street, depending on the pitch. Whenever the yelling and blame starts, write a new report.
tmblast1 A specialist's role is primarily implementing the strategy (creating internal links, adding ALT tags to pictures, updating title tags, etc.) and more for the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) channel to grow. The specialist can also work between departments (like engineers or content writers) to get tasks completed to move the task forward. This is more day-to-day SEO tasks An analysts role is diving deep into the data to spot trends for the specialist to implement. The analyst can also present the cost-savings / revenue opportunity for achieving certain benchmarks for the SEO channel to the manager / diretor SEO manager / director is more storytelling than day-to-day SEO work. Taking the recommendations from the analyst and the work by the specialist, they can pitch and prioritize marketing budgets to implement strategies for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The manager / director is primarily put under pressure from the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) to deliver on company goals and properly forecast what SEO can provide to the bottom line. stillyoinkgasp • Direct on-site strategy as it relates to SEO. This can include User Experience (UX), content, and technical components not always tied to SEO (site speed, for example) • For local businesses, it should also include some level of Google My Biz (GMB) management/optimization and review curation • Direct the content strategy as it relates to Search Engine Optimization (SEO); call out blog topics that are searched and popular; ensure that the content aligns with SEO best practices • Review analytics/search console/tracking toolsets (SEMrush, Ahrefs , etc.) to find opportunities to improve engagement; use analytics to measure and benchmark on-site metrics and test for areas of opportunity to improve • A certain level of Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) should exist in a modern SEO users arsenel • Manage the outreach/Public Relations (PR) campaigns and ensure that authority is being built effectively Probably more, but off the top of my head that's what comes to mind. Rept4r7 Main tasks: • Keyword research • Keyword optimization • Link building • Technical SEO (tags, schema, broken links, 404s, redirects, duplicate content, page speed, sitemaps, etc.) • Tracking (probably Google Analytics (GA) with goals, Google Search Console (GSC), and Google Tag Manager (GTM), along with at least one SEO tool to track rankings) • Reporting hirenjoshi90 SEO Specialist = Analyst (Marketer + Analytics) • Marketer a. This is very important because If you don't have that Marketer's Mindset you can not become good at SEO why? Keyword research(Heart of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)). To perform keyword research you should know your buyer/customer, their behaviour their pattern the kind of keywords they can search for. b. Once you know which keywords to target, next you should know when and how to get more customers clicking your search results(ofcourse, once appear in the upper fold of the pages). Yes! I am talking about writing the Metas and stuff. Gone are the days when you put keywords at xyz place and your done. Now it's more about Click Through Rate (CTR). And if you somehow managed to get a click, there comes Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). 2. Analytical a. One should know which keyword to pick for the next set of activities for next month/week. How? Using different tools (SEMrush, ahref etc.) For instance Picking those terms which are ranking from 11-50 has a great potential, specially one with good amount of monthly searches. b. Analysing what competitors are doing and following the same by adding your own experience and skills. c. Analysis Skills also helps somewhat in Reporting and predicting future trends for your client. This sometimes becomes must have Skills when it comes to retaining clients.
