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- Analyse data and produce recommendations to help organisations maximise their presence on search engines
- You'll need an analytical mind, good technical ability, and problem solving skills
- You could work as a freelancer or for a marketing or advertising agency
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) specialists, analyse online traffic and search data to find out what people are searching for online and use this information to help organisations create content and advertising that will maximise their presence online.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Use specialist tools to analyse data from websites and search engines and producing reports and insights
- Produce lists of keywords, suggested content topics for blog posts, and information to guide those writing text
- Produce other material for websites to help ensure they reach the top of the results list in search engines for the topics they focus on
If you're freelance you may need to spend your time marketing your services and liaising with clients as well as undertaking work for them, but if you work in an agency you'll normally provide insights to other members of the team internally.
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
Most SEO specialists work within marketing or advertising agencies, or work as freelancers, and you'll usually work on several different projects at one time.
You'll need
This is an ideal role for someone with an interest in marketing but who has analytical ability and an interest in understanding patterns within data.You'll need excellent technical and analytical skills for this role, but also the ability to think creatively and solve problems.
You could start out by studying marketing, business, IT, or a similar subject at university, but it's not essential to have a degree.
There are new routes into this field opening up through apprenticeships and traineeships where you'll be trained while you are working. Some people transition into this field after starting out in a more generalist marketing role.
You can also study for professional qualifications from one of the professional bodies in this field like the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) or the Institute of Data & Marketing (IDM), or from a range of commercial training providers.
To build up your knowledge you could develop your own blog and optimise it, and/or gaining work experience with a marketing agency is a good way to build your knowledge and help you work out if this is the role for you.
CAREER PROSPECTS
You'll spend most of your time working in an office, but you may need to travel to visit clients, especially if you are a freelancer.