Things to Know When Starting a Career in SEO

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is all about optimizing a website to drive traffic growth from search engines. It includes all the organic methods of increasing the traffic by making the site more relevant and optimized for all devices. It’s different from paid traffic and doesn’t include any method that brings in paid traffic.

There are many types of Digital Marketing campaigns, and they are email marketing, social media marketing, content creation, blogs, etc. Email Marketing is a marketing method of sending a commercial message to a group of people, potential customers, and to leads. The advantage of this method is that you deliver your message straight to your customer. Social Media Marketing is all about using social media as a platform to market your products and services.

Blogs generally are written content that professionals write on a digital platform. They can spread their ideas, products, and services for which they create content on a regular basis. This consistent marketing effort will create their followers and readers who will help in getting a high conversion rate.

Take note of the position of this SEO image, SEO is easier than you think :

A company runs many Digital Marketing campaigns to target their customers, gauge customer retention, understand a new market, analyze good timing, and attract new customers to use their product and services. Whatever may be the campaign, the SEO rules all of them. Without a good SEO strategy, you cannot get the results you set up. That’s why marketing agencies will not take a step back when it comes to maximizing SEO strategy.

SEO could be termed as a subset of SEM (Search Engine Marketing). SEM includes paid searches, Google ads, PPC (pay-per-click) ads, etc. The ads that you see in Search engine results when you search, all come under SEM. There are clear differences in approach between SEO and SEM. SEM is an easy approach to increase traffic. But SEO is for the longer term and takes huge effort in building credibility and traffic through quality content. SEO drives traffic by using various organic techniques. So this comes under lead generation and marketing. That’s why SEO professionals are in huge demand because they will always remain in demand and bring in huge profits to the agency or company they are working for.

SEO is a huge domain by itself, and there are multiple strategies, techniques, and methods that come into play for helping you become an SEO specialist. So here are some prominent things to keep in mind to pursue a career in SEO:

What is SEO Marketing? And are you interested in it? 

What is SEO? We have already discussed SEO initially, it’s all about optimizing a website, website, blog, or web page that drives traffic or increases the number of viewers. SEO is a part of the Digital Marketing efforts of a company. Every company in this digital era will invest in SEO to boost their brand awareness no matter whichever campaign they take up.

Speaking of interest, you must take a great look at the career in the SEO domain if you are looking to make a career in this domain. You must also remember that Google keeps updating its search policies. So you must follow and keep up with the latest trend to capitalize on organic traffic. So if you are someone who is looking for a job with a flat learning curve.

Then I would tell you to reconsider your interest. In contrast, if you are willing to learn something new every day and are okay with little volatility then you can take up this job.

Identify the depth of the domain and find out the qualifications required

Before venturing out to this domain, you must check out the depth and breadth of this domain to understand it better. Learn about the actual qualifications required to start a career in SEO. Companies at least demand a graduation degree from interested professionals. With skills and experience in working with various tools, you can climb the ladder of SEO and become an expert in it. Experts suggest the better you know how a search engine algorithm works, the better are the opportunities for you. 

For that to happen you must be proficient in the domain or you must understand the business well to make choices. Let’s say for example you will be working for health and fitness. Then you need to understand every aspect of the domain before setting up a strategy for increasing the rankings of the website. You need to know what are trending concepts in the fitness domain to be able to better be able to help the team of SEO professionals work towards achieving the objective of increasing the ranks of your digital content.

Develop the skills to become an SEO expert

The right skills are necessary to become an SEO expert. And if you are aiming for that, then you must start from today itself. Because Google changes its search and ranking algorithms from time to time. You don’t need to acquire coding skills, but having a little HTML knowledge will help you in the longer run. 

Some of the top skills that are required of SEO experts are: 

HTML, Data Analytics, WordPress (or any other CMS), Keyword research, competitor analysis, link building, content writing, etc. 

Experts recommend enrolling in industry-grade courses which will help you acquire and strengthen SEO skills. I recommend you check out this SEO Course. This course will help you learn SEO from scratch to advance in an end-to-end manner.

Learn SEO tools techniques

SEO without tools in nothing. This statement would have made it clear how important tool knowledge is. The right list of tools is much better than and makes your life easier than working with a totally wrong set of tools. I will list out certain tools here which are popular and does get the job done: 

• SEMrush
• Ahrefs
• Google Search Console
• Google Keyword Planner
• Google Analytics
• Open Site Explorer, etc.

SEMrush is a great SEO tool. You can use it for Keyword research, PPC campaigns, link building, competitor analysis, etc. You can also use Chrome developer tools to inspect a page’s HTML code. There are many free tools that you can use to get started and practice.

No matter how big or small the optimization is, you can do so with the help of SEO tools. And for gaining complete knowledge in these tools, you can watch free YouTube videos and then enroll in a training program that will teach you these tools in a hands-on manner.

Because there are many search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, and each has its own set of algorithms. Crawlers index all the information that is out there on the internet. An SEO expert has the responsibility to assess and determine the right set of algorithms along with 200+ ranking factors. All of this must be done following SEO-friendly practices to help the website to rank higher wherever possible. There are various methods to optimize the website, both using on-page as well as off-page optimization.

Go for online certifications in SEO

There is no better solution than getting certified to bag a better opportunity. Certifications prove and validate your skill sets in front of the panel and help you become more confident. Learning the basics of SEO and getting your certification helps companies also save time to train you. Experts recommend that getting Google Cert like Google Ads, for example, will help you bag better opportunities. Every company needs a professional who has completed their formal education.

These companies would look for their experience in working with a variety of tools. Because a company will not hire you for your qualifications but will for the abilities to increase traffic and enhance rankings through organic methods and techniques. 

Prepare well for SEO interview questions

The next point would be to prepare well for SEO interview questions. You could start your preparation for an SEO profile by watching free YouTube videos on SEO Marketing, SEO tools, techniques, read blogs, articles, take up online certs, enroll in paid courses or training programs. These will help you clear technical rounds for the role of SEO. You can also take up mock tests to check your preparation level and the knowledge you possess before going for interviews. One of the best ways by which you can crack the interview is by checking out top SEO interview questions from top-rated training institutes.

Learn and understand various technical concepts through reading interview questions which are divided into fundamental, intermediate, and advanced levels. All the sets of questions are divided into these three domains. You can practice it likewise by taking up fundamental questions and then going for the intermediate and advanced ones.

Get a job in SEO, or take up an internship

If you feel that you are ready for getting a better opportunity then you should bag an internship offer or take up an SEO job. Because whatever you learn in the training, is still not going to be the same as that of the working environment. Working for an agency or company in real-time will help you learn and master SEO through real-life projects.

This exposure will help you leap forward in your career. As you will be converting your theoretical knowledge into practical application. Once you start working in a firm or company, you will get to experience it first-hand then you can decide whether this career is your one. Nick Valle of SEO agency Restoration Rocket adds, “no amount of education can replace the skills you gain by working on real-world SEO projects. You’ll learn when to use certain techniques, how to establish standard operating procedures, and how to communicate with clients.”

If you could bag an internship offer then that is well and good, as it will help you cement your position and will help you determine your career at a very early stage and without much consequence. Internships replicate the true working environment and definitely help you with the exposure part. If you are undergoing your degree, then it’s the best time to apply for internships. Now you can spend your time learning new concepts, getting experience in working with SEO tools. And then you can show your ability to bring in traffic to your potential employers. Getting first-hand experience through internships is highly recommended to help you make a proper decision that will help you be more clear which will help you in laying a good foundation for your career.

Collaborating with Digital Marketers, Content experts, and other SEO 

SEO may look for all the organic methods that bring in organic traffic, but still, it’s part of Digital Marketing. So to advance in your career it’s paramount that you develop your networking skills. It will not only help you with your career but will also help you grow and mature as a person and professional. Because networking is a must, no matter whatever role, domain, or organization you are working for.

Working with experts will help you elevate yourself professionally and will help you boost your SEO skills and knowledge. Networking will not only offer opportunities but also helps you meet new challenges, ideas, and possibilities, etc. You must remember, that SEO is a dynamic career, one that requires good networking skills to ace. You could network with developers, Digital Marketers, SEO teams, marketing managers, content specialists, etc. There are many ways to connect with these professionals, like LinkedIn, social media, workplace, even in training programs, where you can meet like-minded people, etc. Not only you will meet experienced professionals who will help you and guide you but will also get a new approach and perspective to work with.

Keep Learning and experimenting

To sustain in your career, let alone advance, you must keep yourself updated about various strategies being used. Now for this to happen, you must always inculcate a learning approach. You need to learn and experiment with new technologies and methods to expand your boundaries as an SEO professional. Always volunteer for new challenges because you can only grow and learn if you work on something you have never worked on before. 

Here are some of the career paths that being an SEO professional can advance to: 

• SEO Manager
• Digital Marketing Manager
• Content Marketer
• VP of Online Marketing
• Marketing Head, etc. 

So I hope you got to know everything about SEO that you needed to understand. Plan your career, weigh in the pros and cons, and above all, see to it that it’s what you love to do and are passionate about. Because you don’t need to be stuck behind a job or desk that you don’t find interesting or that adds value. Take up courses or undergo training to master the SEO domain.

Frequently Asked Questions on SEO

There are a lot of questions that pop into aspirants’ minds before planning on breaking into the SEO domain. I will try to answer the most popular ones to help you get a better insight.

What is Organic Traffic?  

Organic traffic is the traffic that comes to your website, blog, web page, etc., without paying money. SEO specialists aim to increase the website quality score through increasing organic traffic by optimizing their SEO strategies.

How does SEO work?

Before explaining how SEO works, you must know more about Search Engines and how they work. Search Engines index all the information generated across the internet through crawlers (bots). Whenever you update your web page, website, blog, or a single web page, these crawlers crawl it and then indexes information so that you always get the best information straight to you at the top. 

These Search Engines keep updating their search algorithms in many ways to give you quality answers that are informative, unique, and add value to the person asking. There are many search engines used by people across the globe and they are Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. And all of these search engines have their own set of algorithms to rank content on the internet. 

Now SEO professional’s main task is to sift through 200+ ranking factors and understand how these search algorithms work to help improve the website rankings. This process of optimizing the website is a constant process and a never-ending one to promote the best SEO-friendly practices to outrank your competitors. 

What are on-page and off-page SEO Marketing? 

SEO practices are always to increase traffic to your digital content. There are two ways to do this, On-page and Off-page optimization. To increase the rankings, SEO experts need to work on both on-page and off-page optimizations. There are many strategies that decide the rankings like keywords, their placement, meta descriptions, tags, titles, internal linking, response time, etc. All of these come under on-page optimization. All of these optimizations must be done within the website.

Off-page optimization includes strategies like external backlinks, DA (Domain Authority), social media marketing, page promotions, etc. Both of them are essential in increasing traffic.

What are the top SEO tools?

Here are some of the widely-used tools that every SEO expert uses to increase the page ranking. We can divide all the tools into three sections. Technical SEO tools, Keyword Tools, and Link building tools. 

• Technical SEO tools include Google Analytics, Botify, etc. 
• Keyword tools include Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, etc. 
• Link Building tools include Scrapebox, Ahrefs Site Explorer, etc.

SEO Tutorial for Beginners Step by Step SEO Training

In this SEO tutorial for beginners step by step, you will learn what is SEO, why to learn SEO, how search engine optimization is done, how to do keyword research, on-page and off-page SEO, technical SEO, what makes a good SEO website, Google algorithms and various SEO tools in detail.