Are you a logical thinker and a problem solver? If so, you might excel in a career as a Web Optimization Specialist. Also called an SEO Specialist, people in this career help companies improve their website conversions by choosing the best keywords, placing links, and keeping an eye on performance. If you like using digital tools and staying on top of things, SEO Specialist could be a good career for you.

What Does an SEO Specialist Do?

An SEO Specialist performs audits to check on the three pillars of Search Engine Optimization (SEO): technical SEO, on-page SEO, and off-page SEO. 

Technical SEO

Technical SEO is the collection of behind-the-scenes features that affect how a website performs. These include a clear and easy-to-use website structure, speed, mobile-friendliness, the XML sitemap, and navigation.

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On-Page SEO

On-page optimization includes the content strategy for a website. Does the content include th best keywords so search engines match them to relevant searches. On-page content is essential and refers to everything on your website, including text, keywords, images, tags, and internal links. The key strategy for on-page optimization is meeting the intent of the searcher/user with high-quality content. Ideally, you want your SEO to show that your website offers expertise in your field, has authority, and is trustworthy.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to elements like backlinks and social media that aren’t on your site but can help build authority and trust with search engines. Link building refers to the process of getting reputable and relevant websites to link to your website or content. The more references to your site or content on other sources (especially reliable ones), the better. Google uses good-quality, trustworthy references as a sign of a website’s authority—exactly what you’re aiming for! 

Job Prospects for SEO Specialists

All businesses with an online presence in industries including healthcare, technology, construction, finance, or education need SEO to enhance their virtual reach. There are plenty of careers across the country for those with a background in SEO. In the United States, Web Optimization Specialists earn an average yearly salary of about $64,000—though that number will differ depending on location. The US Bureau of Labor and Statistics doesn’t list Web Optimization Specialists separate from Marketing Analysts, but that field is expected to grow by 22% in the next ten years, which is a much higher level of growth than in most fields.

What Skills Do SEO Specialists Need? 

SEO Specialists need a mix of soft and hard skills to have a successful career. Some of those soft skills are logical reasoning, curiosity, a love of learning, and perseverance. Hard skills include website audits, keyword research, and analytics.

Soft Skills:

  • Logic and Critical Thinking - Logical reasoning is important for a career in SEO because you need to be able to interpret data and decide if a website is performing well and how to improve performance. What keywords will do the best on this website? What content attracts the target audience? SEO means endlessly tweaking different parts of the website to get the best results.
  • Curiosity - Curiosity about how search engines work and why is another important skill that will make you a good SEO Specialist. Digging into the topic and reading everything you can find, listening to podcasts, and attending conferences can help you stay on top of the fast-changing field of SEO and SEM.
  • Love of Learning - Search engines are always changing their algorithms in an effort to give users the best experience. This means that SEO Specialists and constantly learning new ways to do things and new tools to use.
  • Perseverance - The ability to stick with a problem until you solve it is another important SEO skill. It is necessary to check on websites regularly to make sure they comply with changes in order to get the best rankings.

Hard Skills:

  • Website Audits - In order to do well in search engine rankings, SEO Specialists need to be able to determine how a website is performing and make changes to improve it. The website should be user-focused, convey trustworthiness, have a mechanism for collecting user feedback, and be easy to use. Pages must load smoothly and quickly. SEO Specialists need to be familiar with website technical aspects to make changes.
  • Keyword Research - SEO Specialists need to know how to use keyword research tools like Semrush and Moz. These tools let you generate keywords and phrases to help you find the most effective keywords for your site and gives you a report on topical groups, difficulty, and Search Engine Results Pages. They can also tell you about Pay Per Click advertising, social media performance, content marketing, and insights into competitors. Learning to use these research tools is a must for SEO Specialists.
  • Analytics Tools - It’s proven that using analytics is a great way to improve your site’s user experience. It’s also imperative to use them to glean useful information about where people who visit your site are coming from and what they are doing on your site. You can also use analytics to set up goals for important key performance indicators (KPIs), such as destination (where people go when they visit your site), time (how much time they spend on each page), how many pages they visit, and/or events (such as signing up for a newsletter, clicking a video, or making a purchase). You can even get as specific as figuring out what keywords potential customers enter into the search bar and incorporate that into your site. 

Learn SEO

Noble Desktop also offers several courses in SEO training. These classes are available in-person at Noble’s NYC location, or students can attend live online SEO classes from anywhere in the world. Not interested in taking a longer course but still want to learn? Get a general overview of SEO and learn where to focus your SEO efforts with Noble’s free SEO seminar. Another free resource available from Noble Desktop is their SEO blog, which has a wealth of informative articles about search engine optimization, including topics like 8 Ways to Improve Site Speed, SEO for Dummies, and Tools of a Search Marketer.

Learning Digital Marketing

If you want to change careers and become a Web Optimization Specialist, you could go to college or you could sign up for a digital marketing bootcamp. For example, Noble Desktop’s Digital Marketing Strategies Bootcamp covers the role of digital marketing in today’s business landscape, as well as how to design successful email campaigns, optimize websites and landing pages for conversions, and create content to drive traffic to your or your company’s website by engaging your audience. SEO Bootcamp will teach you how search engines work, how to do keyword research and competitor analysis, and how to use SEO-driven content to increase web traffic. You can also sign up for a Google Analytics Bootcamp to learn how to set up an account, know which metrics to track, and understand the Google Analytics reports. Each bootcamp includes 12 hours of instruction and costs $650.

Another way to prepare for a career as a Web Optimizations Specialist is a digital marketing certificate course. Noble’s Digital Marketing Certificate includes the digital marketing, SEO, and Google Analytics bootcamps, plus Google Ads and classes on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and X (formerly known as Twitter) marketing, as well as content marketing with blogs. You can choose classes that meet in-person or online. Some people prefer to attend brick-and-mortar sessions when learning new information, but that isn’t always available. Live online classes have a similar set-up with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and take control of your monitor—with permission—to show you how to do things. Training is part or full-time and available weekdays, weeknights, or weekends.

It takes 78 hours of instruction to complete a digital marketing certificate through Noble Desktop, and the tuition is $3,295. An installment plan and loans are available. You can choose between full or part-time classes and classes that meet during the day, evening, or on weekends. When you successfully complete the course, you will receive a verified digital certificate of completion recognized by the New York State Department of Education that you can download or post on your LinkedIn profile. This type of certification can help you get a job as a Content Marketer.

Conclusion

If you want to learn more about digital marketing careers, check out Noble Desktop’s Digital Marketing Certificate or Social Media Marketing Certificate. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online courses and attend from anywhere. Use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me to find other courses in digital marketing in your area.