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Preparing for a Career in the SEO Industry

If you want to begin your career in search engine optimization, you’ll want to do some research to figure out if this is the right path for you. While the process has been around for many years, it has only been in the past couple of years that it has really taken off, especially as a career choice. You can find a range of courses that will all prepare you to work in digital marketing, and you also have a few options online to get the necessary training. Of course, there are some other things to consider besides just the training.

Developing the Right Skills

Before you look for jobs in the industry, you’ll need to ensure you get the right SEO skills and knowledge. You’ll want to begin by developing a great understanding of search engines. That is at the core of all knowledge in the field since you’ll be optimizing pages so search engines can find them better. You’ll also want to understand the components that go into SEO processes, including off-page and on-page processes.

Taking a course in the field is one of the best ways to quickly understand the theory behind the processes. If you structure it well, you will get the needed information all in one location. You will not need to look up that information to try to learn it on your own. Depending on your career goals, you may also want to take a marketing course to give you a better background in the industry. If you are considering getting your degree, you may want to consider taking out a private student loan to cover the cost of college. It is a great way to finance the skills you need to succeed going forward.

Working on Your Writing and Developer Skills

When you optimize pages for search engines, you’ll likely need to work on headings, meta descriptions, content, and page titles. If you don’t have great writing skills, this task will be much harder. Now is the best time to improve your writing skills, and if you are getting a degree before starting your career, consider taking some English classes to do so. That will make your task much easier later on.

Of course, you can be an excellent SEO specialist even if you are not a web developer, but having the basic skills will go a long way toward helping you do your job well. It’s often important to be able to work with HTML code and understand website structuring. Even if you are not working with JavaScript, it is still a good idea to understand how it ties into everything. You will likely be working with CMS systems so you can edit page descriptions and titles as well. And you might be working with permalinks and other slightly technical aspects. You will often be working with developers to make SEO-friendly changes, so it is important to understand the terminology. That way, you can ask for the right thing.

Developing Better Analytical Skills

No matter the SEO work you are doing, it will be important to create reports for the client or the company. To create these reports, you will want to combine information from a range of sources, such as different search engine consoles or analytics partners. You will need to understand the best way to read and present your information, so it is meaningful. At the same time, you will need to remember that your client might not be as familiar with the search engine optimization process as you are, so you will need to be able to communicate it well. Being able to use spreadsheets to stay organized and keep track of information is critical.

Getting Experience

When working in the SEO field, you will need to understand more than just the basic SEO concepts. You’ll also need to practice your skills, even before getting a job or landing your first client. That way, you will have something to show you are able to improve website rankings. While your qualifications are important, you will also need to have experience showing you can increase rankings for clients. Consider setting up a website where you can research keywords and get the site on top of search engine results. Try to rank for as many keywords as possible and keep learning with each mistake. Keep working at it until you have some great traffic coming to the site, allowing you to show it to potential customers or organizations. You can then link to it on your resume.

Drew