27 Apr What Does An SEO Specialist Do?

SEO is always on the go. It’s not a one-and-done checklist that focuses on keywords and ranks. The role of your friendly neighborhood SEO specialist is much more complex. They’re your key to staying relevant and authoritative in the online space, no matter whether you’re a Fortune 50 company or corner store.

Here’s a quick overview of what an SEO specialist does, and how they work continuously to grow your business.

The Basics

SEO specialists come from varied backgrounds. You can’t really get a “degree” in SEO, although SEO certifications certainly exist. When hiring an SEO specialist, look for knowledge of HTML and CSS, which are required to do back end SEO work. If you have a content management system (CMS) like WordPress, it’s helpful to have an SEO specialist who knows the platform like the back of their hand.

An SEO specialist also needs to understand the basics of keyword research. It’s helpful to find someone who has a background in copywriting, which helps them balance the needs of both search engines and visitors to your site.

With these key qualifications in mind, let’s get into the nitty gritty of the SEO Specialist’s role.

The SEO Specialist Superhero

SEO is an ongoing practice. That means you need someone fighting in your corner every day to boost rankings and adjust to algorithm updates in a jiffy. The SEO specialist is your partner in crime for staying ahead of the curve.

The SEO specialist conducts research on evolving SEO best practices and trends. Search engines are always changing, and that’s why the work of an SEO specialist is truly never done. Their goal is to increase your site traffic organically, primarily through unpaid avenues. They combine the power of keyword targeting and UX improvements to make your site irresistible to search engines.

Although a specialist will tailor his or her work to their clients’ needs, they operate with a similar flow, no matter the niche or industry. The SEO specialist first outlines company goals; these affect every aspect of your SEO strategy. For example, does your company want more traffic to your website? More people reading your blog? A higher click-through rate? Whatever your goal, the SEO specialist tailors a plan designed just for you.

Next, the specialist conducts a competitive analysis. This identifies how your company ranks compared to other businesses in your niche. The analysis compares your user experience, speed, keyword ranking, and other factors against your competitors.

The SEO specialist takes this information and uses it to conduct keyword research, where they use your desired outcome to strategize more effective keywords.

After establishing a baseline through a bit of research, the SEO specialist gets to work. They often make backend fixes to your site, like adding meta details, to make it more appealing to search engines.

The SEO specialist often helps businesses develop content to rank more easily for keywords through blogs, social media, and more. Some SEO specialists will write the content themselves, and others partner with your content development or marketing team to make the magic happen.

The bottom line

SEO doesn’t have to be a mystery when you partner with an SEO specialist. They play a vital role in your business’s online performance. Invest in SEO to stay ahead of the competition by having an advocate in your corner every step of the way.