It literally pays you to be an SEO. With SEO experience on your resume, you will always find yourself in demand. Most all companies struggle to improve their SEO, and approximately 100% of small business owners don’t really understand how search works.
SEO is generally considered part of the larger digital marketing suite of skills, so if you become an expert in SEO along with several other digital marketing skills, such as using social media, you will be better positioned for success. The tips below can help you move into this field.
Go to school, young man
If you already have a college degree, there’s a good chance that you can skip this step and teach yourself the skills you need alongside reading online SEO guides and taking a few courses. However, if you don’t have one or if your degree was in a really unrelated field and you have little experience with computers at all, going to school is probably the right move. Look for a school that has a strong and up-to-date program in digital marketing.
To take the next step in life, you’ll also need money, but there are several different ways you can get what you need to cover tuition and other costs. Talk to your school about your options. Look into grants, scholarships and financial aid. Remember that you can also take out a loan from a private lender. In fact, this may be one of the easiest sources of funding to access since the process of applying and finding out if you are eligible is usually fairly quick.
Create your own website
Whether or not you’re going to school, doing your own projects can teach you a great deal. Creating a website in your free time and trying to get it to rank is one of the best ways to learn SEO.
In fact, you could even start a small side business working on websites to improve their SEO while you’re still in school. It’s never been easier. With WordPress and Squarespace; making a website has never been more accessible.
The thing to keep in mind is that most people who run businesses want to focus on selling their products or services and not on keeping up with the ever-changing world of SEO optimization. Therefore, you can probably offer them some value even if you are not yet an expert. A great area to start with this concept is social media since you likely already have your own accounts. If you learn a few tips to conquer the algorithms of social media, you have much to offer potential employers who may not be as app savvy.
Learn critical skills related to SEO
SEO and even digital marketing skills in general are not the only things you need to learn to be successful in this field. You also need to work on your writing skills because an important part of SEO is being able to come up with concise and effective meta descriptions, titles and content. In addition, you should be a good communicator. When you are working with people to understand what they need their website to be able to do, they are not always the best communicators themselves.
Being able to draw out of them and understand what they are after will be a big help for you. Analytical skills are also important. You’ll need to combine all of these skills when you put together a report for a client that examines and explains your insights based on your review of their SEO. Finally, basic developer skills, such as knowing HTML, understanding how JavaScript works and understanding WordPress and other content management systems can be helpful.
