SEO Analyst as a Career
Description of the Job
A SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Analyst is responsible for implementing SEO and social media strategies for clients. An analyst ensures that a business' online content can be found and viewed by potential and current customers. This analyst is part of a marketing team and is an important part in the planning of the business' marketing campaign. With their technical expertise, search engine optimization analysts are able to provide insight into search engine optimization and the user experience with digital content; they are able to relate this information to marketing managers to help shape the marketing campaign to be more successful.
Fast Facts
- Number of hours per week40-45 hours
- Average starting pay$51k Nationally, $77k in the Bay Area
- Amount of travel requiredUsually no travel
Roles & Responsibilities
- Develop and manage SEO strategies that include keyword targeting, content analysis, technical improvement, and consumer engagement
- Collaborate with other business areas and teams as needed to optimize pages or tools, and provide consultation and expert guidance
- Provide ideation as a thought partner, addressing key optimization focus areas including keyword rank and expansion, content gaps, internal linking and competitive analysis
- Assist in overseeing and troubleshooting critical SEO issues
- Identify and champion growth opportunities
- Cultivate relationships across key stakeholders including editorial, content, product and performance marketing teams
Skills Needed
- Data-driven and analytical: skilled at turning data points into actionable insights; you focus on 80:20 analysis, prioritizing speed over perfection
- Structured thinker: able to break-down opportunities into specific drivers, hypotheses and frameworks to structure your team’s thinking, generate action plans, and align stakeholders
- Strategically-minded: able to identify and prioritize strategic initiatives; eager to “think big” about attracting consumers
- Critical thinking: Think critically while considering what works for a campaign versus what the rival’s strategies are.
- Research: Should know the importance of well-researched keywords that are relevant to the product or service.
Steps to Enter The Field
- A bachelor's degree is required to be an SEO analyst. Some common majors for this career include marketing, business, computer science, or an information technology-related field.
- Experience with microsoft suite, website analysis tools like Google Analytics, keyword tools (Google, WordTracker, Keyword Discovery, etc), and CMS and building/administering content in CMS environments is useful
Landscape of the Field & Companies in the Field
- Most large companies will have SEO analysts in their marketing department
- Smaller companies likely still do SEO analysis, but they may not have a specific role that’s just for SEO analysis because of their small size. The role may be a marketing specialist that includes some SEO analysis.
- Companies specializing in SEO include: ??ReachLocal, FATJOE, OuterBox
External Resources to Learn More & Develop Skills
- SEO Specialization Course: Coursera offers this course, rated 4.7 out of 5 with over 8,000 reviews
- In-depth description of what an SEO Analyst does: A deeper look into what SEO Analysts do in their day-to-day.
- Types of SEO jobs: Includes a list of various jobs you can do in SEO
Related Careers
- Digital Marketer, Search Engine Marketing Professional, Content Marketer, Marketing Analyst, Business Marketing Consultant, SEO Manager, Marketing Consultant