Search Engine Journal published an interesting article for SEOs about what it thinks are 3 critical skills you need to be a pro SEO. I really enjoyed the article and thought I’d highlight them here because it kinda helps you understand what I do here at this company and the skillset it requires.
You have to be able to effective communicate strong thoughts and messages.
This is true of all marketing but in the context of an SEO it’s really about copywriting, talking with other site owners you might need a link from, my client’s potential customers & copywriting whether it’s email copy to try and get the link or on-page or on-site content.
You need to be able to understand the logic behind Google’s algorithm, website architecture and the interconnectedness of the web to be a true SEO. You might know the basic rules for SEO, but you can’t be advanced in SEO for a very long time by only knowing ‘the rules’ as they are set today. This year, Google will change their algorithm about 550 times. That’s more than 1.5 times each day!
This is so true. So many beginner SEOs just learn some basics, have some results and then think they walk on water and start getting clients. That could be you. What you need is someone who can react to what they’re seeing, keep their eye on the market and basically know when to make moves and what moves to make. Experience matters but only if you’ve taken that time to watch trends and try different reactions to them with your link building.
You also need to understand that your rankings in the SERPS will not always change overnight. A few factors involved in your ranking include i) aggregate traffic and ii) search traffic relative to your search ranking.
Geez, this one seems like common sense to me but you kinda have to explain it to the client. Just think it through, if you could get that #1 ranking in Google would you even want it? What that means is anyone else could just come along and usurp you when they decided they wanted it. You gotta work for it and that takes time. Generally, the longer it takes you to get there, the harder it should be for someone to knock you off….if you’ve done your job thoroughly.
Be sure to check out my site for Phoenix search engine optimization information if you need to take your online business to the next level.
