This Monday I start a new job, having previously served as SEO Manager at Web Marketing Experts. In that time I managed the SEO Department and was (more often that I wanted to!) regularly hiring new SEO Professionals to join the team. The problem with SEO is that it is quite the niche and it was challenging to find candidates who ticked all the boxes.
Like any job in any industry candidates requires a certain skill set to succeed. Musicians need to be able to play instruments while a nuclear physicist needs to be a little more analytical.
So what would I be looking for when I’m searching for a gun new SEO Professional? Firstly, I’ll break it down into the tasks that the individual would be running through regularly.
- On-page Optimisation (HTML, PHP & CMS experience. Attention to detail)
- Link Outreach (Creative writing, social & negotiation skills)
- Keyword Research (Marketing proficiency & Analytics)
- Competitor Analysis (Analytics & Back linking)
- Content & Link Bait Creation (Creative writing & conceptualisation)
- Client Management (Social skills, Appearance & Professionalism)
Tough gig eh? So from the above you’d be looking for a mathematician who can decipher data into business objectives whilst at the same time have the ability to make basic website coding changes, be an excellent writer both creatively and technically, understand and effectively communicate with business and website owners and combine all of this to write successful outreach E-mails for link opportunities.
Quite the job! And not surprising that these skilled individuals are hard to find. A good SEO is very hard to come by, whether just in unearthing the raw talent that was always there, or finding an SEO with a certain level of experience. The SEO industry moves incredibly fast; Google makes several hundred changes to its algorithm every year that whilst small, add up to a comprehensive change each year, and the role of the SEO Specialist is slowing moving towards an all encompassing digital marketing strategist role.
There are a lot of SEO’s earning an honest living from the practice, however unfortunately the industry is rife with pretenders who employ short term methods to manipulate search engines for quick gain. Fortunately, it’s only a matter of time before the latter will die out and only those with talent will remain.
For anybody looking to learn more about SEO, I would strongly encourage continued reading for a multitude of sources. There is no definite answer to any SEO issue and it’s best to get a number of opinions before forming your own 
For anyone looking to hire an SEO…I’d lean towards the creative thinking/writing and analytical skills as these are the more difficult of the skills to teach.
