ONE of the most important roles and specialities that needs to be a part of your marketing team is the SEO (search engine optimization) specialist. This role is also one that is almost non-existent in the Caribbean when you are looking at the job boards.

What we see a lot of is companies asking digital marketing specialists and social media specialists to be familiar with SEO and hope that they can perform their duties. Web developers in the Caribbean are also another group that is tasked with handling SEO. Still, companies must realise that web developers and SEO specialists are two totally different specialisations, and most web developers don’t study SEO.

This is usually a dedicated role and of the utmost importance for your brand’s digital and offline success.

The role of an SEO specialist

An SEO specialist is a professional who specialises in optimising websites to get organic traffic from search engine results pages (SERPs). SEO specialists work to improve a website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results by optimising the website’s content, structure, and technical elements.

SEO specialists are responsible for analysing keywords, researching competitor websites, and implementing SEO best practices to increase website visibility and rankings. Additionally, SEO specialists conduct keyword research, analyse website analytics, and monitor website rankings to ensure that websites meet SEO objectives.

In short, an SEO specialist is responsible for making sure that a website ranks as highly as possible in search engine results pages.

Duties of an SEO specialist include:

• Develop optimisation strategies that increase the company’s website search engine results rankings

• Conducting keyword research to identify target keywords for SEO campaigns.

• Execute tests, collect and analyse data, identify trends and insights

• Optimise content, landing pages, and paid search copy

• Optimising website content and structure to make it more attractive to search engines.

• Monitor and administer web analytics dashboards

• Monitor and evaluate search results and search performance across the major search channels

• Research and analyse competitor websites and web pages

• Develop and implement link-building campaigns

• Utilise strong analytical ability to evaluate end-to-end customer experience across multiple channels and customer touchpoints

• Research and analyse industry trends and best practices

• Communicating with clients about the progress and results of SEO campaigns

SEO specialist qualifications

• Two to three years of experience in successfully developing and executing SEO campaigns

• Understanding of search engine algorithms and ranking methods

• Experience with SEO industry programs, such as Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics

• Familiarity with SEO tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz

• Knowledge of keyword research and data mining tools

• Able to complete competitive analysis of other companies within the industry

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (e-mail, phone, etc)

• Comfortable analysing high volumes of data on a daily basis

• Familiarity with content management systems (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify)

• Experience with other aspects of marketing, such as customer growth and promotion, is a plus

Salary Ranges For SEO Specialists

• United States – US$34,000 – US$85,000 per year

• United Kingdom – US$26,000 – US$63,000 per year

• China – US$21,000 – US$36,000 – per year

• Australia – US$34,000 – US$56,000 per year

Industry Certifications For Digital Strategists

There is a wide assortment of industry certifications that a digital strategist can get to become certified. Here are a few to get you started that you can check out:

– SEO fundamentals – SEMrush (Free)

– Google SEO fundamentals – Uni of California (Free)

– Search marketing specialist – Digitalmarketer (Paid)

– SEO certification – HubSpot (Free)

– SEO – Clickminded (Paid)

Top Books To Read for SEO

– Search Engine Optimization All-in-one for Dummies By Bruce Clay

– Link Building Mastery – Julian Goldie

– SEO 2022: Learn SEO – Adam Clarke

– SEO Like I’m 5 – Matthew Capala

If you are a company looking for an SEO specialist to be a key player in your marketing team, then I hope this gives you a guide on what the role entails, the education and some of the salaries around the world for the role.

If you are someone who is looking to become an SEO specialist then you can look at some of the courses laid out that will help you become certified internationally and take a look at some of the top books you can read to further your knowledge.

Keron Rose is a Digital Strategist that works with Caribbean Entrepreneurs to build their digital presence and monetize their platforms. Learn more at KeronRose.com or check out the Digipreneur FM podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify and Google Podcasts.