Routes to SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is soaring in popularity as brands do battle to increase their SERP rankings and collect backlinks – and it’s a great time to get involved! Do you want a job in SEO but are unsure about where to start? Take a wander with us as we walk you through some top tips for getting started in the industry or levelling up your SEO career. We’ll help you hit the ground running!

Choose the road less travelled

Don’t worry if you don’t have a degree in digital marketing or another relevant subject - online qualifications are great if you want to show you understand how SEO works and prove you have the skills for the job. Google Digital Garage has loads of great courses (many of which are totally free!) that will look great on your CV – for example, this free course in Search Engine Optimization Fundamentals. If you don’t feel ready for an online course, but want to start learning about SEO in your free time, Google’s Webmaster Guidelines breaks down exactly how the process works, and they even provide guides that tell you all about search quality.

Don’t be scared to change direction

If you’re considering a career change, but don’t have any SEO experience, don’t let that deter you! Ask for work experience or shadowing from someone in the industry (LinkedIn is great for finding people to mentor you!), enrol to online courses (see above), or even find a way to incorporate it into your current role.

All paths lead to SEO!

Speaking of incorporating SEO into your current role, remember that what you learn along the way in your career can be a great steppingstone. For example – if you are a content creator or copywriter, adding SEO techniques alongside your work will not only open you up to SEO job opportunities, but also improve your current work performance! It’s a win-win.

Take it step by step

By breaking down exactly how traffic is being directed to your site and treating it as a problem-solving task, you can see exactly how SEO is impacting your results. Showing employers that you know this cause-and-effect relationship (and how to optimise it) is a great way to impress! If you have worked in SEO for a while and are looking for a more senior role, it can often help to prepare a portfolio-style example, where you are able to show your employer a real life case study and give actual results (you can use the STAR method!).

There are no short cuts!

The SEO sector is dynamic, there are always developments and changes to how things are done, and new processes or software to get to grips with. Keep up to date with industry know-how so you don’t fall behind. You can attend refresher courses, read industry journals, blogs, or magazines. For example, here is a short article about link building for beginners that you could read during your lunch break!

Get social along the way

Becoming immersed in the industry is also important – you never know what opportunities might arise whilst networking! Spend some time on LinkedIn searching for those who are active in the industry, or even people who have the job you would love and connect with them! Have a look for SEO focussed conferences or online talks - Meetup is a great place to search for SEO focussed events, workshops, and communities to join. Even listening to relevant podcasts can help you feel more connected to the industry you’re trying to join or progress within – try ‘Search Off The Record’ by Google, or the ‘Search Engine Journal Show’.

You can start your journey from anywhere

Look for entry level role or graduate schemes for digital marketing – a lot of employers will help you learn the skills you need for the role! We have a number of entry level roles that are hiring right now! Click here to take a look.

We hope this has helped you feel inspired to start your journey towards becoming an SEO pro!

Written by Natalie Metcalf, Marketing Assistant

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