SEO specialists play an important role in the internet marketing functions of almost every company. They need to audit company websites, deploying tactics to improve the site’s rankings in search results. With good search engine optimization, companies can drive more traffic to their sites, reach more people, and grow their business exponentially.
If you’re thinking of applying for an SEO role, then you should tailor your resume to that role. But how do you list SEO on a resume? To create a resume that stands out, you need to use a variety of job-specific keywords. To begin with, there are 7 skills employers want to see in your SEO specialist resume. We’ll walk you through each skill, and teach you how to include them in your resume!
On-Page Optimization
To rank higher in search engines, on-page SEO is one of the keys. This is about optimizing individual web pages. There are plenty of elements you should take care of. Examples of this include ways to optimize the meta description and title tags. Be sure to describe your optimization process in your resume. This will showcase your knowledge and expertise. But, there is no standard for on-page optimization. You need to mention your own practice to show your capabilities. Besides this, communication skills and teamwork are important. You can talk about how you work with writers and developers. Describing your SEO expertise effectively in a resume will get you interviews!
Site Design
SEO and web design are closely related. To design an SEO-friendly website, you need to handle a lot of details. Do you know how to design a good information infrastructure? How do you ensure a search engine can easily crawl and understand your content on your sites? Do you know the website navigation best practices? Sometimes, companies build fancy websites that can’t even be read by search engines. So it’s important to highlight your skills – you know how to design a website that drives traffic!
Keyword Research
Keyword research is an important part of SEO, as it determines your marketing strategy. You need to describe your keyword research process in your resume. For example, how do you determine a list of keywords? Businesses need to target keywords that have traffic and commercial value. So the way you come up with these keywords is important.Make sure you mention this in your resume. Also, what keyword research tools do you use? Google web-master tools, Google keyword planner, and advanced Excel are examples. Having these tools in your resume will make you standout.
Link Building
Links and quality content are two important factors for SEO. Creating useful content and designing a well-navigated site are not enough! You have to establish authority. To deliver a good SEO strategy, you need to earn links from authoritative websites. So in your resume, you need to describe your link building experience. How do you negotiate with publishers to earn links? Highlight a few link building experiences you’ve had and describe the results. This’ll make you a strong candidate!
Analytics
There is a very famous saying, “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” In the SEO world, measurement is important to success. It’s crucial to know how to read data about rankings, referrals and links. Why? Because these findings can help in increasing the organic traffic on your site. To implement a proper SEO strategy, you also need to understand business KPIs. So you need display a data-driven and analytic mindset in your resume. This’ll catch recruiters’ attention when they’re looking at your resume.
User Experience
In the good old days, SEO was easy and simple. You stuffed a page full of keywords, and you ranked number one! Now, search engines are smarter than before! They take hundreds of factors into account. User experience is one of the factors. A good user experience makes visitors want to stay and engage. A fast and mobile-friendly website also plays a role. Demonstrating your expertise in user experience is a great resume builder!
Google Analytics
Google analytics is different from SEO analytics. SEO analytics is to measure results. And google analytics is one of the tools. SEO professionals can save a lot of time if they know how to use Google analytics. You can gain a tremendous amount of insights from web analytics. So it’s crucial to mention you’re an advanced user of Google Analytics. Got some certificates from Google? Excellent, be sure to include them in your resume!
Putting It All Together
Okay, we’ve covered the major skills required for SEO. Find a resume template you like -there are a number of different resume formats that may benefit you- and fill it in. Below are some helpful bullet points you can use when you’re creating your actual resume.
First, always use figures to quantify your accomplishments. Telling recruiters what you’ve done is important, but your accomplishments carry a lot more weight if they can be quantified. For example, “improved organic search rankings from page 5 to Top 5 for 15+ keywords,” or “Reduced bounce rate from 42% to 11%”. Also, make sure to list the years of experience you have in the field.
Second, use powerful verbs to describe your experience. Don’t say “responsible for”. Use powerful verbs like developed, implemented, supervised, analyzed and lead. These powerful verbs will make the “work experience” section of your resume more compelling, and show potential employers that you will be an effective and engaged employee.
Last but not least, mention how you use SEO tools in your actual projects. Knowing how to use the tools isn’t enough, recruiters want to know how you use them in your actual projects. To show your SEO expertise, practical experience is crucial. Do you have any experience converting leads into actual clients? Mention this in your resume. Tell recruiters how you did it and what SEO techniques you used. Highlight the detailed processes like how you used the tools to generate keywords. Of course, share the results using figures.
SEO is ever-changing and it will always be. Make sure you master the basics, and keep learning the new trends and techniques. Create a tailored resume, and show hiring managers that you’re the best person for the job. Remember our resume tips, and you’ll soon get the job you want!
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