Help users find your site by optimizing content for various search engines.
What is an SEO Analyst?
SEO analysts keep track of keywords and website performance to help users find their sites organically-- meaning via google or bing. This is different than a paid search analyst, in that SEO analysts are primarily responsible for ORGANIC traffic. Organic search are Google search results that are not sponsored by companies.
This role requires keeping up to date with keyword research, tracking website traffic and page speed performance, and keeping tabs on search algorithm changes.
What does an SEO Analyst do?
SEO analysts spend a bulk of their time conducting keyword research using specialized software. They will also generate new keyword ideas to aid with business marketing efforts and look into potential opportunities with search analytics platforms like Moz or Google Search Console.
Additional SEO research includes analyzing competitors’ websites and social media pages and comparing them with your own. The research also includes keeping track of your industry's top players and their organic (google, bing, etc) search rankings. With this knowledge, SEO analysts are expected to make and implement recommendations for improvements.
SEO analysts are also in charge of optimizing websites to make sure search engines can crawl their content effectively, this is typically called "technical SEO".
Other smaller tasks of SEO analysts may include generating content ideas for landing pages for specific keywords and overseeing content creation to match their strategies. They may also be responsible for keeping business content up to date (typically in partnership with editorial or content strategists) to rank higher with "newer" or updated content.
Do I need a degree to be a SEO Analyst?
None required for an associate/entry level position. While this role seems more technical, SEO analysts can come from all backgrounds and degree-types. For technical SEO it is recommended to know the basics of how websites function and are crawled, this will include basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Job descriptions will often mention a requirement of something STEM related, but often psychology majors do well here because they’re able to understand the “why” behind user interactions and enjoy the keyword research.
- Data entry and receptionist professionals
- Accounting and budgeting roles
- Ex-advertising folks
- Liberal arts degrees with a writing twist (for reporting and data storytelling)
Our Favorite SEO Analyst Certifications
SEO Full Certification
This is one of the only self-paced university SEO certifications, and we loved every second of it. The program has a great mix of technical and theoretical concepts to get you familiar with the role, fast.
Become an SEO Expert
This course is great if you're new to marketing and interested in learning about more options than just search engine optimization.
Linkedin also certifies in SEO, so this is something you could pin to your profile and show off, if wanted.
SEO & Social Media Marketing Strategy
This class is a top seller on udemy, and covers popular growth hacking tactics including both SEO and social.
Career Path of a SEO Analyst
While the career path below is very common in the tech industry, SEO analytics is also a very popular field among freelancers. SEO is great for local businesses, so if you're looking for something with a little more flexibility, a career in SEO analytics could be a great fit.
*Or Associate
What is an SEO Analyst's salary?
We've aggregated thousands of salaries across glassdoor and linkedin, and SEO analysts can make anywhere between 65k - 85k, depending on their location and skillsets.
Top Skills of a SEO Analyst
We've compiled thousands of job descriptions for SEO analysts to record the most common requirements to save you time. While preparing for interviews, keep in mind specific times you've demonstrated these skills.
- Refine, track, and optimize content marketing strategies.
- Perform keyword research and on-page recommendations to support editorial production.
- Assist editorial teams on content updates
- Monitor overall site performance and report to stakeholders
- Analyze website crawlability and make recommendations for better site structure
- Identify new areas of opportunity and content gaps to increase organic footprint
- Collaborate with editorial and production teams to create content that attracts incoming traffic & links
- Perform research and analyses of SEO data and interpret results; draw insights and contribute ideas for actionable feedback for editorial stakeholders
- Maintain and monitor regular automated SEO reports in support of overall and brand-specific editorial goals
- Experience monitoring and responding to Google algorithm changes
Top Tools of a SEO Analyst
We've also compiled the most common tools listed in job description. If you're serious about becoming a SEO analyst, get familiar with these and be ready to talk about them.
For Gathering Quantitative Data
- Google Analytics
- Amplitude
- Heap
- Mixpanel
For Monitoring Content Strategy
- Google Search Console
- SEM Rush
- Ahrefs
- Moz
- Sitebulb
- SearchPilot
Other Helpful Tools
- Google Trends
- Google Keyword Tracker
- Google Merchant Center
For Task Management
- ASANA
- Clickup
- Notion
Key Traits & Competencies of a Successful SEO Analyst
As a SEO Analyst, you'll work most with:
Difference between Data Analyst, Marketing Analyst & SEO Analyst
The same situation follows with SEO analysts. SEO analysts are a specialization within marketing analytics. So while all SEO analysts are marketing analysts, NOT all marketing analysts are paid search analysts. And all SEO analysts are also data analysts!
To recap: SEO Analyst is a specialization within marketing analytics, and marketing analytics is a specialization within data analytics.
Get SEO Experience
Learning on the job is one of the fastest ways to get familiar with new topics, and showing is much better than telling.
Use a website creator to write about something you're passionate about, and use Youtube to learn how to implement free Google Analytics. Then get a free Google Performance account and monitor your organic search rankings. Rank for at least one keyword, and work on improving it. Try learning adjustments, making tweaks, and learning headlines to have a mini "portfolio" to talk about on interviews.
Conclusion
SEO analytics is a great career choice for people who want flexibility-- perhaps even in a freelance capacity. It's also fairly easy to break into, with lots of free resources and paid certifications to prove efficiency.
We love recommending SEO analytics to aspiring techies. Good luck!
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