How To Accelerate Your SEO Career via @sejournal, @Kevin_Indig

Learn from the experiences of accomplished SEO pros to accelerate your in-house SEO career. Get insider tips and strategies for success. The post How To Accelerate Your SEO Career appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Aliza Ullrich · 6 days ago · 2 minutes read


Advancing Your In-House SEO Career

Essential Core Competencies

Developing these five core competencies is crucial for success:

  • Communication: Alignment, collaboration, outward communication
  • Learning: Adaptability, experience, filtering information
  • Business Savviness: Planning, focus, execution
  • Technicality: Automation, data analysis, technical understanding
  • Leadership: Advocacy, hiring, relationship building

Mastering these skills will enable you to thrive in the long term.

General Vs. Specific Skills

While all competencies are important, adjusting their emphasis based on company and industry is key:

  • For larger sites, prioritize technical SEO and product development.
  • For smaller sites, focus on demand generation and content marketing.
  • Tailor skills to company size: Startups emphasize execution, while enterprises require more alignment.

Hard Vs. Soft Skills

Soft skills, such as communication, adaptability, and leadership, are more valuable in SEO than hard skills. Adapt to Google changes by constantly learning and refining your mental model about how it works.

"Strong opinions, loosely held." - Jeff Bezos

Career Planning

Set clear goals and don't hesitate to adjust them as needed. Use Ray Dalio's five-step framework for endgame planning:

  1. Have clear goals
  2. Identify and address obstacles
  3. Diagnose problems to uncover root causes
  4. Design plans to overcome obstacles
  5. Execute plans to achieve results

Expert Insights from Industry Leaders

Sharing their insights on essential skills and pivotal experiences:

Jordan Silton

Emphasizes technical expertise, data analysis, communication, and business acumen.

Malte Landwehr

Highlights contrasting mental models, embracing uncertainty, and the ability to explain SEO concepts to diverse stakeholders.

John Shehata

Stresses adaptability, business mindset, AI leverage, communication, and data analytics as essential skills.

Tom Critchlow

Values business skills, cross-functional communication, and investment in technical and analytical SEO.

Recommended Resources for Continued Growth

  • Learning SEO by Aleyda Solis
  • Books by Jordan Silton: "Turn the Ship Around!", "The Checklist Manifesto", "Never Split the Difference"
  • SEO MBA archives and the SEO skills maturity matrix by Tom Critchlow
  • Beginner's Guide to SEO by Moz, WIX SEO Guide, Semrush Academy, Ahrefs Academy
  • "Leaders Eat Last" by Simon Sinek
  • "Lost and Founder" by Rand Fishkin

Mentorship, hands-on experience, and continuous learning are also invaluable for career advancement.