SEO

How To Start a Career in SEO: 8 Easy Steps

Recently, I got a comment on my blog “Scope of SEO in India” where one of my readers said that he know...

Written by Deepanshu Gahlaut · 5 min read >
start your career in seo

Recently, I got a comment on my blog “Scope of SEO in India” where one of my readers said that he know SEO is a good career choice but he doesn’t know how to start.

Starting a career in SEO is exciting, but without knowing where this career will take you, what it has for you, and what you need to successfully develop your career, can be really worrisome.

You need a clear vision and understanding for making your career in SEO more easier.

What I believe, if you take time in your early stage of career to discover what you really want to do in your life (which is a really hard question to answer) can save you from wasting your time and talent.

Plus, this will bring you more joy in your life because all of your focus and energy will be on the things that you love.

If I talk about India, there has always been the same approach to get a job in any career field, and digital marketing or SEO is no different. This includes –

  • Campus placement in which a company visits your college and selects you on the basis of your talent and ability to work and focus.
  • You register on job portals such as Naukri, Monster where you find latest jobs and apply. An employer can also reach you by visiting your profile, qualification, and experience for the job that best match your profile.
  • You have a degree or diploma and you apply for a job in a particular company directly.
  • You participate in job fairs where you meet employer face to face, fill your resumes in order to get a job.

Job searching with no work experience can be difficult and frustrating, but with some confidence in yourself and hard work, you can get one.

If you’re interested in SEO field, read these top 8 tips that will help you successfully get a job as a search engine optimizer.

  1. Make Sure You are Interested in SEO Field/Digital Marketing
  2. Be Aware of Your Career and Future Scope
  3. Educate Yourself
  4. Do it Yourself or Start a Job
  5. Build Your Personal Brand
  6. Network with People
  7. Offer Your Skills
  8. Keep Learning, Try New Things and Experiment

Let’s explore in detail.

1. Make Sure You are Interested in SEO Field/Digital Marketing

The first step is to make sure that you want to make a career in SEO/digital marketing. You are sure about it. I mean, you are damn sure about this.

damn sure funny

The role of SEO is dynamic because of the changing nature of user expectations and search engine technology. If you want a steady job with no or little changes/upgrades, then SEO or digital marketing is not a right choice for you.

2. Be Aware of Your Career and Future Scope

Identify all things – scope, role, qualification, skills that you need for your SEO career.

seo-sem-hot-job-india

Source: LinkedIn

Ask yourself (and answer) the following questions:

  • Is this career worth it? What does the future hold?
  • What would be the suitable role for you?
  • Would you love doing this all your life?
  • Do you have all the skills required for this job – technical skills, communication skills, research skills, and creative skills?

3. Educate Yourself

In most cases, becoming an SEO or digital marketer doesn’t require a degree or higher education because it requires a diverse skill set.

Think about online courses, short courses, attending events, seminars, conferences and subscribe or read top SEO blogs.

Make sure to educate you for these skills and digital marketing concepts –

  • Web development concepts, HTML and CSS fundamentals
  • A sound knowledge of how search engines such as Google work
  • On-Page and Off-Page SEO factors
  • A sound knowledge of Google Webmaster Guidelines
  • Web analytics such as how Google analytics measures traffic and a good understanding of user engagement metrics such as bounce rate, time on page etc.
  • A sound knowledge of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
  • Knowledge of tools such as Google Search Console, Small SEO Tools, Google Structured Data, Google PageSpeed Analysis etc.
  • A basic understanding of user experience and customer behavior in online world
  • Technical and advanced SEO concepts such as canonicalization, Co-occurrence, Co-citation, Schema usage etc.

4. Do it Yourself or Start a Job

Now you have a good knowledge of SEO. What’s next?

Now, you have two options – either to get a job as an SEO trainee/fresher in a company or use your network or freelance site to find work.

Take the time to really understand why you do the things you do at work, instead of simply just doing because this is your job. Explore and discover new things.

Asking question is a great way to learn on the job. Ask colleagues, help them and brainstorm new ideas to solve problems.

5. Build Your Personal Brand

Now, think yourself as a personal brand.

The personal brand is just as important as building your company’s brand because people want to know about you, about who is behind the blog, service or business.

What should come to people’s mind when they hear your name? An SEO good in on-page or off-page or public relations, link-building, analytics – your choice. Once you know how you want your personal brand to be perceived, you can put yourself out there to market you better.

iron man personal brand

Here are some examples of individuals who have built up authentic and powerful personal brands in digital marketing industry: Rand Fishkin, Neil Patel, Eric Enge, Brian Dean, and Danny Sullivan

Here are few tips on how you can build your personal brand in SEO industry:

  • Be authentic, helpful, and more visible in SEO industry.
  • Be the same person on social media as you are in real life.
  • Have a personal website or blog to show your skills, services and to share your knowledge with others.
  • Become a trusted source of information, latest updates, and news in the industry.

6. Network with People

Networking is one of the important things in building a strong career. A lot of people face trouble when it comes to networking and socializing with other people. Connecting with like-minded people, industry experts, influencers, will not only help you learn a lot of new things but also draw their attention.

shake hands seo wizards

Use these tips to build a strong professional network –

  • Use social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to connect with people. For example, on LinkedIn, you can connect with people in your industry or take help of your existing friend to introduce you to another professional on the same network. Participate in relevant groups and communities on these networks.
  • Attend events and conference, that gives you the chance to connect with the right people, get inspiration, gather knowledge and learn about your industry.
  • By joining various forums on SEO, social media, connect marketing etc. you can better connect with other people, exchange information and expand your knowledge.

Make sure you are building a diverse professional network by adding people from different backgrounds, roles, and industries.

7. Offer Your Skills

This is the time to put your skills, theoretical knowledge into practice. There are many opportunities for those wishing to try new things and work online. Put your SEO skills online and test them out.

Here are few great ways to do the same –

a) Set up a blog

If you love writing, why don’t you give advice, talk to people and offer your skills in form of written content such as blogs? You can test and experiment new things in SEO on your blog and share the results with your audience.

Plus, it is a great way to become a brand and earn extra income by reviewing SEO tools, services, and putting other advertisements on your site.

b) Offer a free SEO analysis

You can start by offering a free SEO analysis/audit to businesses. The high-quality analysis work may result in the likelihood that businesses will tell to others about you or will take your paid services.

c) Become a freelancer

Sites like Upwork and Freelancer allow businesses to hire expert freelancers for their work. You can set up your profile and offer your SEO skills to businesses, which could be anything from on-page SEO audit, link building, social media promotion to competitor analysis.

These portals also make sure a smooth communication between you and businesses and a trusted transfer of money.

8. Keep Learning, Try New Things and Experiment

Continuous learning is critical because of the nature of SEO industry, changing economic and technological conditions. Plus, search engines such as Google constantly refine their algorithms, SERP display, and webmaster guidelines.

Emerging need for natural traffic, improving user experience, site usability and delivering quality content – this all requires a sheer amount of expertise which comes from continuous learning and trying and experimenting new things.

Conclusion

Remember SEO is not for everyone. If you like learning, experimenting and doing new things that you can do for your entire life, only then join this career.

SEO is an adventure where you need a lot of skills, both, technical and non-technical to survive.

Deepanshu Gahlaut SEO Quote

Source: Evergreen SEO Quotes

Digital marketing skills, especially, SEO, is in serious demand and the job market in India is booming. Businesses are putting more focus on marketing their business than ever before. Continuous learning and good pay are just some of the benefits, SEO professionals can look forward to 2017 and beyond.

As always, I’d like to hear your thoughts and experience in SEO job. Is there anything you would like to add? Please share in comments.

Thanks for reading.

Written by Deepanshu Gahlaut
I write on SEO, content marketing, latest technologies, and social media. You can find me online, or at home watching sci-fi movies, listening songs, or sleeping. In addition, my latest obsession is creating, collecting and organizing visual content on my new blog - Infopixi, to help bloggers, marketers, and businesses. Profile

6 Replies to “How To Start a Career in SEO: 8 Easy Steps”

  1. Thanks Deepanshu for sharing such a nice information with us. I really loved this post because it is really packed wth the all necessary information what it takes to become a skilled in SEO as a career choice. Thanks a lot!

  2. Hi Deepanshu,

    I too agree with your point which explains networking with people. According to me if anyone looking to get into SEO would be to attend events related to Digital Marketing and SEO get follower on Twitter and join facebook groups these are best places to learn and follow digital marketing blogs and bloggers. I learnt from some
    of the best people and forums will help you a lot. It is better if you have a blog you can test your SEO strategies. Your article is a great source for those who are seeking for jobs in SEO. Keep sharing your ideas with us.

  3. Hi Deepanshu, Great stuff! and really informative article. I’m also interested in SEO field and looking for the job in Delhi-NCR. Can you recommend some companies or agencies where I can apply for the SEO or digital marketing profile? That would be a great help.

    Thanks,

    1. Hi Mayank,

      Thanks for your comment. Below is a list of some popular SEO companies in Delhi-NCR where you can apply for SEO or digital marketing profile

      – TechMagnet (Delhi)
      – AdLift (Gurugram)
      – PageTraffic (Noida)
      – AdGlobal (Gurugram)
      – Interactive Avenues (Gurugram)

      Hope that helps,

  4. Hi Deepanshu,
    I am switching my job and I am interested in SEO. Can I have some suggestions where to start, I work in pune.

  5. Nice elaborate and detailed post Deepanshu. It will surely help SEO aspirants and even professionals to build a successful career. I particularly like your 8th point about “Keep Learning, Try New Things and Experiment”. Much of what we learn in SEO comes from trying things and experimenting. Keep writing such wonderful posts. Nice to read.

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