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Today, it is almost impossible to find a business that does not have its own presence in the online space — namely, a website. However, for a website to help achieve specific business goals — selling products, showcasing expertise, promoting services, etc. — it is crucial to ensure its visibility in search engines, as they generate the lion’s share of website traffic. And this is precisely where SEO specialists come in. Below, you will learn about the skills these experts must have, the tasks they perform, and several practical aspects — salary levels, tools they use, and more.
Who are SEO specialists? In short, they implement a set of measures aimed at promoting websites in Google’s search results and other search engines. They may work at marketing agencies, as freelancers, or as in-house employees of specific companies, but their goal remains the same — to bring website traffic that converts regular visitors into clients.
It is worth noting that individuals in this role may be referred to in various ways: SEO developer, SEO manager, optimizer, SEO expert, SEO marketer, or even SEO analyst. Moreover, this profession is often confused with CEO — the Chief Executive Officer. But let’s return to the correct understanding of an SEO expert’s area of expertise.
As search engine ranking algorithms evolve, so do the approaches practiced by SEO specialists. In the past, SEOs focused on stuffing as many keywords as possible, buying backlinks, and mass-producing content. Today, however, Google recommends focusing on the E-E-A-T principles — Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. What changes the search engines will introduce tomorrow remains a mystery, so SEOs must stay constantly updated on all industry developments.
So, what does an SEO specialist do? Many assume that SEO work simply involves mastering tools like Google Trends and Ahrefs. In reality, these tools only help automate part of their regular tasks. The actual duties and responsibilities of SEO specialists depend on their skill level, the specific project, and the business goals tied to that project.
For instance, when evaluating candidates for an SEO expert role, it is essential to assess how well they can perform competitor analysis (is this procedure mandatory? what parameters are used for comparison? what tools are utilized? how valuable are the insights?), whether they actively monitor search engine algorithm updates, and, of course, whether they avoid using outdated or black-hat SEO techniques, such as widespread link buying.
In contrast, the characteristics that define a professional SEO specialist include:
To perform their work effectively — including all of the tasks mentioned earlier — an SEO specialist must possess not only professional hard skills but also a range of communication and soft skills.
Here is a list of the main technical requirements for an SEO specialist:
Now let’s discuss soft skills — the qualities that will help you narrow down the selection of candidates for an SEO role:
Wondering how to become an SEO specialist from scratch? If so, the first step to entering this field is taking specialized courses. Nowadays, it’s quite easy to complete online training — whether by learning from renowned SEO experts (through one-on-one mentoring or watching lessons on YouTube), or even, for example, by requesting a personalized course from ChatGPT or similar AI tools. To reinforce your knowledge, it’s also worth considering an internship as an SEO assistant in a marketing agency or a global company seeking extra hands to support their experienced specialists.
The key is not to be afraid to move from theory to practice as early as possible, so you can test your skills on real projects — whether it’s your own blog, a friend’s website, or any other platform. These projects will become the foundation for your professional portfolio.
“How much does an SEO specialist earn?” — this is another frequently asked question. In reality, SEO experts’ rates can vary greatly depending on experience, the scope of work within a specific project, and geographical location. For example, in the U.S., the average salary for an SEO expert is $4,443 (according to Indeed).
Thus, if you work as a freelance SEO specialist with a full workload, earning around $6,000–10,000 per month is quite achievable — especially if clients entrust you with multiple projects at once, or if you work with businesses located in the EU, USA, and other strong economies.
Although learning the SEO profession may take relatively little time (only a few weeks), becoming a truly top-level expert in this field will require you to study hundreds of lines of guidelines explaining how search engines work, as well as to gain practical experience across dozens of projects. Therefore, if you are ready for a long journey involving the optimization of various types of websites and the meticulous study of search engine policies and tools, you should definitely try yourself in this role — it might just become your true calling.
That would be an SEO (search engine optimization) specialist. Their responsibilities include analyzing, optimizing, and promoting web pages to generate as much organic traffic as possible — particularly from search engines like Google. This is achieved by ensuring full compliance with the discovery and ranking factors specific to the search engine.
The question “Who is an SEO manager?” implies the following: It’s someone responsible for coordinating SEO-related tasks — that is, assigning tasks to the SEO team, interacting with clients, agreeing on strategies, and so forth. In contrast, the SEO specialist’s role is more focused on performing the practical tasks of search engine optimization — conducting audits, adapting websites to search engine algorithms, and collecting analytics.
When it comes to Junior SEO specialists (this level usually refers to candidates with less than two years of practical experience), they typically earn between $300–500.
As for Middle level SEO specialists (up to five years of experience), their salary range is significantly higher, typically between $700–1200.
Finally, Senior SEO specialists, with over five years of experience, can earn upwards of $1500 — depending on their area of responsibility and the current “health” of the website’s visibility in search engines.
It’s also worth noting that freelancers and specialists working with international clients can earn significantly more.
In general, every SEO specialist has their own favorite and time-tested set of tools they rely on from project to project. However, there is a kind of “gold standard” widely used by top SEOs around the world. These tools include Ahrefs, SEMrush, Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Google Search Console, Majestic, SERPstat, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Hotjar, and Google Sheets.
It’s also beneficial to have basic knowledge of popular CMS platforms such as WordPress, OpenCart, Shopify, and Magento, as well as a basic understanding of HTML/CSS/JS, to be able to read and assess the correctness of code when needed.
Whether you are evaluating yourself as a good SEO specialist or seeking one for your project, it’s important to correctly assess the following aspects:
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