Understanding The Role Of An SEO Strategist
An SEO strategist is like a detective and planner for websites.
They figure out how to make a website more popular and easier to find on search engines like Google.
Think of it this way: when you search for something online, you usually click on the first few results, right?
An SEO strategist helps a website show up in those top spots. They do this by researching the best words to use on the site, creating good content,and linking the website with others.
By using these strategies well, an SEO strategist can increase the visibility of a website in search engine results pages (SERPs), making it easier for potential customers to find businesses online.
When they do their job well, more people visit the website without the company having to pay for ads. This means more people might buy things or use the services from the website, which is great for business. Nowadays, being good at this is really important for a company because it can really help them stand out and reach more customers.
So, the role of an SEO strategist is key for helping businesses get noticed online.
SEO Strategist vs. SEO Specialist: What’s the Difference?
Two important roles are those of SEO strategists and SEO specialists.
They might sound similar, but they do different things.
SEO Specialist: Think of them as hands-on tech experts. They’re like mechanics for websites, making sure everything is running smoothly and efficiently for search engines.
They do specific tasks, like:
- Researching the best words to use on a website (keyword research).
- Making sure each page of the website is set up right (on-page optimization).
- Working on the website’s technical side, like its structure and links (technical SEO).
- Building links from other websites (off-page SEO).
- Keeping an eye on how well the website is doing using tools like Google Analytics.
SEO Strategist: They are more like big-picture planners. They design the overall plan for how a website should improve its search engine presence. Their work includes:
- Creating a complete plan for improving a website’s search engine ranking
- Researching the market, what competitors are doing, and opportunities for growth.
- Figuring out who the website’s audience is and what content they should see.
- Staying updated on the latest trends in SEO
- Analyzing data to make smart decisions about their strategies.
These two roles work together. The specialist does the hands-on work, and the strategist makes the plans and guides the direction. They need to talk to each other a lot to make sure everything works towards the same goals.
So, while SEO Specialists are the technical wizards, SEO Strategists are the master planners.
An Example of an SEO Strategy:
In our agency, StudioHawk, an example of a strategy that an SEO strategist created is the comprehensive SEO overhaul for Civilmart, a prominent B2B precast concrete company in Australia.
This strategy involved rectifying a previously flawed website migration, establishing effective URL mapping, optimizing product pages, and introducing a new blog content approach.
These changes led to a 287.69% year-over-year increase in website users, significantly more weekly leads, and improved search engine rankings for key industry terms. Additionally, the strategy encompassed educating Civilmart’s marketing team about SEO and enhancing their internal knowledge and capabilities.
What are the responsibilities of an SEO strategist?
- Analyzing how well a website is doing and using data to improve how often it appears in organic search results.
- Researching the best keywords, checking what competitors are doing, and planning an effective SEO strategy.
- Creating new content that uses targeted keywords to boost search engine rankings.
- Applying offsite optimization methods like building links and promoting on social media.
- Using tools like Google Analytics to keep track of SEO progress.
- Regularly updating knowledge about the latest SEO best practices.
- Having technical SEO skills and experience in implementing them.
- Understanding how different online marketing channels work together.
- Knowing about past and potential future impacts of search engine algorithm updates.
- Having a deep understanding of what the user needs.
- Experience with various tools and software like Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz, Surfer SEO, etc.
What Skills Does an SEO Strategist Need?
Being an SEO Strategist means having a lot of different skills, because the job has many parts. There’s no one skill that makes someone perfect for this job. Instead, they need to be good at a bunch of things. Here are some of the main skills they usually have:
Keyword Research
An SEO Strategist helps websites show up higher in search results on sites like Google and Bing. They use special tools like ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz Pro to find out what words people type when they’re looking for things online. This is called keyword research.
Content Optimisation
They also make sure the content, like articles and blogs, is really good and easy to find by using these keywords. It’s important to write interesting things and have links in the articles that take readers to other parts of the website. This helps people stay on the site longer, which is good for the website’s ranking.
Link Building
Another part of the job is link building. This means getting other websites to link to your site. This makes your site look more important and can bring in more visitors.
Data & Analytics Tools
They also use data and analytics tools to see how well their strategies are working. This helps them make changes to do even better.
Final Word
So there you have it, an SEO Strategist is responsible for creating an SEO strategy for their website they’re working with!
If you’d like to read more about a career in SEO or other articles about my experience in the industry, check out my blog.
