Of all the roles available in digital marketing, SEO analyst is one of the most demanding.
when you are a Search Engine Optimization Analystyou are the person whose company or client wants to collect and organize data about their website performance, explain what this means for them in their market niche, and recommend strategies that will help them achieve their business goals.
This is a tall order, so SEO analysts need well-rounded skills in multiple areas to be successful.
Fortunately, due to the technical nature of the job and the skills required to execute it, SEO analyst roles are generally well-compensated in the U.S., and they will be very much in demand in 2022.
What is an SEO Analyst?
When you research the different roles in SEO, you will find that people often seem to confuse the positions of SEO specialist and SEO analyst.
While the two are related and actually very close to each other, viewing the role of an SEO analyst as one that goes beyond an expert takes things to a higher level.
While SEO experts are in the weeds — doing the work, implementing title tags and H1s, adding structured data to product pages, and uploading new content, so to speak — SEO analysts are looking at the bigger picture.
Analysts study the numbers — hard data — and explain what it means for a site’s current performance and what needs to be improved.
It’s fair to say that as an analyst, your job is to do what your title says: analyze the SEO quality of your website.
Analysts first look at the entire site to see if there is anything they think could be improved from a user experience standpoint.
It could be an ineffective or missing CTA, missed internal linking opportunities, complicated main navigation, or unoptimized title tags.
SEO analysts also want to see if there are any new pages or sections of the site that could benefit from it, including services, locations, products, blogs, FAQs, or testimonials pages.
Perhaps most importantly, an SEO analyst crawls an entire website looking for any technical issues that the naked eye cannot effectively see.
they use countless Search Engine Optimization Tools – Includes Screaming Frog, Semrush, and Google Search Console – Find issues related to broken pages, redirects, metadata, load times, structured data, and more.
Then use Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix to review page speed issues, then use Ahrefs to research broken backlink opportunities.
While SEO analysts are doing all of this, they are also heavily involved in performing keyword and competitor research to see which keywords a site can hone in or start targeting to increase its chances of appearing above competitors for relevant queries.
However, as important as the analysis part of the job is, the recommendation part is where things go.
SEO analysts have to be able to take all this data—all these keyword counts and intents, all the SEO elements they’ve been working on for days or weeks—and translate it into real-life recommendations for their employers or theirs and strategic client portfolio.
However, once done, the client will implement the SEO analyst’s strategy and start to pay off over the next few months.
Essential Skills for SEO Analysts
I really don’t want to be funny here, but, to be an SEO analyst, you need to have a mind that leans toward…analytics.
Just learning and understanding is not enough what is a good website And research using various SEO tools.
An effective SEO analyst must be able to approach a website with a logical, meticulous investigative mindset.
Soft skills can always be taught, but learning soft skills is more of a personal growth activity and lacks definable milestones.
As a result, it can be difficult for non-analysts to turn around and become the level of analysis required by SEO analysts.
In summary, here are the essential skills of an SEO analyst, broken down into hard and soft skills:
hard skills
- Get an in-depth look at best practices for SEO.
- Get a comprehensive understanding of how technical SEO works.
- Ability to conduct keyword research and competition analysis.
- Learn about a range of SEO tools including Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Semrush, Ahrefs, SpyFu, GTmetrix, PageSpeed Insights and Screaming Frog.
- Learn about the most common CMS, including WordPress, Squarespace, Shopify, Drupal, Wix, HubSpot, and Magento.
- Learn about content marketing, topic research, and content moderation.
- Learn about link building, backlinks, and issues related to these areas.
- Stay up-to-date on SEO best practices.
soft skill
- Ability to use logic.
- Curious and considerate.
- Think critically.
- Creative problem solving.
- organize.
- time management.
- Effective oral and written communication.
- communication ability.
What experience or certifications are required/have?
Glassdoor provides a basic template SEO Analyst Job Description.
According to job and employer review sites, SEO analyst jobs often require candidates to have a degree in a related field, such as computer science or information technology.
Other SEO analyst jobs require a bachelor’s degree in marketing or business.
According to the same overview of the position on Glassdoor, most SEO analysts (60%) have two to four years of work experience.
Getting in and becoming an SEO analyst right away can be difficult. The skills needed to do the job well need to be honed over time through hard lessons.
However, after two to four years in that seat, seeing various sites seeking Search Engine Optimization AuditI would say that SEO analysts are close to becoming experts.
As far as certifications I recommend to anyone looking to become an SEO analyst, you can’t go wrong with the following courses:
1. Courses from Google Analytics Academy
- Google Analytics For novices.
- Advanced Google Analytics.
- Google Analytics for advanced users.
- Introduction to Data Insights.
- Google Tag Manager Basics.
2. Hubspot SEO Certification Course
3. SEO courses from Semrush Academy
- samlash Search Engine Optimization Toolkit.
- Audit your online visibility with Semrush.
- Competitive analysis and keyword research.
- On-page and technical SEO.
- link building.
- Rank Tracking.
- Semrush site audit with Ross Tavendale.
- Technical SEO by Bastian Grimm.
- SEO fundamentals, keyword research, backlink management, mobile SEO and local SEO – all by Greg Gifford.
- Content-led SEO with Brian Dean.
4. Courses at Ahrefs Academy
- Areves Certification Course.
- SEO training courses.
What does an SEO analyst salary look like?
For those of you who want to be an SEO analyst, you’re in luck as the average salary in the US is pretty healthy $63,058according to ZipRecruiter.
Glassdoor puts that number slightly lower, in $62,987.
Meanwhile, Salary.com reports that the national average salary for an SEO analyst is $71,101most earn between $64,301 and $77,601.
However, as with any job, you can expect the salary range to increase or decrease based on a range of factors, including the size of the employer, geographic location, and your experience.
2022 SEO Analyst Job Outlook
In another win for today’s SEO analyst, the outlook for the role appears to be pretty strong.
A search for “SEO analyst” in the US found 975 jobs.
Of those, 592 were full-time, 566 earned more than $50,000 a year, and 291 were in remote positions.
It’s worth noting that the majority of these posts (553) were for mid-level positions, and when I filtered to “mid-level,” most of the individual posts I saw stated that candidates must have two to four years of SEO experience or research and data analysis.
These Indeed jobs come from companies such as Pearson, Deloitte, Angi, LendingTree and Merkle.
Doing the same search on LinkedIn found 966 SEO analyst jobs. Of those, 866 were full-time, 509 earned more than $40,000 a year, and 535 were on-site, followed by 364 in remote positions.
The majority of LinkedIn’s 966 SEO analyst jobs (522) are at the associate level.
From what I’ve seen when looking at job postings, this means that the level of experience required is only zero to two years of experience.
LinkedIn job postings come from a wide range of employers, but some include The Home Depot, Thriveworks, Havas Media Group and Vox Media.
last words
Make no mistake: SEO analysts have a tough job.
It takes a lot of critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and SEO knowledge to figure out what’s wrong with a website, examine data for answers, and report their findings and customers in a way that’s easy for companies to understand.
Candidates for SEO analyst positions often require a bachelor’s degree in a related field, but this is not always required.
And, depending on the employer and location, these professionals can make over $50,000 in a crowded market with their skills.
If data analysis and SEO are where your professional interests meet, then you can find the SEO analyst role that suits you best.
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