SEO Manager: Job Profile and Role

A SEO manager is responsible for optimising a website. This involves thorough keyword research and keyword implementation into web content. A SEO manager’s task also is to optimise web content, be it for an average website or an online shop. It is a SEO manager’s responsibility to rework the relevant web content, this way ensuring that the website generates traffic and ranks high in the most common search engines, such as Google and Bing.

Do you think the job of a SEO manager might be perfect for you? To help you decide, this blog will tell you everything you need to know about the job of a SEO manager. We will take a look at salaries, employers, working hours, qualifications, and skills. We will also give you some insights into the daily tasks of a SEO manager and tips to thrive in this profession.

Short Summary

• As a SEO manager, you are responsible for researching main and secondary keywords for a website. These keywords ideally guarantee lots of traffic and a high ranking for said website.
• As a SEO manager, you are in charge of optimising a website, both on-page and off-page. This requires that you rework content and adjust it according to new keyword rankings and algorithms.
• As a SEO manager, you need to have an in-depth knowledge of your target audience. By knowing its needs and preferences as well as its possible shopping and browsing behaviour, you can adjust website content accordingly.

Job description

The job of a SEO manager is to develop and implement SEO strategies. These help a company to improve its online presence, thus, resulting in more traffic and ideally more customers and sales. A SEO manager is responsible for researching keywords, planning content, web analytics, marketing, and social media engagement. A SEO manager should have an in-depth knowledge of the relevant research and web analytics tools. He or she should be adaptable to change and willing to embrace and implement new developments, technologies, and algorithms.

Responsibilities

• Performance Monitoring
• User Experience/UX
• Competitor Analysis
• Keyword Research
• Algorithm Updates
• Page Optimisation
• Content Strategy
• Website Audits
• Technical SEO
• SEO Tools

Different types of SEO Managers

• Mobile SEO Manager
• Link Building Manager
• Content SEO Manager
• Technical SEO Manager
• International SEO Manager

Salary

SEO managers in the UK can expect annual salaries that range from £39,500 to £43,400. Work experience and performance are two factors that affect the annual salary. Moreover, the salary is affected by the employer, the company size, and the company location.

Currently, SEO managers can expect higher wages in the Greater London Area that come in at around £44,200 per year. Similar salaries can be expected in the North of England, whereas Scotland pays considerably less. The annual salary of a SEO manager comes in at around £37,100.

Working hours

A full-time SEO manager can work up to 45 hours a week. Typically, these hours are from Monday through Friday and can be a 9 to 5-ish job. The weekly working hours can increase through looming deadlines and emergencies. It is also likely that a SEO manager will work in the evenings and at the weekends. Note that this qualifies as overtime which more often than not is not paid.

As a SEO manager, you may have the option to work remotely since the major part of your work is done online. We recommend that you check with your future employer whether remote work can be an option.

Employers

SEO managers typically find employment as in-house SEO managers or SEO consultants in companies in need of website and search engine optimisation. These can include startups and small businesses as well as medium-sized businesses and large companies from any industrial sector. A SEO manager can also apply to non-profit organisations that are looking to improve their online presence to raise awareness for specific causes.

Being a SEO manager is one of the most popular freelance/self-employment jobs if you have the ambition and drive to start your own SEO management business.

Qualifications

To become a SEO manager does not require earning an academic degree. You also have the option to start your career as a SEO manager by completing an apprenticeship in an appropriate field or without any specific educational background. Note that a certain number of GCSEs and grades may be mandatory.

A SEO manager should have work experience in a SEO-related field. A SEO manager should also be qualified in HTML/CSS and be familiar with the relevant SEO and web analytic tools, such as Conductor, MOZ, Screaming Frog, WebTrends, and Google Analytics.

Skills

As a SEO manager, you should have strong analytical skills that help you understand algorithms and the relevant keywords for your website optimisation. You should also be patient since SEO results typically do not appear overnight.

This section will tell you which other skills you should have or should develop when you want to be a SEO manager.

Customer Focus

Typically, web content centres around a specific target audience that is interested in products and services. In short, this target audience is your company’s customer base. As a SEO manager, you need to know everything there is to know about said customers. You need to focus on and understand their needs, preferences, and behaviours.

Emotional Intelligence

There are two ways to get to know your target audience: analysing the relevant data relating to browsing and shopping behaviour and being able to identify with your customers on an emotional level. This way, you can understand your customers’ perspectives, needs, and preferences. Therefore, a strong level of emotional intelligence will help you thrive as a SEO manager.

Teamwork Skills

The term manager implies that a SEO manager oversees a team of SEO experts. As a SEO manager, you should not only have leadership but also teamwork skills. As a SEO manager, you should always see yourself as part of a team. Therefore, strong teamwork skills are mandatory for an excellent SEO manager.

Career Path

The career path of a SEO manager starts with an entry-level position, for instance, as a SEO intern, SEO assistant or junior SEO manager. After gaining the relevant work experience, the next career steps are the job of a SEO analyst and a SEO strategist. After a few years, you can advance to the position of a SEO manager. Depending on your ambition, the next prestigious step can be Head of SEO.

Educational Background

You can become a SEO manager by earning an academic degree, an apprenticeship in an appropriate field, or no specific educational background. Note that most employers prefer candidates for SEO positions who have an academic degree, for example, a Bachelor’s degree in digital marketing, business, or IT.

Doing a postgraduate degree is another option to further your career prospects. These degrees are offered by some UK universities. You may also want to check whether you can enrol in a company graduate SEO management scheme. This enables you to pursue your degree while still earning money.

Entry Level

Your first SEO job will not be the job of a SEO manager since this job is a senior position. Instead, you will start at entry-level, quite likely as a SEO intern or a SEO assistant manager. Through gaining the relevant experience and knowledge, you can then start thinking about applying for a SEO manager position.

Continuous Learning

Whatever your ultimate career goal might be: always remember that each career step involves continuous learning. Staying on top of the relevant software and tools is as mandatory as adapting the latest algorithms, researching keywords and knowing how to optimise web content accordingly. If you never stop to learn, you will thrive in your SEO position which, naturally, also includes the position of a SEO manager.

Does the Job of a SEO Manager have Good Career Prospects?

Definitely! In fact, the job of a SEO manager is one of the most sought-after jobs in Digital Marketing. If you decide to become a SEO manager, you can work pretty much everywhere on the planet – and in any industry or sector that interests you. Bear in mind that the job of a SEO manager is also one of the most stressful ones. Constant changes and having to be on constant alert mean a high level of pressure and stress.

A Day in the Life of a SEO Manager

Have you ever wondered what a day in the life of a SEO manager looks like? Have you ever asked yourself if all he or she does is optimise a website? Or are there considerably more daily tasks that a SEO manager has to perform? Continue reading and you will find you (and one little hint: yes, website optimisation features heavily in the day of a SEO manager).

In this section, we will take a look at three important tasks in a day in the life of a SEO manager.

Keyword Research

Before you can start to optimise a website, you need to know which keywords are relevant and need to be included. Therefore, keyword research is one of the first things you do when you start your day as a SEO manager.

Backlink Analysis

The traffic a website generates also depends on external and internal backlinks. What sounds like a lot of gobbledegook to non-SEO experts is a vital part of a SEO manager’s day. He or she needs to analyse both the quality of the respective backlinks and adjust them according to new algorithms. This helps to improve the further optimisation of a website.

Content Planning and Review

A website should be continuously optimised – maybe not every day, but every few months. This is how long it takes for SEO results to appear. Based on the relevant data, a SEO manager can then start to plan new content that meets the latest algorithms and changes. Before uploading this content to the website’s backend, a SEO manager first needs to review it

The External Link is being pushed to the Sidelines

Recent studies have discovered an almost shocking fact. 94 percent of global web content does not get any external links (and, as a SEO manager, you know all about the importance of those!). And it gets even worse for a website (and could, potentially, result in the odd discussion with your employers): only 5.7 percent of the optimised websites will actually rank among Google’s Top 10 within a year of going online.

Tips for Thriving as a SEO Manager

When you are a SEO manager, you have already implied some important tips for thriving – or else, you would not hold this position. However, being a SEO manager does not mean that you should stop learning or improving. On the contrary, getting tips for thriving and implementing them is essential for a SEO manager to thrive even more.

In this section, we will tell you a few more tips for thriving as a SEO manager:

• Conduct comprehensive audits
• Adapt to algorithm changes
• Create quality content

Conduct Comprehensive Audits

As a SEO manager, you regularly need to conduct website audits. These help you find issues, irregularities, bugs, and other things that can affect the smooth running and ranking of a website. Your audits also show you where you might need to generate and upload more content. In short, audits are vital if you want to perform well in your job as a SEO manager. Since your superiors will likely be interested in your audits, you should make them as comprehensive as possible. Remember, you are the expert – not everyone speaks SEO.

Adapt to Algorithms Changes

We are not sure why, but all search engines change their algorithms regularly. Maybe they are bored, or maybe they want to keep a SEO manager on his or her toes? Whatever the reason, it is vital for you to a) know about algorithm changes and b) adapt to these changes. It is the only way to keep a website and a company afloat and at the top of the respective search engines. We are sure that as a SEO manager, you know that already. But it never hurts to mention it again since this is an important tip to thrive as a SEO manager.

Create Quality Content

Content is still king since it is what attracts people to look at a website and maybe even buy. However, more and more businesses rely on AI-generated content, one of the reasons being that it can be generated faster and cheaper. Do not let yourself be put off by this artificial competition, maybe even “befriend” it so you can benefit from it. Also, never forget that you are what AI will never be: a human being with empathy, emotional intelligence and the ability to read people’s emotions and needs. Only these qualities can guarantee quality content that engages with the target audience. If you want to thrive as a SEO manager, you should always work on your content skills, including your copywriting and storytelling skills.

Frequently Asked Questions