An SEO expert will help your business get found online by optimising your website to achieve higher rankings in the search engine pages.  They will implement SEO tools and techniques on your website that will help you achieve more targeted traffic from Google and the other search engines.

The best way to gauge whether someone is a good SEO consultant is to look at the reviews on their Google Business Profile.  An SEO consultant worth their salt will also have genuine customer testimonials on their website.  Another option is to search for ‘best SEO consultant’ on Google and see what businesses come up.  Their star rating will also give a good indication of their credentials and performance.

According to payscale.com.au, the average salary for a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialist in Australia is $60 619 per year.  However, annual income for an SEO expert depends on many different factors including whether they own their own business, work for an agency or contract their time as a freelance SEO expert.

An SEO consultant’s work day depends on their clients’ needs and priorities.  Examples of things an SEO expert may work on any given day include:

•       Checking clients websites’ performance
•       Evaluating performance analytics
•       Troubleshooting
•       Preparing SEO strategies
•       Analysing competitors’ websites
•       Doing keyword research
•       Building links
•       Optimising on-page and off-page SEO
•       Networking/marketing

The starting point to becoming an SEO specialist is to undertake some formal training.  There are plenty of online courses and TAFE programmes – and generally it will take about a year to master the advanced concepts involved in SEO.  On-the-job experience with a reputable digital marketing company is also invaluable.

Becoming a great SEO specialist requires a broad range of skills – not all of them technical.  These include (but aren’t limited to):

• Critical thinking
•  Strong writing skills
• Strong analytical skills
• In-depth understanding of the technical aspects of website design and coding
• Thorough knowledge of how the Google algorithm works
• Research-minded
• Detail-orientated but big picture vision
• Goal-oriented
• Flexibility
• Good interpersonal skills
• Good time management and the ability to prioritise 
• Creative communication

The world of SEO is complex and ever-evolving and it takes time to build the depth of knowledge and extensive skillset required for someone to call themselves an ‘SEO expert’.   However, it is very possible to learn the basics of SEO fairly quickly.  For example, an online course such as The SEO School takes participants through a hands-on 8-module programme through which they acquire sufficient skills to enable them to successfully manage their own website’s SEO.