As masters of the mystical but not-so-dark arts of improving search result rankings, SEO managers are powerful figures in the business world these days. Their actions can significantly help or hinder businesses, and their influence on internet users is invisible yet omnipresent. This makes it a highly coveted role, and if you’re looking to be one or hire one, you’ll need to know what it takes.
Here are the top skills needed to be an effective SEO manager.
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Planning and flexibility
It is the role of the SEO manager to advise on or even design the SEO strategy that a business will carry out. Important details of any campaign will rely on what they believe can be realistically achieved and trends that they see developing. Managers need the skills to set long-term goals, create comprehensive plans to achieve them, and to adapt their plans when needed once they are in motion.
Communication
Few people specialize in SEO, so SEO managers need to be adept at explaining things to stakeholders who may not understand what is being done or why. Being able to clearly describe the strategy and give reasons for their choices or advice is crucial.
Analytical skills
Over the long-term, there is only really one figure that matters in SEO and that’s ROI. How much additional income did it produce compared to how much was spent? In the meantime, however, there are all kinds of figures and statistics that managers need to track and interpret. This makes data analysis skills a necessity.
Content strategy
While managers typically do not write the content themselves, they need to have a good grasp of what resonates with their target audience while also relating to key search terms. Content is central to every SEO strategy and making sure that it is of high quality while containing the right keywords is something all successful SEO managers are good at.
Technical knowledge
Understanding website layouts, optimizing pages for mobile devices, and making sure websites load quickly are all examples of technical SEO. They can all affect where a website or page ranks on search engine results pages, and they are where some of an SEO campaign’s biggest problems can occur. Content can easily be edited, technical issues can be hard to diagnose and fix. Managers should have a solid understanding of the technical side.
Conclusion
If you want to be a good SEO manager or just know that you’re working with one, these are the main skills you need to know. SEO agencies such as King Kong strive to hire people that have these skills in spades.