Digital marketing is one of the best ways to help grow and promote a business. Technology allows consumers to interact with businesses in ways that were unimaginable before. In this day and age, to own a successful business, entrepreneurs need to also have a successful website. This is a necessity that cannot be avoided.
Every successful business has an equally successful marketing team. Which is why SEO professionals and content strategists are seeing an uptick in job openings. The market is booming for these professionals with excellent digital skills. Businesses will always need marketing and promotion, which means SEO professionals will continue to be in high-demand.
The SEO job market is so hungry for SEO experts, that many businesses consider hiring an SEO agency to help them develop their online footprint. This is an excellent career choice for both entry-level workers and professionals. If you’re considering a career working in SEO, here are a few things you should know.
SEO Basics At a Glance
First, let’s begin with the basics. SEO is short for search engine optimization. This simply means it’s the process of increasing a web page’s online presence through increased rankings in search results. In short, SEO helps a company gain more visibility by helping it reach the first page of Google rankings rather than subsequent pages.
Why is it important to reach the highest rankings in search engines? Because statistics show that the higher a web page is ranked, the more views it receives. In fact, studies have shown that 93 percent of the time users begin their online experience with a search engine. Furthermore, 47 percent of users will click on the first three listings on that page. Companies with strong search rankings have increased organic web traffic, and ultimately increased sales.
An SEO expert masters the craft of increasing search engine results for the companies they work for. SEO experts are skilled in various components of digital marketing, including data analytics, keyword research, web content, writing, HTML, etc. Additionally, anyone working in SEO is expected to have experience working with SEO tools such as Raven or Moz.
Traditionally, SEO professionals gained experience through marketing their own businesses and web pages. Today, however, SEO has become a subset of digital marketing and professionals are educated through classes and certification programs.
SEO professionals have a variety of job positions available to them. From working as a digital and content marketing team to working with web developers, SEO professionals are a needed commodity in today’s job market.
Experts estimate that SEO jobs are up 43 percent in 2018, with the field expected to grow exponentially in the next decade.
What is an SEO Agency?
While many SEO professionals operate as freelancers, very often SEO experts will work with an SEO agency to help their clients and businesses. SEO agencies aren’t a necessity for growing a business or even increasing online presence, but they are an advantage.
SEO companies analyze and track a webpage’s performance and offer solutions to help increase search rankings. These agencies tend to look a number of factors about a web page’s performance including website security, mobile-friendliness, and quality of content. Additionally, SEO agencies offer off-page analysis of review sites and industry blogs as well as fine-tuning all site code and structure.
SEO agencies help companies and clients structure their sites properly in order to increase organic web traffic and by extension increase revenue. At the end of the day, a website’s content is king; it attracts users, promotes products, and ultimately is a lifeline for any business.
While SEO agencies are an important part of the business, not all SEO agencies perform in good faith. Experts warn companies and professionals to be wary of SEO companies that use “black-hat” SEO tactics in order to increase search rankings.
Black-hat SEO tactics are frowned upon in the industry and can end up hurting a business. Black-hat agencies often offer up promises they can’t deliver. For example, they will often promise to increase traffic and ratings in a short amount of time. Even worse, these companies use plagiarized content, false links, and other shady tactics in order to show improved ratings.
These tactics may work, but usually not for long. As Google’s technology advances, it’s becoming increasingly harder for black-hat SEO tactics to persist, but still, some continue. Never fall prey to these agencies as they will eventually cause more harm than good.
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