An SEO Manager is one who specializes in implementing and coordinating SEO strategies and efforts to boost business prospects and maximize user engagement. The primary task includes understanding, communicating and executing activities related to organic search

This profile usually requires a mix of strategic planning, campaign organization and project management duties.

Here are 9 crucial skills every SEO manager must-have:

1. Strong Analytical Skills: An analytical mindset can help to competently assess the performance of Internet marketing campaigns and website effectiveness in order to generate insights for a more impactful future course of action.

   SEO Managers must be able to track, analyze and report on core KPIs and success metrics using data analysis. These findings will help drive editorial strategies which will enhance the business’s search rankings on major search engines.

2. Strategic Perspective: The role of an SEO manager is a strategic one. The core functionality relies on being able to devise a strategy to align SEO plans with long-term business objectives.

   A good SEO manager should be able to conduct his own research to create target keyword portfolios, gather data on online behaviors and trends to help design content marketing strategies that best fit the prospects’ needs

3. Technical Knowledge: A solid know-how of various analytical, performance measurement and keyword tracking tools (even Spreadsheets!), Google Analytics, Google Search Console, crawlers, WebTrends, MOZ, WordTracker, Keyword Discovery etc. is an absolute must.

   A basic understanding of HTML, CSS, website administration and a good working knowledge of on-site elements like H1s, and meta descriptions is an added advantage to perform better in a digital environment.

   A good SEO manager should keep himself abreast of the latest trends to ensure that the brand messaging is always in sync with what users want.

4. Understanding Best Practice Tactics: Knowledge of standard and current SEO practices is undoubtedly essential. A clear idea about on-page SEO and off-page SEO and content marketing tactics helps plan better strategies.
5. Ability to Conduct a Fair Competitor Analysis: Conducting site and competitor analysis is important to identify how well a business is doing vis a vis its competition. An SEO manager is also expected to create SEO analysis reports and provide recommendations to improve the structure of brand websites and web pages vis a vis competitor.
6. Interpersonal Skills and Collaboration: Cordial interpersonal qualities will ensure smooth, consistent and efficient execution of tasks among team members. Collaboration is important in any cross-functional setting. It is important to know how to gel well with other teams and to work together on optimizing campaigns.
7. Stakeholder Management: A successful SEO Manager must be able to easily communicate with and manage the requirements of multiple stakeholders in the senior management cadre seamlessly.
8. Team Management and Leadership Qualities: At some point, an SEO manager will be required to manage an existing team or build one. Strong leadership and organizational skills can be beneficial to do this well.

   High levels of motivation and the ability to multi-task in a deadline-driven environment helps. Being a quick decision maker can help in challenging situations.

9. Good Communication and Reporting Skills: Excellent verbal and written communicational skills contribute to more meaningful interactions with personnel at cross-functional levels. Good communication skills also help create impactful presentations and reports for senior management while also contributing to effective team communication on project development, goals and timeliness. Since one crucial area of responsibility lies in overseeing that the content is delivered to the audience in an easily comprehensible form, a strong grip in the field of online content production can be useful.

If you are eying the coveted role of SEO Manager, you should possess an assortment of skills and competencies to effectively manage your SEO campaigns and provide a holistic approach to search marketing.

SEO has proven itself. It’s no longer the buzzword reserved for niche online marketing circles. Nowadays, even the small business owner promoting their business online knows just how critical SEO can be to their success.

Unfortunately, while they understand the importance of SEO and its results, they still struggle with how to execute an effective SEO strategy and what tools to use in the process.

And who can blame them? So many tools exist for various uses at varying price points, and for even the most experienced, it can be hard to tell which one to choose.

Here, we’ve listed some of the best SEO tools that SEO experts are using in 2018 to help them create amazing content loved by both audiences and search engines.

1. Ubersuggest

When one of the most proven names in online marketing buys one of the most popular free tools on the market, you know it’s on to something special.

Neil Patel’s 2017 purchase of Ubersuggest had many showing a renewed interest in the tool, and for good reason. It’s one of the most comprehensive keyword suggestion tool and optimization tool for improving search engine rankings and executing PPC campaigns.

Add the fact that it’s free (unlike the other popular tools on this list) and you’ve got a winning combination.

Image Source: Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest pulls in their keyword suggestions from Google’s Keyword Planner and Google Suggest, which means you’re getting data from the most popular search engine in the world. Along with the keyword suggestions, it also tells search volume, i.e. monthly average of how often people search for this term, and gives you an idea of how much competition there is for each keyword.

This information is more than enough to help online marketers build a solid list of keywords and phrases to target when creating website content, and engaging in online advertising.

2. Ahrefs

If you’re looking for a more complex, robust platform that covers several areas of SEO research and analysis – including site analysis, backlink profiles, keyword suggestions, and content exploration – then Ahrefs is worth considering.

Beware, Ahrefs could cost you a pretty penny. Unlike many SEO tools, which have a free or freemium model, you have to pay to play with this tool. A 7-day trial will cost you $7 upfront, after which, regular plans start at $99 per month.

Image Source: Ahrefs

Ahrefs’ comprehensive dashboard is meant for the businesses and agencies with ongoing in-depth SEO needs. It features several charts and trackers that give you an overview of your website’s performance across the web, from individual page backlinks, referrals and SERP ranking and even social media shares.

If SEO is a big part of your online marketing strategy and you have the budget to accommodate it, Ahrefs should definitely be one of the tools in your marketing belt for 2018.

3. SEMrush

SEMrush markets itself as the ‘all-in-one marketing toolkit for digital marketing professionals’. It’s dashboard can be a bit overwhelming for the average small business owner, whom might not be so familiar with SEO terminologies, but the tool certainly packs a punch for those in highly competitive industries, as well as agencies and larger businesses that run analytics for multiple entities or divisions.

Image Source: Fourth Source

SEMrush gives over 20 ways to research your competition – from backlink reports, keyword suggestions, content performance, PPC recommendations and more. It’s also great at ad strategy analysis, which comes in very handy if you’re trying to create better Google Ads. One of the most useful features, however, is its ability to generate beautiful yet highly functional reports in a snap, which are necessary when sharing information in the digital world, because every second matters.

SEMrush does have somewhat of a freemium model, but it only offers a very limited trial. After a few clicks, it will ask you to register and subscribe to one of their plans, which start at $99.95 per month.

4. Moz Free SEO Tools

Moz is one of the biggest names in the SEO tools arena. Not only has it been around for many years, it offers one of the most comprehensive blogs for SEO practitioners. So it should come as no surprise that they have the most popular tools in the business.

You can spring for a Moz Pro subscription, starting at $99 per month, or get started using one of their useful free tools. These tools, however, are only good for dipping your toes into SEO. If you want to dive in, you’ll have to take the plunge with a paid subscription.

Two of the most popular free tools are the Open Site Explorer (or OSE) and the Keyword Explorer. OSE is Moz’s solution for website owners who want to get a good idea of what pages are ranking on their site, how their site is performing on search engines, and where their traffic is coming from. Of course, savvy searchers will also plug in their competitors’ sites and use that information to their advantage as well.

Image Source: Moz Keyword Explorer

Moz Keyword Explorer tool provides keyword suggestions, search engine page rankings (SERP) analysis, as well as a brief glimpse at the top mentions of the brand, with a more-detailed listing available with a paid account. You can search up to 20 free terms per month.

If you like these tools, you can also check out other free tools by Moz for local SEO marketing, and their free Beginners Guide to SEO for a detailed introduction to the world of search engine optimization.

Choosing The Best SEO Tool For You

It’s easy to get lost in the world of SEO because there are so many tools with overlapping functions, similar price points which net you similar results. Any tools you choose will tend to be marginally better in some areas, while not-so-great in others. Therefore, it’s always important to do the relevant tests and figure out which is best for you and your business, based on functionality and the price you’re willing to pay.

Remember, even if you do choose a paid tool, continuing to supplement it with the free or freemium versions of the other tools will only help you get a wider range of results, picking up on something other tools may have missed. The more you have to work with, the better your SEO will be.

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The Google Webmaster Rater Quality Guidelines make it clear that each web page must have a purpose. The guidelines go so far as to instruct raters to mark pages with no clear purpose as “low quality.” For some, their website is an online portal to express feelings, opinions, hobbies and personal experiences. Business owners and entrepreneurs are not granted that luxury.

Using Purpose To Define A Marketing Message

It is no longer enough to have your website’s purpose defined as “the place where we get leads.” (Unfortunately, for many of the consulting conversations we have, this is where their marketing plan begins and ends.)

The purpose of a web page must match the users’ needs. By reverse-engineering your potential clients’ needs, you can customize each web page to solve those needs and position your business in their minds as the top choice for future solutions. This focus on purpose needs to be the new core of every SEO campaign.

The Competition Has Become Tougher

We live in a time where most people rely on the internet for everything. People Google anything that comes to mind. In fact, they use major search engines for reviews before shopping online or offline. With this in mind, most businesses rely on an effective SEO strategy to influence the behavior of potential customers. This has forced even the most relaxed small business owner to have at least a modicum of SEO knowledge.

Chris Kicidis of Cover Your Head, a custom embroidered hat company, describes a strong search engine optimization plan like a custom-woven hat: “You need a strategy that is customized to cater your needs. An SEO plan that fits is all you need to stay on top of the competition.”

We implement this for clients by identifying what their customers and potential clients need and then adjusting the marketing strategy to meet that need. A practical example would be reaching out to a site that is already serving our potential customers and seeing if we can assist by offering thought leadership content or resources.

This niche-focused SEO strategy is vastly different from the broader campaigns that SEO companies were running only two years ago. And it represents the algorithm’s improvement in its ability to determine user intent and serve sites that best match that intent.

You’ll Be Able To Define Your Competition

A purpose-focused SEO strategy often starts by gathering information about your competition. Online tools such as SEMrush, SpyFu and AWR Cloud can help identify which sites are ranking the highest for certain user queries and suggest additional queries that are related to the campaign.

While this in-depth knowledge of the competition provides an excellent foundation, only focusing on the competition is an excellent way to be left behind.

Talk through your customers’ problems and pain points as a team and experiment with the types of queries they would use to solve those issues. Then, as Laura Lippay, organic search and technical lead at Netflix, explains in this article, you can carefully examine each competitor that attempts to meet that need and plan a way to improve on the content currently offered.

Additionally, every angle of your top competitors should be analyzed during this phase. Content length, URL length, title length, keyword density and cross-promotion opportunities are areas your company can emulate. These little tweaks can provide a significant advantage.

As James Pemberton, founder of WeRank, told me in an interview recently, “Another commonly overlooked SEO strategy is the URL structure of the website. If this is done right, your website will rank quicker, with fewer resources, and for a lot more keywords.”

Starting with an in-depth competitor analysis and a detailed plan can help you improve the customer experience while also protecting you from wasted effort.

Avoiding Common Mistakes

Poor-quality content that doesn’t help the user could be near the top of the list. Content can be awkward to create and expensive to pay someone else to help you with. As a result, most businesses struggle in this area. We often see web pages that offer little more than an image of the company with an address and phone number (and possibly a slogan). Before hitting publish, ask yourself: “Is this the most helpful resource online for my potential customer?”

Another common mistake we see is focusing on too many platforms simultaneously. Are your customers on Facebook or on Twitter? Or do you need more Google traffic from AdWords and SEO? It is easy to get distracted by “likes” and engagement metrics. Leveraging tools like Google Tag Manager can help you hone in on which platforms are providing your business with the best ROI. Don’t be afraid to cull the underperforming platforms and reallocate those resources to go deeper with the ones that are working.

Regularly Changing With Google’s Algorithm

The constant droning from Google’s John Mueller about “quality content” can be frustrating.

There are two critical angles hidden in these comments that need to be fleshed out. The first is purpose-driven content. Identify the user intent and meet that. Even if the user is only trying to find a plumber, providing that user with an attractive, mobile-friendly, easy-to-navigate website with a working phone number that is answered promptly by friendly staff is what it takes to resolve their query. You can see that “quality” in this case goes much deeper than just having long-form written content on a website.

Secondly, we need to ensure our off-site promotions are of the highest quality. Buying links to sites that your customers will never visit is a frustrating experience for all of the parties involved.

Adjusting your SEO campaign by seo company so that the users and their needs are put first, and then meeting them with the perfect solution at every corner, is the only way to stay ahead of the constant algorithm improvements.

Those involved in the SEO world know how complex and ever-changing the industry can be. With over 200 ranking factors and the constant updates of the algorithm, keeping up with SEO trends is mandatory.

One thing never changes, though: providing the best possible experience for users. In 2018, quality content will certainly remain in focus, but there are other novelties in SEO practices that come with changes in user behavior and evolution in technology. Take a look at a few of those things to look out for in the new year:

Google is switching to a mobile-first index

Today, we are witnessing a shift from desktop to mobile when it comes to the preferable way to surf the web. Nearly 60% of searches now come from mobile devices, and Google has finally decided to roll out the mobile-first index update. This means the algorithm will primarily use the content your site offers in the mobile view for ranking it in the SERP.

Mobile-first index was mentioned for the first time in 2016 on the Google Webmaster Central Blog, where the team shared recommended practices. Without any doubt, this will be a big historical change in the way websites are indexed.

Having a mobile responsive website is becoming an imperative, as well as having a structured markup for both desktop and mobile version. Webmasters do not need to make changes to their canonical links. Adding and verifying a mobile version of your site to the Search Console is also advisable.

Voice search will continue to rise

Virtual assistants such as Google Now, Cortana, and Siri have shortened the path between users and the answers they need. Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai announced that voice searches make up to 20% of mobile queries, which puts new challenges in front of SEO experts. Forecasts say this type of search has a growth tendency, so optimizing for Google Voice Search is a good idea.

Marketers have to analyze user intent in order to optimize well for voice searches. Typically, users have four different queries: they seek knowledge (educational content and exact answers), places (“near me” queries and addresses of local businesses), activities (how to’s and other types of guides), and purchase opportunities (online shops of their favorite brands). In order to optimize content for voice searches, you should definitely include a well-structured FAQ on your website so that precise information will easily get indexed and put in front of users. Use relevant long tail keywords (voice searches are often lengthier opposed to text) and optimize your content for conversational language.

Link building is not going anywhere

A study conducted by Stone Temple has proven once again that link building is not going anywhere and it’s not hard to understand why. A good quality backlink profile acts like a signal for Google that your website is a great resource that provides value to readers. But in addition to your standard link building efforts, you should also think about the concept of link earning. Although the difference between the two is subtle, the latter puts user experience in the center of attention.

Link earning is all about focusing on producing engaging content that actually answers the questions users are interested in, which inspires people to organically link to you. So, you are rewarded with a link naturally. If you want to hold a great ranking position, you should focus on building and earning links from reputable domains with high authority. Make sure none of the links pointing to your website come from shady and spammy sites. Disavow bad links.

High quality content + smart keywords will get you far

Smart SEO techniques always come down to creating great content with both users and search engines in mind. To truly stand out in the sea of average content across the web and earn better rankings, you need to create unique, original content that not only educates – but provides a concrete answer that satisfies user intent. That is the only way you will increase your organic visits. Of course, smart usage of keywords will help crawlers index your website easier. Use Google Keyword Planner to map out relevant words and phrases and optimize your content. Reoptimize your old content in accordance to new keyword trends.

When it comes to content, ensure your text posts are scannable and easily consumable. Add eye-catching visuals, make your website navigation logical, and always keep UX in mind. Dwell time matters: give your site visitors a reason to stick around.

Featured snippets matter more than ever

Marketing and SEO experts such as Bill Slawski, Eric Enge, and Marcus Miller believe the chase for a featured snippet will become the focal point in 2018. If a featured snippet appears on the SERP, it’s far more likely users will click on that link opposed to the listed results below. According to the Ahrefs study, a featured snippet will actually steal clicks from the #1 ranking result. Optimizing for rich snippets or “People Also Ask” boxes pays off, specifically because it instantly grabs the attention of users. This helps you generate more traffic, save money on PPC, and gain more visibility.

You should definitely keep these SEO trends in mind but also commit to white hat techniques only. Everything you do as a webmaster leaves a trace on how your domain is perceived by Google. I have already discussed domain ranking factors, and while agility remains one of the most important skills for an SEO expert, don’t get carried away and forget the crucial basics. Take the holistic approach and you will nail SEO in 2018.