How Students Can Build a Career in SEO and Thrive

Marketing is a popular field and in this new world, it has gone way beyond offline marketing. Now it’s more about what you can achieve in the digital world to grow your business. And for every digital marketing strategy, the most popular component is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Almost every business today – local or global – relies on SEO to boost their online visibility. This helps them drive organic traffic to their websites and get more traffic for higher conversions. For students looking to build a career in SEO, there are many opportunities available – as a remote worker, corporate professional, freelancer, and entrepreneur.

Let’s explore how you can build a successful SEO career.

Understanding the basics

When you just start, knowing how those results when you search for a particular term in Google show up is the key. There is a big deal of science behind it, not just for Google but for Bing and all other search engines. SEO includes a wide range of techniques like:

• Keyword research (using various tools like SEMrush, UberSuggest, etc)
• On-page optimization (using kw’s, posting SEO-friendly content, internal linking)
• Content creation (writing web content, blogs, and articles, pillar posts, guest posts)
• Link building (backlinks)
• Technical SEO (page load speed, mobile-friendly site, etc)

It’s also important to note that you should be confident in what you do. Once you enter a particular field, you should try your best to stick to it and keep moving ahead. In a highly competitive world, it is not easy to switch careers and begin afresh. To understand what a good career means and how to thrive in it, you should read career goals essay on EduBirdie. It will help you assess your goals and see if you are on the right path or not. And if you ever need to write an academic paper, these essay examples on the site will help you a lot. And in case you need an essay helper to do your career essay, that’s also possible.

Education and certifications/experience

You should start by building a strong educational base. A formal degree from some college in SEO still doesn’t exist. But there are various courses and certifications that will help you gain the right knowledge and skills. Online education platforms like Coursera, Udemy, edX, and LinkedIn Learning offer SEO courses. Certifications from reputable platforms boost your credibility. Go for certifications like Google Analytics and Google Ads certifications or the HubSpot SEO certification.

Stay up to date with industry trends by reading blogs. SEO is not something that you can study and learn from books. The well-known blogs are Moz, Neil Patel, Search Engine Land, and Ahrefs. These blogs are great resources to start with and you can learn about every update from them even when you work at an advanced level.

You could also build a simple blog on WordPress or Wix CMS. Work on SEO techniques to see how they work in real scenarios to rank your website for certain keywords. Practical experience will give you the confidence you need to grow in your career,

Join online communities and forums where SEO professionals discuss algorithm updates, tricks, and hacks, and share other important knowledge. Platforms like Moz Community, Quora, and questions and answers/comment sections on popular blogs are the best places to be on.

Internships and entry-level positions

Once you have the basic knowledge and skills, your target should be to gain practical experience. Internships and entry-level positions in digital marketing agencies or in-house marketing teams of famous brands provide valuable hands-on experience.

Apply for freelance projects on popular sites that include Lensa, Upwork, People Per Hour, and Fiverr. Projects/gigs from various global clients provide you with the opportunity to expand your horizons.

Advancing your career

SEO is a broad field. There are many specializations, such as local SEO, e-commerce SEO, and technical SEO. Choose a specialization where you think your interest lies and you can excel easily.

Look for experienced SEO professionals as mentors. Their guidance will be valuable in setting you apart from your competitors. You can connect with mentors if you impress them with your skills. Do so by writing blog posts, tweeting, or creating SEO-related content to share your knowledge with the SEO community. This will establish you as a real authority in the field. 

Once you feel you are able to work at an expert level, launch an SEO agency or a consultancy. Experienced SEO professionals thrive as entrepreneurs.

Conclusion

The SEO industry is dynamic and competitive. It offers great opportunities for students to thrive in their careers but for that, you need exceptional skills. With knowledge and dedication, students can build a rewarding career in SEO and find success in this highly-growing field.