Career advice

Become an SEO Expert

A search engine optimisation (SEO) expert identifies strategies and techniques to increase the popularity of a website and drive more traffic to it. They use marketing tactics, content strategies and analytics to create an effective online presence.

  • Average salary in UK £28,185 (Glassdoor)
  • Average salary in US $45,597 (PayScale)
  • Average salary in Canada CA$49,445 (PayScale)
  • Average salary in Australia AU$68,441 (PayScale)
Source: PayScale

What skills do you need to become an SEO expert?

  • Analytical skills

    SEO experts need to have a solid understanding of data and must be able to explain what it means. They look at data such as organic traffic, rankings and keywords, and they must be happy to deal with large quantities of information.

  • Writing ability

    Some SEO experts focus on the more technical aspects of SEO, but they have to understand what good writing looks like. It helps to be able to write SEO optimised copy and articles, as content marketing is vital when it comes to SEO.

  • Technical skills

    There are many technical elements of SEO, including understanding google algorithms and search engines, carrying out detailed keyword research and using HTML. Knowledge of other programming languages such as Javascript and PHP can be useful but aren’t always essential.

  • Great communication

    SEO experts collaborate with other members of the marketing team or communicate ideas directly to clients, so they have to be able to explain changes to others and communicate their ideas verbally and in writing.

Develop these skills. Start a short SEO course.

Courses
4 Courses

Learn new skills, pursue your interests or advance your career with our short online courses.

ClickSlice

The Ultimate SEO and Wordpress Training Course for 2021: Rank #1

4.9 (39 reviews)

Learn how to best implement on-page and technical SEO to best improve a WordPress website’s ranking on Google.

5 weeks

2 hrs per week

Find out more
ClickSlice

How To Start and Run Your Own SEO Business From Home: The Complete Blueprint

4.9 (20 reviews)

This detailed SEO and digital marketing course will give you all the skills you need to set up your own SEO agency or business.

4 weeks

1 hr per week

Find out more
ClickSlice

Local SEO: A Definitive Guide to Local Business Marketing

5.0 (28 reviews)

Watch an SEO expert show you how to get a local business onto the first page of Google – in real-time.

4 weeks

2 hrs per week

Find out more
ClickSlice

Complete Guide To Link Building: Building High-Quality Backlinks for SEO

Learn how to build strong backlinks that get your business ranking on Google’s first page with this online link building course.

3 weeks

2 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more

Browse more courses in Business & Management

The benefits of taking SEO courses online with FutureLearn

Learn flexibly online, for free, around the world

Develop valuable skills with a short, online SEO course wherever you are. Start learning for free, on desktop, tablet or mobile.

Upgrade or buy Unlimited for extra benefits

Upgrade your course for ongoing access to the course content, tests, and the chance to gain a Certificate of Achievement. Buy Unlimited for access to hundreds of short courses in a year and the ability to keep access to courses you gain a certificate on.

Meet SEO experts

Learn with experts from top international universities. Learn with SEO experts all over the world.