Top Required Skills for SEO SpecialistsWorldwide Research

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SEO jobs worldwide researchIn 2019 SEMrush Academy analyzed around 3000 SEO vacancies on Monster and Indeed, two large job search sites.

We analyzed job offers in the UK, Canada, the USA, Australia and India to find out which skills employers want to see in their ideal candidates.

We reviewed job vacancies for SEO Managers and SEO Specialists.

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The research geography

Canada350+30+

USA400+250+

UK300+150+

Australia50+

India1500+

Number of job offers reviewed worldwide

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Most required skills

Google Tools Link Building

HTML + CSS JavaScript

Technical SEO SEMrush

On Page SEO Moz

Keyword Research Local SEO

41% 19%

39% 10%

30% 8%

28% 8%

24% 8%

Google Tools(GA & GSC)

41%

The above data represents the employer's requirements mentioned in the job offers and can differ for each particular job offer. The percentage shows the number of mentions of a particular skill in the total number of SEO job offers.

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TOP-10 skills required in the SEO industry, 2019

USA India Canada

1 Google Tools (GA + GSC) 87% HTML + CSS 14% Google Tools (GA + GSC) 79%

2 HTML + CSS 85% On Page SEO 13% HTML + CSS 58%

3 Technical SEO 57% Google Tools (GA + GSC) 12% Keyword Research 58%

4 On Page SEO 52% Link Building 11% Technical SEO 34%

5 Keyword Research 48% Keyword Research 11% Link Building 32%

6 Link Building 36% Technical SEO 6% Ranking factors 18%

7 Local SEO 24% Ranking factors 3% Mobile SEO 18%

8 JavaScript 22% JavaScript 2% Local SEO 18%

9 Mobile SEO 15% Mobile SEO 2% JavaScript 13%

10 A/B 11% Local SEO 1% A/B 13%

Australia UK

1 Google Tools (GA + GSC) 61% Google Tools (GA + GSC) 74%

2 Technical SEO 54% Technical SEO 73%

3 HTML + CSS 52% HTML + CSS 61%

4 On Page SEO 43% On Page SEO 47%

5 Keyword Research 40% Keyword Research 32%

6 Link Building 25% Link Building 25%

7 JavaScript 18% JavaScript 20%

8 Mobile SEO 7% Mobile SEO 14%

9 Ranking factors 6% Local SEO 9%

10 Local SEO 6% Backlink management 6%

The percentage shows the number of mentions of a particular skill in the total number of SEO job offers.

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Most desirable SEO skills in 2019Being a great SEO specialist requires a wide range of skills. All the mentioned skills are important for an efficient SEO manager, but it is especially crucial to be familiar with technical aspects, search engine algorithms, on page SEO and definitely to be able to work with tools that provide better performance of SEO activities.

1. Analytical skills and knowledge of Google toolslike GA and GSC make an SEO specialist powerful and help him to keep a finger on the pulse of the most recent SEO trends.

2. Search engine algorithms are constantly changingso it is important to be aware of the technical aspects of SEO to be able to fix the issues and achieve perfect visibility of a website. Among these requirements knowledge of HTML and CSS are almost obligatory, so do not overlook them.

3. Among other important technical SEO skillsare H1 and meta tags, status codes, XML sitemaps, robots.txt, and solving crawl issues, which help keep you ahead of the competition and show great results during your everyday SEO routine.

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SEO skills dynamic

Technical SEO is a crucial skill for a good SEO specialist, so visit the SEMrush Academy to take a free technical SEO course

There have been certain changes in employers` requirements for the ideal SEO candidate.In 2019 comparing to 2018, the percentage of SEO job offers where keyword research and on page SEO are required has increased. Technical SEO skills are still important, but in 2019 there are more requirements for knowledge of the HTML and CSS elements of technical SEO, so the total share of technical SEO, HTML and CSS mentions rose to 69% of analyzed jobs.

7%6%

11%

24%

28%26%

42%42%

69%49%

21%

8%

The percentage shows the number of mentions of a particular skill in the total number of SEO job offers.

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SEO toolsThere are many SEO tools on the market that provide easier and more effective implementation of SEO strategies.

Here are the top 5 most in-demand tools that employers want the ideal candidates to be familiar with. Although depending on the country the ranking of the tools differs slightly, the top 3 tools on the worldwide English-speaking market are: SEMrush, Moz and Ahrefs.

USA India Canada Australia UK Total

20% 1% 3% 9% 17% 9%

21% 2% 13% 9% 11% 8%

4% 0% 3% 7% 17% 4%

11% 0% 3% 1% 4% 3%

11% 1% 3% 12% 14% 6%

The percentage shows the number of mentions of a particular skill in the total number of SEO job offers.

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SEO tools dynamicsIt is interesting to see the dynamics in the required SEO tools.

In India, the strongest growth was in SEMrush requirements, although in numbers it is just 1%.

In Canada, a significant growth in Moz popularity was detected.

The SEO jobs market in the UK has demonstrated the growth of the demand for usage of Majestic, SEMrush and Ahrefs tools.

In Australia, almost all of the tools in 2019 are much more in demand than 2 years ago.

USA

India

Canada

UK

Australia

0% 0%

2017 2019

In the US the percentage of SEO jobs where knowledge of MOZ or SEMrush is beneficial rose to 21% and 20%, respectively. Other tools also showed an increase.

The percentage shows the number of mentions of a particular skill in the total number of SEO job offers.

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SEO search queries, 2019We decided to explore what people would like to know about SEO using SEMrush and to identify areas that lack information.

The results show that most questions refer to SEO definitions and to the ways of doing SEO. So, people wonder what SEO is and how to do it. Such questions as “How to improve SEO?” and “What is SEO marketing?” are also in the top-10 list as well.

KEYWORD SEARCH VOLUME *

What is SEO 31 500

What does SEO stand for 4 090

What is SEO and how it works 2 890

What is SEO marketing 2 030

How to do SEO 1 541

How to SEO 1 540

What does SEO mean 1 260

How does SEO work 940

How SEO works 861

How to improve SEO 850

* Sum of average monthly search volumes for US, UK, AU, CA, IN

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Search query topics, 2019We have also divided the most popular Google queries about SEO into several topics.According to the results, most queries are dedicated to definitions of SEO and different areas of SEO. Searches for certain SEO skills rank second. The third most popular group refers to the SEO process, where users wonder how to do SEO to get better results. Then come educational queries and questions about jobs and employment. Users want to know how to learn SEO on their own. Users are also concerned about the prices of SEO and SEO tools.

TOPIC SEARCH VOLUME *

Definitions of SEO 53 070

Queries about SEO skills 19 020

How to do SEO 9 350

Educational 9 300

SEO Jobs 3 190

Prices of SEO 1 600

SEO Tools 1 490

* Sum of average monthly search volumes for US, UK, AU, CA, IN

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Key Takeaways1. The most important skill for an SEO candidate

in 2019 is the knowledge of Google tools (Google Analytics and Google Search Console). Around 42% of the job offers mention these skills as compulsory.

2. Then, candidates should be familiar with HTML and CSS (mentioned in around 40% of SEO vacancies).

3. It is appreciated if a candidate has a high levelof technical SEO knowledge (31%).

4. A good SEO specialist has a broad outlookand should be familiar with on page SEO specifics (28%) and be good at keyword strategy (24%).

5. Employers give more attention to special tools that can facilitate working on SEO strategies. SEMrush, Moz and Ahrefs are the most popular ones.

6. Most Google queries are about definitions of SEO,particular SEO skills and the process of doing SEO.

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It's not surprising to see that analytical skills are the most requested in the industry. As an in-house SEO, most of the time you’ll face senior stakeholders that struggle to make sense of digital. They’ll need robust reporting and a little hand holding to get things done. In our experience, agencies tend to be used for search strategy, sounding boards or to do heavy lifting in specialised areas, such as link building and digital PR. So it makes sense that the most sought-after skills are technically led.

When interviewing candidates, we recommend putting them through a technical test and a stress test. That way, we can see what their thinking and comprehension is like when they encounter a problem that has multiple outcomes. We often find that the fact that someone knows how to work a crawler or run reporting in GA doesn't necessarily mean they have the deductive skills to make sense of the data and turn it into actionable insights for their wider team.

The skills I consider to be most important as an SEO specialist are very much centered around technical abilities. We're talking technical SEO primarily, including some coding of HTML, CSS and Javascript. At a minimum along with proficiency in a number of essential SEO tools for analysis and troubleshooting using GA and GSC, and using a quality SEO suite such as SEMrush or Majestic. Continuous learning is important, and then it's through gaining real-life SEO experience that these skills really become a career-building asset.

Peter MeadWordPress SEO Consultant at Peter Mead iT

Ross TavendaleManaging Director Type A Media

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