What Is an SEO Specialist? Role, Duties and Key Skills

Behind the success of the websites sitting at the top of Google today are talented SEO specialists . On TopCV and LinkedIn alone, there are more than 10,000 job postings for SEO Marketing specialists every month. This shows market demand for this role is rising fast, especially as businesses race to invest in digital transformation. So who is an SEO specialist? What role do they play in a website's growth strategy? Let's MONA learn everything about this in-demand role from A to Z.

What is an SEO specialist?

A general look at what an SEO specialist is

An SEO specialist (also called an SEO Specialist or SEO Executive) is a person whose job is to optimize your website get it to improve rankings on search engines like Google (Search Engine Optimization, or SEO). The core job of a website SEO staff member is to run activities that help the website appear at the top of organic search results (Organic Search), bringing in free traffic without running ads.

What does a website SEO staff member actually do?

Many businesses understand SEO only as “getting keywords to the top”, but few picture SEO là gì (What is SEO) and all the work behind it. Here are the key tasks an SEO Marketing specialist needs to do to deliver lasting results for a business:

Analyze and evaluate the website

SEO staff are the ones who directly analyze and evaluate the website

To ensure a website SEO strategy success, from the very first optimization step the SEO specialist does an overall analysis of the website to identify its strengths, weaknesses, and how it competes against rivals. This step includes detailed tasks such as:

• Check page load speed, headings, link structure, and which pages return 404 errors, Breadcrumb,…
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current website to build a suitable SEO strategy.
• Assess whether current content still matches user search intent (Search Intent) and SEO goals.
• Run an in-depth website analysis with SEO tools such as SEMrush, Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, etc.

You may also be interested in: Top 19+ SEO tools, SEO software that speeds up reaching the top

Research and filter a list of potential keywords

According to a Content Marketing Institute report, as many as 78% of B2B businesses and 73% of B2C businesses use keyword research to prepare online content. In particular, 87% of B2B businesses do keyword research to focus on content that meets customers' information needs. 

So, researching keywords is also an important job a professional SEO Executive needs to do, with the following details:

• Search for and collect keywords, then analyze and filter a list of potential keywords that customers often use when searching for products or services.
• Group keywords by user search intent (for example informational, navigational, or transactional keywords).
• Analyze and evaluate keyword competition and difficulty (Keyword Difficulty) to build a more effective SEO strategy.
• Update and expand the keyword list regularly based on market trends.

Improve the website structure

SEO Executives need to make sure the website structure is user-friendly

A website that wants to rank high needs a clear, logical structure that is friendly to both users and search engines. The SEO specialist works closely with the tech team to adjust and optimize the whole system, from the framework to how it displays. So what exactly does an SEO specialist do to improve website structure? 

• Design a clear website structure with an easy-on-the-eye, easy-to-navigate interface.
• Optimize internal links so users move smoothly between pages.
• Standardize and shorten URLs, improve breadcrumbs and the sitemap (sitemap).
• Make sure the website is mobile-friendly and gives a good user experience (meeting the Core Web Vitals).
• Work with others to handle technical factors that affect load speed and page indexability.

Optimize content to SEO standards for the website

Optimizing content to SEO standards helps your website keep high rankings on Google over the long term

After the Content team finishes writing, the SEO specialist reviews spelling, refines, and optimizes all the content to SEO standards, specifically: 

• Insert main and secondary keywords naturally, without forcing them, keeping the whole article coherent SEO Content.
• Optimize title tags, headings (H1 – H3), meta descriptions, and image alt text.
• Make sure the content is easy to read, clear, and genuinely useful to users.
• Cross-link related content to keep readers on the site and improve the ranking of sub-pages.

You may also be interested in: 

• An SEO-friendly article ? How to write SEO-friendly articles for beginners 
• How to write good content: Raising your conversion rate, a full A-Z guide

Build and manage the link system

As an SEO specialist, you need to build your link system strategically to boost credibility and create a quality "flow" between pages. The specific tasks a web SEO specialist needs to carry out include:

• Build quality backlinks from reputable sources such as news sites, forums, and industry blogs,…
• Plan SEO PR, run guest posts, or share content on the platforms your business is targeting.
• Carry out link building and monitor the quality of the website's backlink profile.
• Optimize the website's internal links.

Track, evaluate, and report results after SEO 

An SEO Marketing specialist needs to track and report SEO performance regularly

A professional SEO Marketing specialist tracks all campaign metrics to measure effectiveness and recommend improvements for the website. The work includes:

• Use specialized tools such as Google Search Console (GSC), Google Analytics, and Looker Studio,… to track keyword rankings, organic traffic, time on site,… 
• Prepare regular reports (weekly/monthly) to present results and update SEO progress.
• Monitor competitors to catch trends and keep the business's search advantage.

Solve problems that come up during and after SEO

Getting from SEO web "nowhere" to the top of Google is a long process, so technical issues and Google algorithm changes are bound to come up. At those moments, a fast and accurate response from the SEO specialist decides whether you keep your rankings and keep the system stable. That is why SEO needs close monitoring and timely action.

• Spot indexing or crawl errors caused by interface, server, or robots.txt updates.
• Update and redirect when URLs change or content is removed.
• Fix broken links, 404 errors, or technical errors that hurt the user experience.
• Adjust content or structure based on new user behavior to improve conversions.

Requirements to become an SEO Marketing specialist

SEO work is not just about pushing keywords to the top. It combines analysis, strategy, technology, and cross-team coordination. So to become an SEO specialist and move closer to the role of SEO specialists (SEO Expert), you need to build the following key skills:

Have SEO knowledge

Solid SEO knowledge is a must for SEO staff

To run effective SEO campaigns for your own business or SEO services for outside clients, an SEO Specialist needs to understand how Google works and the principles of sustainable optimization.

• Follow white-hat SEO: Don't use cheating tricks such as keyword stuffing or backlink spam. Instead, SEOers should focus on user experience and valuable content to hold rankings over the long term.
• Understand how Google crawls and ranks content: Know how search engines crawl, index, and evaluate websites so you can optimize content to fit the algorithm.
• Keep up with Google algorithm updates: Understand key updates such as Panda, Penguin, and Hummingbird… so you can adjust your SEO strategy in time.
• Master the 3 "pillars of SEO": 

• • SEO Onpage: Optimize content, titles, URLs, headings, meta descriptions, images, and internal links.
  • SEO Offpage: Build quality backlinks from reputable sites to increase the website's trustworthiness.
  • Technical SEO: Improve page load speed, website structure, crawlability, and indexability.

Be proficient with SEO tools quickly

Being proficient with SEO tools helps SEO Marketing staff save time on keyword research, analysis, and data measurement, so they make more accurate decisions in every campaign. For example:

Ability to work effectively 

Web SEO staff need to be able to work both independently and in a team

Being technically strong is not enough. An SEO specialist also has to coordinate smoothly with the Content, development, and Marketing teams. You also need to manage your own work and be comfortable with office tools such as Excel and Google Sheets to track keywords or content performance. Just as important, SEOers need good communication skills to present ideas, explain strategy, or simply talk things through with teammates.

What is the latest salary for SEO staff?

SEO Executive has been one of the roles many young people have been interested in and chasing over the past few years. Based on 49 job postings published on CareerViet.vn that MONA has just collected, the average salary of an SEO employee is currently around 9.2 million VND/month and can reach up to 18 million VND/month depending on experience, expertise, and work performance. Specifically: 

• Under 1 year of experience: The average salary is about 8.5 million VND/month. These are usually SEO Fresher or Junior SEO positions.
• 1 – 4 years of experience: The minimum salary starts from 9.3 million VND/month, for people who have experience running real SEO projects.

Become SEO specialists doesn't require you to be a great programmer, but it does take persistence, analytical ability, and a constant willingness to learn. You can start by learning the basics, building your skills step by step through real projects, or learning from people who came before you. And if you need a place to observe, learn, or start working on well-structured SEO campaigns, SEO company MONA Media is always ready to go with you on that path. Contact us now to get SEO price list special offers.