What Is An SEO Manager?

Adam Steele
Jun 16, 2021
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There are currently over 1.7 billion websites online, with over 4.4 billion internet users using the internet.

To stand out from the crowd and to ensure your target audience sees your website, you need to execute a planned search engine optimization strategy. This is what an SEO manager does.

In this article, we’ll look at:

  • What is an SEO manager?
  • Why are SEO managers important?
  • What do SEO manager do?
  • Answer frequently asked questions surrounding SEO managers and SEO strategies

What Is An SEO Manager

An SEO manager is a search engine optimization expert who helps websites create the right kind of content to attract their target audience to their website.

An SEO manager requires an in-depth understanding of search engine algorithms, ranking factors, and search user intent to achieve this goal. SEO managers often use various SEO tools, and in many cases, may outsource some of the heavy-duty work, such as link building.

Initially, people can confuse the role of SEO manager with the content marketing manager or digital marketing – after all, their goals are the same, which is to grow the websites online presence and drive more web traffic.

However, an SEO manager is more specialized in that it requires many technical skills. In a general sense, the tasks of an SEO manager include:

  • Website, web page, social media and high-quality content optimization
  • Strategizing website content using keyword research, competitor analysis and target audience research
  • Building a website’s backlink profile
  • Website auditing, analysis and optimization

SEO managers are very results-oriented and results-driven. This goes hand-in-hand with the job description, as the individual managing the SEO strategy is directly responsible for the results of that campaign.

Why are SEO Managers Important?

SEO managers are important because they strategize an SEO campaign to the best of their ability.

They are also responsible for the project’s success, meaning they enjoy the lions share of the glory of a successful SEO campaign. Still, they also experience humiliation in a failed SEO campaign.

SEO managers coordinate the efforts of the rest of the SEO team, roles that might include:

  • Copywriters
  • Web designers
  • Content marketers
  • Digital marketers
  • Social media influencers
  • Web technicians

SEO managers require a broad understanding of each of these roles, which is why they are in charge of delegating separate tasks to other SEO experts, such as technical SEOs and content teams, and is why the role requires years of experience in the SEO industry.

SEO Manager FAQ

What does an SEO manager do?

An SEO manager researches, plans, and directs the execution of a search engine optimization strategy. They are an integral part of any brands’ marketing team and require technical as well as interpersonal skills, such as:

  • Communication skills. The SEO manager needs to delegate tasks fairly, constantly analyze performance and provide feedback, while also reporting to primary shareholders in a project. As such, people skills are essential for a successful SEO manager
  • Content strategizing. Content strategizing is one of the crucial parts of the SEO manager job description. If an SEO manager decides on the wrong content to create, then the entire SEO campaign will miss the mark, and the website will fail to attract the desired target audience in the desired volume. Solid keyword research and competitor analysis are foundational to a successful SEO manager.
  • Project management skills. The SEO manager handles several other SEO specialists with different skill sets, both in-house and freelance hires. Being able to assess key performance indicators (KPIs) and report back to higher-level managers while also optimizing their own team is essential to the role of SEO manager.

What is SEO experience?

SEO experience is any time spent working in the search engine optimization industry. SEO experience includes:

  • Content creation
  • Online marketing
  • Working with marketing agencies or on marketing campaigns, or in other related fields

While there are several good degrees that prepare someone for a career as an SEO manager, such as a bachelor’s degree in marketing, SEO experience is learnt on the job. Designing and implementing content strategies of your own is the only way to learn what works and what doesn’t and to get a feel for how long it takes to get results as an SEO manager.

How can I be a good SEO Manager?

Being a good SEO manager has two vital aspects – being good at SEO, and being good at managing a team.

To be good at SEO, you must hone your content creation, research, analysis, and technical SEO skills by working either on a freelance basis and learning as you go, or working within other SEO agencies.

Learning to be a good manager, however, depends on the person you are. People can learn to become good managers, but it certainly takes some longer than others.

While being a good manager is beyond the scope of this article, here are some tips from our SEO manager here at Loganix:

  • Lead by example. If you expect your team to do something, be prepared to do it first and set the quality standard.
  • Be fair and firm. It is always hard to not choose favorites as a manager – it’s human nature. But it’s your job as a manager to overcome this and treat everyone exactly the same. You need to know when to be lenient and when to stand your ground. Employees who don’t respect their managers don’t produce their best work.
  • Stay ahead of the game. This ties into your competence as a manager. The more technically apt you are, the better you can teach and lead your team. Keep learning and stay humble. Your team will respect you for it.

What is the qualification for an SEO job?

The best qualification for an SEO job is years of proven experience and success within the SEO industry. Computer science and marketing are good things to have, as are understanding of e-commerce and buyer psychology.

However, companies want you to demonstrate your ability using case studies of your previous SEO campaigns. Suppose you can show positive results that you earned your past clients, particularly an increase in search engine rankings, a growth in organic traffic, and a growth in conversion rates. In that case, your qualification is looking pretty good already.

Having a firm grasp of online SEO tools, such as SEM rush, Google Analytics, web analytics, will enable you to achieve these desired results and be in good stead to work as an SEO manager.

Don’t forget: check out the other definitions (over 200) in our growing SEO glossary.

Summary

Hopefully, this article has given you a better understanding of what an SEO manager is, what the role entails, and why the position is essential to the online success of any website.

Any SEO manager works closely with their SEO roadmap. Being able to demonstrate past success with your roadmap will not only get you the best results for your SEO campaigns but will also give you something tangible to show to potential employers how good of an SEO manager you are!

If you’d like to learn more about our SEO management services here at Loganix, and how we can help your business achieve first-page rankings, contact us here.

Written by Adam Steele on June 16, 2021

COO and Product Director at Loganix. Recovering SEO, now focused on the understanding how Loganix can make the work-lives of SEO and agency folks more enjoyable, and profitable. Writing from beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia.