Tips for boosting your SEO career...

Talent gurus has hired many SEO analysts in the past, some of them good, some not so good. We as SEO analysts sometimes have this question in our minds—what does it take to excel (excel is one as we bullet it afterwards!) in this field? The answers are probably easy to find if you’re committed to your field, but we would still try to make few notes for people who haven’t got it right yet:

• Get some professional certification: It can never do you harm to get certified in your field. If you’re a doctor you need a medical degree, similarly, you can get something like an Adwords qualified stamp on your resume by enhancing your skills and taking a test.
• Own multiple skills: I as a SEO analyst assumed variety of roles whenever needed. At times, I have seen people asking for help when the clients need a simple modification on their blogs or their websites. It is always helpful to know a bit of html, javascript and css. It always adds value to what you are as a SEO analyst.
• Get a good resume: Most of the SEO resumes I have seen include link building, PPC and other experience. Not to say that they are not important, but they are the minimum, isn’t it? We would want more from a resume; it should highlight your achievements as analysts, something that clearly shows the graphs of what you have achieved for the businesses.
• Excel is important: As I said in the beginning, knowing MS Excel is not necessary, but it should be part of daily activities. You cannot go far in SEO field unless you know how to put together a good report.
• Are you attending seminars?: Only yesterday I saw a conference held at San Diego which was aimed at providing information about SEO to small business providers. Don’t be tricked by the title of the seminars, make sure that you attend such things and note down the nitty-gritty’s of the trade.
• Social networking: Not in the SEO sense, but in general, you need to have a bunch of friends who are into similar field. Expanding your skills is only possible through knowing that you do not know.
• Reading and researching: Most of the seasoned analysts spend about 30% of their time updating themselves with the current trends.  SEO is a dynamic area, there are changes happening everyday, you can never do well if you don’t know what is happening out there.
• Create a brand: In the end you should be in a position to dictate terms in your career. You would want to have a brand for yourself. How can you do that? Write a blog, meet people, be known on discussion sites, just do anything, but create a brand for your self.

Do you think you own most of the above qualities?  If yes, then we would like to know you.