Four Signs of a Great Search Engine Optimizer
Posted: May 30th, 2008
Every now and then I run into web designer portfolio sites and services that also claim to be SEOs. Most of these sites look great, but only half of these web designers understand and adhere to web standards, while the other half think that a website is great as long as it looks good on the outside. This subset clearly falls out of the range of great SEOs.
So what are some signs of a great search engine optimizer, apart from following web standards?
1. Broad Technical Understanding
The best SEOs comprehend the technicalities behind the Internet, beyond the simple WYSIWYG web designer. Topics such as servers/hosting, caching, and DNS are understood. SEOs may not be able to fully program an operating system by hand in one sitting, but they are right at home with digging through page source codes.
Search engine optimization involves an understanding of the technical back-ends, and a great SEO is someone who knows more than just HTML coding.
A great SEO is also someone who’s likely to spend more time getting the office printer to work before calling the IT support department.
2. A Master of Language
With the growing emphasis on quality content, great search engine optimizers are those with a mastery of language. This pair of shoes is particularly hard to fill with the diminishing English test scores across the country. Being a great SEO doesn’t necessitate being on the New York Times’ "Best Sellers" list, but some sort of vocabulary and writing style is expected.
A frequent reader/writer (aside from instant messages and the like) is a sign that you’re dealing with the right kind of SEO, as proficient English involves more than verbal fluency.
3. SEO Immersion
With the fast-paced, ever-evolving nature of search engine optimization and the Internet as a whole, immersion into the SEO world is an integral sign of a great search engine optimizer. Staying up-to-date with the industry’s news and trends is a strong indicator of SEO greatness. Reading SEO articles, blogs, and forums separates those who actually love SEO from those who optimize “because they have to.”
4. Driven by Results
At the end of the day, results are what matter. Another sign of a great search engine optimizer is that s/he tracks and evaluates results through web analytics. SEOs who employ web analytics are better equipped to assess their optimization strategies and to improve upon their tactics.
An objective signal that you have a great SEO on your hands is that s/he has web analytics to prove their success in generating search traffic.
The Take-Away
Search engine optimization encompasses much more than <H1> tags and being listed first for obscure terms. A little HTML knowledge and a weekend crash-course might be able to create an entry-level “SEO” who’s barely effective for the next three months, but developing a true SEO requires much more.
The overall sign of great search engine optimizers is that they are well-rounded in all facets of SEO, from the technical and analytical aspects, to the ability to write well-written and engaging content that benefits the user experience.
Tags: search traffic, SEO, web analytics, web development
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Yes, i agree with you. In fact, web designer maybe excellent in designing but SEO is more to special skill…
Yeah it takes more than just a good design. To a real SEO a “great design” doesn’t mean nice looking. What I love about SEO/SEM is you can never know it all though.
Very true. An SEO’s evaluation of a website’s design factors in how everything is being displayed (code).
SEO/SEM is a rapidly evolving industry indeed, and being immersed in it is necessary just to keep up!
Fundamentals are still very important. Interestingly, a highly experienced Internet marketer said the amount of traffic you can get is proportionate to the number of pages you can get indexed because somehow people are going to stumble into your site when they searched for keywords which you would least expect.
Taking into consideration only one aspect is not important. Though it is very important to have attractive desing otherwise visitors will not proceed even the content is unique but with this website should convince search engines. SEOs should be aware of both the aspects otherwise technical expertise will not work any more. Thanks for sharing this post I am stumbling it here http://lindsayhogan.stumbleupon.com/ so that i can share it with my Stumble group.