Online marketer to search engine optimisation expert
An online marketer already meets 36% of what the search engine optimisation expert role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
60.5/ 100
1 How much of what a search engine optimisation expert is expected to do is already part of an online marketer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the search engine optimisation expert role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A search engine optimisation expert role treats 5 of its required skills as things an online marketer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply social media marketing
- conduct search engine optimisation
- content marketing strategy
- develop digital content
- perform online data analysis
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A search engine optimisation expert role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an online marketer background worth leading with.
- already held execute email marketing communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use content management system software working with computers
- already held perform online data analysis working with computers
- already held conduct search engine optimisation working with computers
- already held plan digital marketing management skills
- already held apply social media marketing communication, collaboration and creativity
All 10 carried skills, including the 5 the search engine optimisation expert role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn sales strategies required
- still to learn social media marketing techniques required
- optional, not held digital marketing techniques optional
- optional, not held mobile marketing optional
- still to learn keywords in digital content required
- still to learn web analytics required
- still to learn manage content development projects required
- still to learn enhance website visibility required
- still to learn integrate content into output media required
- still to learn use customer relationship management software required
- still to learn provide written content required
- optional, not held create content title optional
- optional, not held translate requirements into visual design optional
- optional, not held identify ICT user needs optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
- optional, not held study website behaviour patterns optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a search engine optimisation expert role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 integrate content into output media practise this
- 02 keywords in digital content study this
- 03 manage content development projects practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 10 skills that carry over
- already held apply social media marketing skill
- already held conduct search engine optimisation skill
- already held content marketing strategy knowledge
- already held develop digital content skill
- already held perform online data analysis skill
- already held execute email marketing skill
- already held perform market research skill
- already held plan digital marketing skill
- already held use content management system software skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held behavioural science optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held digital marketing techniques optional
- optional, not held identify ICT user needs optional
- optional, not held mobile marketing optional
- optional, not held behavioural science optional
- optional, not held create content title optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
- optional, not held study website behaviour patterns optional
- optional, not held translate requirements into visual design optional
36 held skills the search engine optimisation expert role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT communications protocols knowledge
- not needed by the target role adapt to change in marketing skill
- not needed by the target role apply customer engagement strategy skill
- not needed by the target role apply information security policies skill
- not needed by the target role apply strategic thinking skill
- not needed by the target role communicate price changes skill
- not needed by the target role company policies knowledge
- not needed by the target role competition law knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct mobile marketing skill
- not needed by the target role conduct online competitive analysis skill
- not needed by the target role create new concepts skill
- not needed by the target role creatively use digital technologies skill
- not needed by the target role deal with pressure from unexpected circumstances skill
- not needed by the target role develop inclusive communication material skill
- not needed by the target role digital communication and collaboration skill
- not needed by the target role e-commerce systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute conversion testing skill
- not needed by the target role implement marketing strategies skill
- not needed by the target role implement sales strategies skill
- not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect data skill
- not needed by the target role intellectual property law knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role neuromarketing techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role online ads campaign techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform copywriting skill
- not needed by the target role perform image editing skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role perform video editing skill
- not needed by the target role plan social media marketing campaigns skill
- not needed by the target role printed goods processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role protect personal data and privacy skill
- not needed by the target role supervise brand management skill
- not needed by the target role use e-services skill
- not needed by the target role use personal organization software skill
- not needed by the target role web strategy assessment knowledge
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn keywords in digital content required
- still to learn sales strategies required
- still to learn social media marketing techniques required
- still to learn web analytics required
- optional, not held digital marketing techniques optional
- optional, not held mobile marketing optional
- optional, not held behavioural science optional
Common questions about this move
Can an online marketer become a search engine optimisation expert?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An online marketer already covers 36% of what a search engine optimisation expert is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 5 of which the search engine optimisation expert role treats as required.
What skills does an online marketer need to become a search engine optimisation expert?
9 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is integrate content into output media.
How hard is the move from online marketer to search engine optimisation expert?
Its learning distance is 60.5 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.