No matter what industry you operate in or at what scale, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can significantly improve your market reach and lead generation. According to published reports, 81% of people search for products and services online, with Google holding the majority search engine market share at 70%. This makes smart optimization of written content and multimedia a must if you want to penetrate new markets and rank well against your competitors.
Additionally, Forbes reported that 63% of marketers believe SEO to be even more important in the wake of COVID-19, with 86% reevaluating their marketing goals. With that, there is no better time to look for a SEO specialist who would refresh and improve your content marketing for 2021. So how do you go about writing a compelling job description which will help you hire the right person for the job?
The Upside of Hiring a SEO Pro for your Business
Why should you invest time and resources into hiring an SEO pro in 2021? For most small businesses and startups, this move could be seen as an unnecessary luxury or an expense which you can live without. However, your competitors and businesses in the eCommerce industry would be to differ. Working with a SEO specialist can ensure that your future content marketing is up to par with customer expectations and SEO standards.
These individuals are intimately familiar with how SEO works and how they can manipulate its algorithm to improve your links’ SERP ranking. Their expertise goes beyond keyword optimization as they can help plan your content strategy, organize its publishing and improve the overall UX of your website. The most concrete upsides and benefits of hiring a SEO pro today include but are not limited to:
- Professional audit and revision of existing content production pipeline
- Significant improvement of website ranking, load times and flow of information
- Ability for you to focus on sales and customer servicing and delegate SEO operations
- Increased return on initial investment and higher profit margins over time
Job Description Writing for Hiring SEO Pros
1 – Make the Job Title Appealing & Professional
First and foremost, the job title you assign to your SEO professional will act as the first impression they make of your company. Think of it as a blog headline or email subject line – it needs to hook the job candidate effectively. Some of the most popular and professional SEO job titles out there are:
- SEO specialist
- SEO strategist
- SEO marketing executive
- Digital SEO manager
- SEO content analyst
As you can see, adding the keyword “SEO” to the job title will ensure that there is no mistake in regards to who you are looking for. A good rule of thumb is to keep your job title to 12-20 characters in order to make it as appealing and memorable as possible. Using writing tools such as Evernote and Grammarly will help you edit and format the job title easily. It’s also useful to read the writing and editing sites reviews to find the right one for your needs. Check the essay writer service, for instance. It’s important to keep the job title succinct, to-the-point and you will hook the right SEO pros into reading the rest of the job description without issues.
2 – Write an Overview of your Company
Any professional you attract to the job description will likely want to find out more about your company. As such, you should offer a brief outline of your business’ history, portfolio and long-term vision. Keep this description to a single paragraph in order to leave the majority of the job description to the position itself.
Your future SEO professional will also get a good idea of your writing skills and current level of SEO from the company description. Be informative in describing your business to ensure that your candidates identify with what you do, filtering out those that don’t fit your company culture.
3 – List the Key Requirements for your Position
Which traits and what kind of professional experience do you expect to see in your candidates? This is the part of the job description in which you will have to list the requirements needed to be considered for the position. Don’t be afraid of strict requirements and make sure that you are realistic with your expectations considering your own business’ size and resources. The candidate requirements typically associated with SEO professionals include:
- X years in the content marketing and SEO industry
- Experience with SEO practices, tools and trends
- Creative thinking, problem-solving and strategic planning
- Familiarity with Google Analytics, Google App Integrations, and associated Google tools
- Experience with website content optimization
Jerry Bentham, content writing advisor and SEO writing specialist with Get Good Grade writing site had this to say on the topic: “The best way to find out how versatile and professional a candidate is to give them test assignments. Grab a sample of text from your website or archive and attach it to the job description – make its optimization mandatory for hiring consideration. This will help you filter out unprofessional candidates very quickly, leaving you with those who know how to write and format content base on SEO.”
4 – Outline the SEO Pro’s Responsibilities
Following the key requirements, you should write a list of responsibilities attached to the job position. These serve to further elaborate on your requirements and specify which activities the SEO pro will have to perform on a daily basis. These can include but not be limited to the following:
- Ongoing review and analysis of published and as-of-yet unpublished content
- Preparation of future content marketing strategy
- Writing and editing of content per current technical SEO standards
- Analysis and planning for website link building
- Research and implementation of trending industry keywords
The responsibilities you outline in this section depend on the scale of your business and the communication channels you use to reach out to leads. In case that you use social media, email or direct messaging apps, those points can also find their way into your SEO pro job description.
5 – Describe your Employee Benefits & Compensation
What is it that you can offer to potential job candidates? If you want to hire a professional SEO specialist with deep knowledge of content marketing, you will have to compensate them for their time. Employment benefits such as vacation time, health coverage and team building activities should also be covered in the job description.
If you are unsure whether you can hire a SEO pro full-time, you can also reach out to a professional SEO platform for your needs. Gauge whether or not hiring a full-time SEO specialist is something that your company needs and make the right business decision sooner rather than later.
6 – Clearly Explain the Application & Hiring Process
The final segment of your job description should outline the application process, its deadline and how you will determine which candidate to hire. This is an important part of the job description as it will showcase your professional courtesy and inclination toward teamwork to potential candidates.
Describe how candidates should reach out to you, in which file formats and through which channels. Also, clearly outline whether or not portfolio pieces and SEO writing samples should be included in the application. Cap the job description off with a concrete cut-off date for hiring to make sure your candidates have an idea of when to apply.
Vet your Candidates to Find the Right SEO Pros (Conclusion)
Even though you will filter out the majority of unfit candidates through your detailed job description writing, proper interviews should still take place. Create a list of questions for your candidates based on their resumes and portfolios to kick-start your professional relationship on the right foot.
Don’t be afraid to ask hard questions about their previous employment, reasons for applying for your position and their employment expectations. Once you come across the right candidate, you will simply “click” with their workflow and personality, so take your time and talk to each one. Hiring a SEO pro is no small task but once that person is on board, your business will flourish.
Helene Cue
Helene Cue is a passionate writer, content writing specialist and editor, exploring a broad spectrum of topics which revolve around digital marketing. Her career portfolio includes best term paper writing service contributions, as well as essays, articles and case studies on trending industry topics. Her pieces are always captivating and informative.