SEO Jobs + Experience

[royb121 10]

I'm currently approaching the end of my 4 year degree studying Business and Enterprise Management at Sheffield Hallam and now is the time to begin applying for jobs for when I finish.

 

I have a big interest in Search Engine Optimisation and have been teaching myself (with the use of my own websites) all about it for the past 2 years.

 

I wondered how I would go about achieving a job in this field? Is experience with other companies essential or is it feasible for me to apply for jobs in this sector with no experience and just a degree in Business Enterprise?

 

If I do require more experience in this sector (which no doubt I will) how do I gain this experience?

 

Thanks for any help

[indizine 10]

You will need experience before getting a job doing SEO however proof of experience could come from your own efforts, but you will need to prove exception results in a variety of ways to a very competitive level to get a job in SEO.

 

That siad and if you are that good at SEO to become a full-time SEO consultant to the point your own websites are ranking high for very competitive keywords then by now, you shouldnt need a job in SEO as your sites would be pulling in orders that would pay a decent wage.

 

If however, you've just dabbled over time and mastered the general rquirements of SEO and 'haven't done bad' ie you've managed to rank for some 'ok' level of keywords, then you need more experience.

 

In other words, tell us which is your best keywords you rank on Google No. 1 or even Page 1 for, and we will check it out, see how competitive it is that can distinguish your skill level. We'll need to know the website too of course, to see where it ranks and how well optimised it is.

[Paul2412 10]

I'm currently approaching the end of my 4 year degree studying Business and Enterprise Management at Sheffield Hallam and now is the time to begin applying for jobs for when I finish.

 

I have a big interest in Search Engine Optimisation and have been teaching myself (with the use of my own websites) all about it for the past 2 years.

 

I wondered how I would go about achieving a job in this field? Is experience with other companies essential or is it feasible for me to apply for jobs in this sector with no experience and just a degree in Business Enterprise?

 

If I do require more experience in this sector (which no doubt I will) how do I gain this experience?

 

Thanks for any help

 

Your best bet is to look up the freelance websites, and register yourself a company of some sorts (limited company would probably be best).

 

As long as you can put up with completing work for a fraction of the price you know you should be charging then you'll work up experience with clients for your own business. From experience, I know that this always impresses employers.

 

Think of it as a stop gap between uni and getting a proper job.

[indizine 10]

eeek, no limited company is not necessarily the best. Only someone like an accountant who can ask various questions and summarize, could make that recommendation.

 

The year end faff and costs are more than sole trader status so only go Ltd with knowledge of what's in store; responsibilities, and costs involved.

[royb121 10]

I need a lot more experience. The website I'm working on at the moment is no where near complete and the website I've made in the past is no longer live.

 

Making websites has been a hobby of mine and I haven't (as of yet) been able to the SEO of different sites in depth as I simply haven't had the time to do so due to my course.

 

I spoke to a lady earlier today who worked for an SEO company and she said exactly the same as you Sandra - that it is very competitive. However she did state that if I wasn't still at university at the moment I could of applied for an entry level position as SEO researcher.

 

This sounded promising as this is exactly what I'm looking for to gain experience. To work as an apprentice of some kind for a large SEO company.

[indizine 10]

ah ok, so you've just dabbled by the sound of it and not got any proven results as yet so yes, an apprentice-type of role will get you started. I've got my daughter into it in fact, she's quite enjoying learning html though I never put her on to it, she got dabbling on some site and just enjoyed it. And now she keeps checking the ranking of a website i've given her to grow and look after, not a money-making one as yet, as it needs critical mass before that stage, but it's good practice for link building, etc. It's quite funny to hear your own kids saying "just checked and we're now at the bottom of Google page 1 for xxx keyword". Mind you, I never imagined her standing up and pitching at a networking event either but there you go, wonders never cease!

 

Try one of the bigger web agencies, they might take you on as an apprentice and you have a good qualification so you've got other skills to offer, i'm sure.

Edited January 4, 2011 by indizine

[steveroberts 10]

buy seo for dummies...it will teach you all you need to know. It's my bible and has worked for me on a number of occassions.

 

PS Sheffield Forum is superb for this purpose!

[anywebsite 10]

buy seo for dummies...it will teach you all you need to know. It's my bible and has worked for me on a number of occassions.

 

PS Sheffield Forum is superb for this purpose!

 

For Dummies books look great on your CV for a professional job.

 

I'm buying Product Design For Dummies next week.

[indizine 10]

For Dummies books look great on your CV for a professional job.

 

I'm buying Product Design For Dummies next week.

 

meeooowww :D

 

any info for learning seo is OK to grasp the basics. The rest is trial and error, practice, experimenting and a learning curve for a couple of years.

[royb121 10]

My whole experience with seo has been trial and error. But it has been difficult as I have had to build websites and learn php and mysql (again just trial and error with coding) before I can even start concentrating on SEO.

 

I'm going to start learning php, css and mysql as a lot of positions ask for experience in these areas.

 

What big web agencies are there that may be likely to take people on as apprentices?

[Paul2412 10]

My whole experience with seo has been trial and error. But it has been difficult as I have had to build websites and learn php and mysql (again just trial and error with coding) before I can even start concentrating on SEO.

 

I'm going to start learning php, css and mysql as a lot of positions ask for experience in these areas.

 

What big web agencies are there that may be likely to take people on as apprentices?

 

SEO is a very difficult thing to get into if you haven't built any sites yourself, as nobody is going to let someone unproven take apart their website.

 

As I mentioned earlier, get registered on the following sites as a coder:

 

http://www.freelancer.com

http://www.scriptlance.com

http://www.vworker.com

 

Bid for SEO jobs, bid low and you will get some work. Once you have completed this, you'll have a portfolio of clients. Without this, you will find it difficult to get into work.

 

I mention this from personal experience. I decided to get into web development and couldn't find anywhere that would take on someone with no experience (why would they?) so I registered on the above sites and completed work that took a while and paid practically nothing.

 

After gaining a reputation, people came to me and wanted me to do larger and larger projects. After about a year I had 10 regular customers and they agreed for me to display their sites in my portfolio. In the meantime I got a qualification (I'm a Microsoft developer, so got an MCTS qualification). The next job interview I went for I got.

[Weazel2006 27]

As previously mentioned, not having a live updated portfolio of work regardless of qualifications is not going to sit pretty with employers.

 

I have been lucky in that i have found an employer happy to take on an in house developer. Tasked with joomla jobs and custom site builds i am managing to gain some reputation and with it a portfolio of work.

 

Im hoping in time as popularity grows to be able to show that my work equates to revenue for my employers/clients and that's the ticket.

 

If your willing to take a wage dive for a while to get some solid experience try that route.