SEO success relies on a coming together of many elements, from behind-the-scenes technical work to the content on the page. To have any chance of conquering these areas, the right skills are required - and there’s a fair few to get to grips with when it comes to SEO.
Recently, one of the largest SEO tools, Semrush, conducted research into the most sought-after SEO skills for 2024, so that you know what to brush up on to stay ahead in the rankings.
In this article, we’ll be exploring each of the skills mentioned by Semrush, and explaining how they can make a difference to your SEO strategy.
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimisation, known as SEO, involves working both on and off your website to improve your visibility on the search engine results pages (SERPs). When people search for you on Google, websites utilising SEO correctly will appear first, and the ultimate aim is to get above your competitors in search results relevant to what you offer, so that users can find you more easily.
Why are SEO skills important?
It’s possible to get SEO very, very wrong, and once this happens, it’s hard to bounce back from it, which is awful news for your website, and, in this digital age, your whole business. Having the right SEO skills and keeping them updated, however, can ensure that you avoid these pitfalls, and know what needs to happen to get your site ranking well.
What are the TOP 10 SEO skills in 2024 in the UK?
Semrush found that the following specialise SEO skills are most sought after in the UK:
Google Tools
You won’t get very far with improving your website’s rankings if you’re not au fait with Google’s very own tools, which allow you to see where you’re currently at, where you could be, and what areas you should improve within in order to get there. The two main Google tools are:
Google Analytics
By collecting data from your website, Google Analytics (or GA4 as its also known) provides valuable insight into how users are finding you, and how they’re interacting with each page. Understanding where to find this information and how to use it is key to identifying areas to improve upon.
Google Search Console
GSC is a little more ranking-specific, and allows you to see your website’s search traffic, analyse its search performance, and, crucially, fix issues that could be holding you back in the SERPs.
Link building
Signalling to Google that yours is a site to pay attention to can be helped by generating links to your site from other websites that have already paid attention to your content, and deemed it valuable enough to link back to it.
Building relationships with reputable sites with users that will genuinely find what you have to say helpful can result in ‘backlinks’ to your site, showing Google that you’re a site to be prioritised in the results pages, is known as link building.
Keyword research
Do you know what your intended audience is searching for? Keyword research allows you to ensure that you’re targeting the search terms that your audience are already using when they’re looking for what you offer.
There are many tools out there that will show you ‘search volume’, which is the number of people searching for any given term You can then weave these keywords and phrases naturally throughout your content in order to start ranking for them
Onpage SEO
Onpage SEO involves optimising your web pages, both in terms of the content and the HTML that sits behind it, so that they appeal to Google in the right way. The aim is to help Google make sense of your site through the structure and content, which involves menu items, headings (also known as H tags), keyword usage, internal linking, schema, and your websites content itself.
HTML and CSS
To know the language of websites is to truly understand how they work and are understood by Google, which is why HTML and CSS are considered valuable skills by those looking for SEO professionals. Knowledge of these will help you properly handle structured data, anchor text, images and more.
Technical SEO
Helping Google crawl your site is the job of someone with technical SEO skills; they’re going to be able to make your site appealing not only to your users, but to Google too. For example, the mobile friendliness of your site, it’s hierarchy and site speed are all in the hands of a technical SEO specialist, removing frustrations for the user, which could otherwise get a thumbs down from Google too.
Local SEO
For businesses with a physical premises or service operating area, there is some local SEO best practice to get your head around if you want to be ahead of the pack when potential customers around you try to find what you do. Someone with the skills required to optimise a Google Business Profile, for example, is gold dust to a business that wants to drive foot traffic and/or enquiries.
Mobile SEO
So much of our browsing is now done with our thumbs from the comfort of our own sofas, which makes mobile SEO a sought-after skill - well over 50% of searching is done from a mobile device. This will help websites operate flawlessly on mobiles and give users no need to navigate away from it and try somewhere else.
Not from the UK?
You may notice that above only mentions 8 skills, and that’s because Semrush did a bit of research for countries outside of the UK too, and found the following were sought after in the USA, India, Canada, and/or Australia.
JavaScript
JavaScript falls under technical SEO somewhat, but it is a skill in its own right. JavaScript is used to place dynamic content into an otherwise static webpage, and it’s still a part of your site that you should optimise. Understanding how it works is half the battle, making an individual with JavaScript skills very employable indeed. Semrush found that JavaScript was a top SEO skill in Australia, Canada, and India.
A/B testing
Knowing how and when to try out different versions of your site and analysing how both users and Google react is a skill that can lead to SEO success, so it’s no wonder it’s a popular skill in the USA.
Need help with your SEO in 2024?
Finding individuals with all the above skills is a pretty big ask for any business, which is what makes SEO agencies like ours such a sensible choice. With a team ready to go who, between us, possess all the skills you need to implement a winning SEO strategy, we’re able to cover all bases to get your site ranking for search terms that your audience are using.
We work with businesses across a broad range of industries, so we’d love to hear from you if you’d like some help getting in Google’s good books.