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Have you ever wondered why certain websites consistently rank highest when you conduct an online search? It’s the job of an SEO specialist, not magic! SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the secret sauce that increases a website’s visibility and appeal to search engines like Google in today’s digital environment. What Does an SEO Specialist Do?
Envision yourself operating a modest enterprise in Nigeria, specialising in exquisite, handcrafted goods or providing teaching services. When people are looking for goods or services similar to yours, you want them to be able to locate your website quickly. An SEO expert can help in this situation. They are adept at using every trick in the book to boost your website’s ranking in search results and attract more visitors and prospective buyers.
In this article, we’ll take you on a journey to comprehend the work of an SEO specialist. You’ll learn about these professionals’ significant daily responsibilities, such as finding the ideal keywords and resolving technological problems.
Who is an SEO specialist?
A Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Specialist looks at websites, makes changes and ensures the changes are search engine friendly. This means getting as many people as possible to a website by raising its page rank in search engines.
If you want your website to be at the top of search engine results, that’s the job of an SEO expert. A modern specialist needs to be able to make decisions, fix problems, and set priorities. They also need to create relevant and interesting content. An SEO Specialist will look at websites to find ways to make them better. They will also know a lot about keyword research, SEO marketing, and department communication.
Simply put, an SEO specialist in Nigeria raises your website’s search engine ranking so that it receives the attention it merits. This implies that you would be the first person that someone searches for anything connected to your business, whether they are in Nigeria or somewhere else. An SEO specialist is fully aware of the nuances and strategies involved in ensuring that your website appears when users perform relevant product or topic searches on search engines such as Google. Consider them authorities who can increase traffic to your website without spending significantly on advertisements.
5 key duties of an SEO expert
An SEO consultant handles all these duties to ensure your website is optimised to attract more visitors and perform better in search engine results, facilitating online company discovery for Nigerians and others.
1. Keyword research
Researching keywords is one of an SEO specialist’s initial tasks. This entails identifying individuals’ appropriate terms and expressions when conducting internet searches. Suppose you own a little jewelry-making company in Nigeria. An SEO expert will ascertain the terms prospective clients enter into Google, such as “handmade bracelets” or “unique Nigerian jewellery.” They employ specialised tools like SEMrush and Google Keyword Planner to locate these crucial keywords. By being familiar with these terms, they can help drive more traffic to your website.
2. On-page optimisation
After determining the appropriate keywords, the SEO expert proceeds to on-page optimisation. The main goal is to ensure your website’s content is optimised for those keywords. They are going to:
- Include the keywords naturally in the content of your website.
- Ensure your URLs, titles, and descriptions are understandable and contain relevant keywords.
- Connect the many pages on your website so that users and search engines can quickly access your content.
3. Content creation and optimisation
Another critical task for an SEO expert is content creation and optimisation. They assist you in creating fresh, search engine-friendly content. For instance, they might publish blog entries about handling handmade goods or the newest jewellery trends in Nigeria. They also update the content to improve already-existing content. This could entail updating content, making the text easier to read, or ensuring the appropriate keywords are utilised.
4. Technical search engine optimisation
Ensuring that your website functions correctly and is readable by search engines is known as technical SEO. Ensure your website is easily crawled and indexed by search engines to be listed in search results. This is what an SEO consultant will do.
- Make sure your website loads rapidly and displays well on smartphones and tablets.
- Identify and address any issues preventing users from quickly accessing your website.
5. Link building
A crucial component of SEO is creating links to your website from other websites. An expert in SEO will Create Plans for Obtaining Superior Backlinks and obtain links from other reliable websites to raise your website’s authority and search engine ranking. Contact other website owners to establish collaborations and acquire backlinks.
10 tools used by SEO specialists
SEO experts utilise various methods and technology to help your website rank higher in search results. SEO experts may make wise selections to increase the visibility of your website and draw in more people by utilising these techniques. They assist with choosing the most effective keywords, monitoring the functionality of your website, and resolving any problems that may impede you. In this manner, your Nigerian company can expand its internet reach and improve its online performance. These are a handful of the more significant ones:
1. Ahrefs
A famous SEO tool frequently used by web admins and SEO specialists. Web-based SEO tool Ahrefs boosts website rankings by giving extensive SEO performance statistics and analysis. Other capabilities of Ahrefs include keyword research, competitor analysis, and backlink analysis. Enter your website’s URL into Ahrefs to use it. After Ahrefs analyses your website, you’ll obtain extensive SEO reports. These reports reveal where your website is doing well and where it may improve.
2. Sitebulb
Sitebulb is a popular tool for SEO specialists to boost search engine rankings. It offers many tools to help customers optimise their websites for search engines, including site crawling, keyword research, and backlink analysis. Sitebulb is a desktop SEO tool for Windows and Mac users.
3. Yoast
Many SEO tools are available, but Yoast is popular. WordPress plugin Yoast optimises websites for search engines. Yoast lets you edit page titles, meta tags, and XML sitemaps. Yoast SEO is a robust SEO plugin with many functions to improve search engine visibility. If you want to improve your website’s SEO, use Yoast SEO.
4. Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free SEO tool that can boost your website’s search rankings. This tool lets you see how Google crawls and indexes your site and identify performance concerns. Google Search Console can help you find and repair malware and phishing concerns on your website in addition to SEO.
5. KWFinder
KWFinder is an SEO tool that finds website keywords. It gives data-driven advice and shows your competitors’ rankings, helping you enhance SEO and website visibility. KWFinder also indicates the frequency of searches and ranking difficulty of your keywords. This knowledge helps you choose an SEO strategy and increase your chances of success. KWFinder is a good choice for SEO tools that help you identify keywords, obtain data-driven recommendations, and track your competitors.
6. Screaming Frog
This tool crawls through your website like a spider to identify problems like missing meta tags, broken links, and duplicate content. Resolving these problems can help your website function better. This PC or Mac desktop tool crawls websites’ links, photos, CSS, scripts, and apps for SEO. It retrieves SEO-relevant onsite elements and classifies them. The SEO Spider exports URLs, page titles, meta descriptions, headers, and other onsite SEO aspects to Excel for study in Google Analytics, Custom Search Engines, and Google Webmaster Tools.
7. SEMrush
SEMrush is a famous SEO tool. Its many features boost your website’s SEO. One of SEMrush’s biggest features is its usability. Its features are easy to use, even for novice SEO users. Another benefit of SEMrush is its low cost. Choose the pricing plan that fits your needs and budget. Its main functions are SEO audit, competition analysis, and keyword research.
8. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free SEO tool that allows website owners to track traffic and performance. Knowing how users use a site helps them improve their SEO and user experience. Google Analytics tracks pageviews, unique visitors, duration on site, and bounce rate. It also lets website owners track conversions, goals, and e-commerce transactions. Any website owner trying to boost SEO and performance should use Google Analytics. Understanding how users use their sites helps them improve the user experience.
9. Moz Pro
This tool displays the performance of your website and assists in determining the ideal keywords. It also looks for issues that could lower your search engine rankings. Moz Pro is a package of SEO tools that boosts site rankings in SERPs. The tools allow for keyword research, SEO tracking, and more. SEO experts and web admins who want to stay ahead use Moz Pro. Key features of Moz Pro include Site Auditing, Keyword Research, and Rank Tracking.
10. Google PageSpeed Insights
This SEO tool examines website performance and offers recommendations for speed improvements. Web-based and mobile apps are available. The tool evaluates a website based on its desktop and mobile loading speeds. The tool produces a report with ratings and website speed recommendations. Image optimisation, CSS and JavaScript minification, and server response time reduction may be advised. These suggestions aim to boost website speed, boosting SEO and user experience.
3 skills required to be an effective SEO specialist
Having a variety of talents is necessary for SEO specialists. Gaining these abilities can help you become a proficient SEO specialist. In other words, you can help websites increase their search engine rankings and draw more users. Your ability to fix technical problems, create exciting content, and analyse data will make you a valued asset in the SEO industry. The following are the essential competencies you’ll need to become an authority in this field:
Technical proficiency
First, you must have some technological knowledge. This entails knowing how websites operate and how to troubleshoot problems. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the fundamental components of webpages. Your ability to read and write these languages facilitates significant alterations to a website’s structure.
Content management systems like WordPress or Joomla manage website content. Understanding how to use these technologies to update and optimise content is essential.
Analytical skills
The next skill you’ll need is data analysis. This entails examining data and statistics to gauge the effectiveness of your SEO tactics. Use tools like Google Analytics to determine which keywords drive traffic to your website, which pages people visit most frequently, and how long they remain. This assists you in determining what is effective and what requires enhancement.
Proficiency in content creation
One of the main components of SEO is content creation. You must be a proficient writer and editor to ensure your content is interesting and helpful. You should be able to write web pages, blog posts, and articles that are informative to your readers and contain relevant keywords.
Difficulties SEO experts face
There are hurdles associated with becoming an SEO specialist. Overcoming these challenges can help firms in Nigeria and elsewhere succeed by improving search engine results, increasing website traffic, etc. It’s a dynamic field where success depends on flexibility, inventiveness, and never-ending learning. The following are some potential challenges in this role:
- Updates to algorithms: Search engines like Google update their algorithms often, suggesting changes in the algorithm that ranks websites first. These changes may affect your SEO efforts, making adaptation difficult.
- Competitive environment: Many companies compete for search results. This competition can be vital in well-known markets or industries. You must stand out and attract people and search engines to your website.
- Following trends: SEO changes frequently. Learning new approaches, tools, and trends is constant. If you want your approaches to work, stay updated on these changes. Staying competitive in the field requires learning and applying it all, which can be intimidating.
- Technical issues: Technical concerns might affect website SEO. Slow loading times, broken links, and smartphone usability may affect search results. Resolving these issues may take time and technical expertise.
- Juggling aspects of SEO: Search engine optimisation involves content creation, technology updates, and keyword research. These considerations make prioritising challenging. You must be organised and prepared to manage everything.
- International and regional SEO: Reaching Nigerian customers may require local SEO, ranking your website high in local search results. International SEO makes things even more complicated if your organisation serves a global clientele.
Conclusion
Whether you run a small, local business or a large, expanding company, search engine optimisation can significantly impact your ability to draw in more clients and boost revenue. As a Shopify SEO specialist in Nigeria, I can assist your company in improving its search engine ranking and effectively reaching your target market.
Are you prepared to increase your website’s visibility? Contact me right now to discuss how we can create an SEO plan that is unique to your company’s requirements.
