Resume For SEO

A search engine optimization resume is a brief document that outlines your skills, experience, and education. SEO Specialist/SEO Analyst roles can be competitive, so an organized and well-written resume will help you stand out among other candidates.

A perfect resume should highlight your SEO achievements, like building and optimizing websites, developing content with relevant keywords, increasing organic traffic and implementing SEO strategies. Your resume should show an employer that you have the necessary qualifications for a specific role, such as an SEO Specialist.

To create an SEO resume that will get employers’ attention, you first want to do some important planning and preparation.

• Research the company: Every resume you write should be tailored to the job and the company, so it is important to do some initial research. Learn about the company’s work, values and people. Consider how your SEO skills and knowledge can help them.
• Dissect the job posting: The job posting contains important details about what the employer is looking for. Review the posting and highlight key SEO skills and qualifications—you will want to emphasize these when you begin writing.
• Create your master resume: Make a comprehensive list of all your SEO skills, experiences and campaigns. Include the results you achieved, with numbers where possible. A master resume is a reference document that only you will see. For each resume you write, you can refer to this document to select relevant experiences.

When you’re ready to begin writing your SEO resume, keep these best practices in mind.

• Be brief: Aim for a one-page resume. Focus on your most important and relevant SEO skills and achievements.
• Consider formatting: Choose a simple and clear resume layout. Use color sparingly and stick with one or two fonts. Make sure you have plenty of white space so your resume is easy to read. To keep your resume organized, use headings and bulleted lists so employers can easily scan through your content.
• Use action verbs: Action verbs can make your resume more impactful. When describing your SEO achievements, select verbs such as launched, generated, improved, presented and led.
• Focus on accomplishments: Avoid simply listing your previous job duties—these don’t tell employers much about your skills. Instead, highlight your SEO wins and the results you achieved. Use this formula: action verb + task + result. An example of an accomplishment statement is, “Developed and implemented thorough and well-researched case studies which gained 25 natural backlinks in 2 months.”
• Add in numbers: Show hard evidence of the impact of your SEO work. Quantify your successes where possible, and reference technical SEO tools such as Google Analytics.
• Include keywords: Just like in search engine optimization, keywords are essential when crafting resumes. Hiring Managers or automated software will be looking for particular words or phrases in candidates’ resumes. Refer to the job posting to identify what potential keywords may be.
• Edit and proofread: Double and triple check your resume for spelling, grammar or typographical errors.

A resume introduces you to an employer and convinces them to invite you for a job interview. Your resume should tell a story about your career and why your experiences make you the best candidate for the role. Resumes don’t need to include everything you have done—it’s best to focus on a few things that are most relevant to the company. Through reading your resume, an employer should understand why you would be a valuable asset to their team.

To craft an organized and compelling SEO resume, follow this general outline:

1. Include a header with your contact information.
2. Write a strong profile/summary that catches the Hiring Manager’s attention.
3. Highlight your relevant SEO experiences and accomplishments.
4. List your education.
5. List relevant SEO skills that match the job description.
6. Add other sections with activities that make you stand out.

A profile/summary, work experience, education, skills and additional sections should be included in your SEO Specialist resume.

On average, Hiring Managers spend only a few seconds looking at a resume. The best way to catch their attention right away is to start off your resume with a profile or summary. In a few sentences, describe your top skills, experiences and interests.

In reverse chronological order, list your job title, the company name and location, and dates employed. For each job, write two to three bullet points that describe your most impressive SEO accomplishments. Remember to frame the points around what you achieved. Include quantifiable results, like ranking results, link building or website traffic data.

For each degree or certificate, list the school/institution, the year you graduated and your area of study. If you are a recent graduate with less work experience, mention your academic achievements, coursework and extracurricular activities.

Emphasize your top skills that match the ones listed in the job description. You can also include SEO software and tools you are proficient in.

Add in additional sections as needed to share activities or recognition that sets you apart from other candidates. Examples of sections you may want to include are awards, publications, conferences, languages and hobbies or interests.

Refer back to the job description to figure out what skills you should include in your SEO resume. The skills will be slightly different for each position, but most jobs in the industry will require a mix of technical, analytical, research and communication skills.

A few of the top skills that employers look for in an SEO Specialist/SEO Analyst include:

• SEO Keyword research
• Email marketing
• CMS
• HTML
• JavaScript
• CSS
• On/off-page SEO
• Copywriting
• UX/UI
• A/B testing
• Link building
• Generating organic traffic
• Competitor analysis, including social media
• SEO web content analysis
• Technical skills in relevant tools: Google Analytics, for example

Some other common tools that employers may be expecting you to know are:

• Ahrefs
• Semrush
• Keyword Planner
• Google Ads
• Google Analytics
• Microsoft Office
• MailChimp
• Photoshop
• Yoast
• Searchmetrics
• Screaming Frog
• WordPress

Use this sample template to create a resume.

[NAME]
[Phone Number]
[Email]
[LinkedIn]

PROFILE

Enthusiastic SEO expert with experience in [areas of expertise]. Successfully [SEO accomplishment or project]. Looking forward to [ways you can help the company].

EXPERIENCE

[Job title, Company, Location]
[Month, Year – Month, Year]

• [Action word] [skill/task] [result/impact]
• [Action word] [skill/task] [result/impact]
• [Action word] [skill/task] [result/impact]

[Job title, Company, Location]
[Month, Year – Month, Year]

• [Action word] [skill/task] [result/impact]
• [Action word] [skill/task] [result/impact]
• [Action word] [skill/task] [result/impact]

EDUCATION

[Degree or certificate earned, School name]
[Graduation date]

• [Relevant courses]
• [Academic achievements]

SKILLS

• [Skills]
• [Tools]

AWARDS AND ACTIVITIES

• [Award]
• [Volunteer]
• [Languages]