What skills should Organic Search specialists be honing in 2025 and what skills need to be left behind?
I spoke with some of the industry's brightest minds across the UK, US, Australia and Dubai to answer exactly this.
🎤 Big thanks to:
💥 Carrie Rose of Rise at Seven | Search-First Creative Agency
💥 Anthony Barone of StudioHawk UK
💥 Jack Clark of Australia based Optimising
💥 Travis Tallent of Brainlabs US
💥 Bruno Rodríguez Armesto formerly of Orange Line
💥 Shonavee Simpson-Anderson of Firewire - SEO & Google Ads Agency
💥 JP Garbaccio
💥 Jessica R. of Didgeheads, SEO Agency
💥 Allan L.
💥 Phillip Dukarsky of SEO Sherpa
***The full article is in the comments, head there to read that in full!***
In summary
1️⃣ Master-educators and politicians
It's a non negotiable to know where Organic Search sits in the wider digital funnel for clients or businesses they work for. They need to have a grip on how it can seamlessly compliment other channels and work with them for their own long-term gain.
As importantly, they need to be able to articulate, educate and persuade if they want to earn trust across the business.
2️⃣. No more jargon.
Please...
SEOs need to master clear communication that can be adapted for audiences.
3️⃣ Lazy reporting needs to stop (don't tell me you've not been guilty of sending screenshots from GA). It cannot cut it any longer and we need to recognise that AI in the wrong hands isn't helping that either.
4️⃣ Look beyond Google for wins to conquer the wider ecosystem - TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, ChatGPT ad beyond.
5️⃣ Focus on business outcomes, not just keyword rankings
If your SEO content would do well for paid media retargeting then make that happen and be ready to educate and report on precisely why it helped. This will earn long-term favour but ultimately work to wider business goals, which when all is said and done, is your job.
6️⃣ Think like a marketer and always have one eye on brand.
In fairness, and I've said it before Jono Alderson was shouting this from the roof tops as far back as 2017/2018 (I heard you mate). But now SEOs need to listen.
Focusing on brand-driven strategies will once again play an essential role in SEO success.
7️⃣ Yes, embrace AI but use it wisely
Prioritise quality over lazy activity. AI should be there to drive efficiency, not just 'knock out' content.
SEOs need to stop bragging about how they wrote a 1,000 page novel with AI in 30 seconds, and start to wake up and realise that the way way to win with AI is to use it for original, high-value content rather than relying on generic content clusters or aggregator style work.
8️⃣ No more sylos
The future belongs to those with well-rounded skills who can develop cohesive strategies encompassing onsite and offsite SEO while staying curious about how other channels tie in.
The full article is in the comments, give it a read!
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