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Career Path to Leave SEO
Hi All!
I’ve been working in SEO for about 2 years in house for a large company. I’ve honestly never enjoyed it – I just took this job to get a full-time position with benefits. I love my team, but I know I don’t want to do this for the rest of my career.
I don’t know where to go next, though I’ve been looking at product marketing and UX. I also don’t know how to write my resume for a different field. I feel like I barely do anything impactful at this job – mostly copy editing, keyword research, and URL cleanup. I don’t do technical SEO work at all. None of the things I’ve been doing seem super useful outside of SEO.
Has anyone here been able to make a career transition out of SEO? Where did you go? How did you get there? I know the market sucks and it isn’t a good time to move, but I’m getting so bored and I’d like to at least start mapping a path out.
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1 Reply
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Good call. Try to hop on a trend of today. SEO has been around 20 years now.
Social? AI?
Agency world might give you opp, but you’re right, hard to break out of a silo.
Content mktg that uses AI?
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I’d second the agency suggestion. Agencies are usually pretty good at cross training if you want to make a switch.
Low hanging fruit in the form of a career transition could lie in content marketing, PPC advertising (Google Ads, etc), or you could be the billionth person to become some kind of AI specialist 😀
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I can’t picture doing anything else besides SEO!
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Would it be more rewarding if you transitioned to freelancing and worked for yourself doing SEO?
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I’ve had that thought a few times. If you can’t make your situation better, then you can always go to a new company, do what you can’t do in your full time by freelancing on the side, or do you own thing as mentioned in other comments. I have done all of these things and am still in SEO after 13 years (while exploring personal training on the side too). Examine your interests and take chances. Your heart will tell you!
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I work as a SEO data analyst. You could look into it. Requires SEO domain knowledge but you don’t need to be hands-on with SEO projects. You will need to pick up data analyst skills but you could utilize your 2 years of SEO experience.
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There used to be a lot of switching between SEO and paid search but it really seems much less similar now.
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Consider exploring digital marketing roles that align with your interests and skills. Look into areas such as content marketing, social media management, or digital advertising. Leverage your SEO experience to highlight your analytical and data-driven approach.
Tailor your resume to emphasize relevant achievements and showcase your adaptability. Networking and upskilling through online courses can also help you pivot successfully. You have valuable skills, and with the right approach, you can transition to a rewarding career beyond SEO.
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I’ve been in an agency for so long and I hate it. I definitely prefer in-house.
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If you’re truly good at SEO I don’t understand why you’re not making enough money a month with your OWN websites ????♂️ open your mind lol
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For me, the easiest way is to point out that SEO offers a range of skills that will enable you to understand web acquisition as a whole. As a web marketer, you can use your understanding of search intent and UX design to help your products/services perform well, while at the same time developing a fine-tuned capacity for analysis, whether from a macro or micro point of view (market or keyword-specific).
It’s an approach worth exploring. -
I like SEO and publishing content for my own sites, but I’ve been looking to make a career switch as well. My current role just pays absolute dogshit ($48k fwiw) and after applying to SEO and content management roles for over six months now with no luck, I’m doubting it as a viable career path. The industry seems to be filled with gatekeepers who are generalist marketers and don’t have any clue as to what SEO involves.
I saw agency work mentioned, but if you don’t like working in-house, I would avoid working at an agency unless you like working with clients and don’t mind switching gears all the time. Agency employees get paid less on average and have unrealistic workloads.
If you enjoy working with computers or the little bit of code you’ve probably picked up along the way, IT or coding might be a good option for you. I’m trying to cast as wide a net as possible in my job search, so I’m studying both. I’m taking the Google IT Support Specialist course and going through freeCodeCamp’s material. html and CSS were a breeze for me but JavaScript has been pretty difficult.
The job market is terrible, so be patient
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Well, it seems like you are not interested in this field anymore. So, it’s a good time to switch the career. 2 years are nothing, you have enough time to move another profession.
So, do some research and identify best career path that will excite you.
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Since SEO is multifaceted and overlaps with several aspects, you can consider which aspects are your favorite and where you feel you perform best.
Is it the keyword and content aspect? Then you can develop yourself in content marketing.
Or is it the analytical side, using Google Analytics and performance monitoring? In that case, you can focus more on data analysis.
Or perhaps it’s the audit aspect in general, and you believe you’re closer to UX, so you can specialize in that.
There’s also the aspect of competitor analysis and monitoring changes in a specific field, which is closer to a Marketing Analyst or Marketing Specialist role.
I’m like you, and for months, I’ve been studying data analysis and focusing on it because it’s definitely closest to my heart. I wish you the best.
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I am looking for a job as an SEO if your company offers remote job can you recommend me?
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