Many SEOs believe that experience automatically qualifies them for leadership roles. However, leading a department requires more than SEO expertise. In an article for Moz on retention strategies, Jon Martins, the Operations Director at Hallam, said that not every SEO is suitable for leadership positions and that sometimes there are alternative responsibilities they might be suited for.
He is correct.
Leadership is about running an entire service line—a business within a business. To stand out as a candidate, you must demonstrate leadership experience, such as managing teams, guiding strategy, or owning business outcomes, not just time spent in SEO.
Lawrence Hitches, General Manager at Studio Hawk in Melbourne, puts it well: “The disparity in experience levels can be stark—someone with four years in SEO might have never touched on-page SEO, while another with just a year’s experience could have managed a major migration for a big brand.”
If you liked How To Secure an SEO Leadership Role [According to an Ex-SEO Turned Headhunter] by James Congdon Then you'll love Miami SEO Expert
Filtered or suppressed listingYour listing disappears entirely from Maps for your top keywords, or appears…
What even is SEO? Back (5+ years ago), when I was working as a consultant,…
These 10 fan-out types are loosely organized as a journey. What is the searcher trying…
The second ceremony that I want to talk about is discovery. This I find just…
We should talk briefly about the elephants in the room. Obviously, a lot of people…
So why does it matter? What does this actually affect? So the most obvious thing…