What task does an off-Page SEO Specialist do? What skills are required and how to pivot to an off-Page SEO Specialist role? Find out in this interview with Lauren McEvoy.
Job titles can be tricky. What tasks do they involve? What skills does one need? It can be confusing to know what’s the next step in a career or where to start as an SEO. In a previous article, Minnie Mururi dived into the topic of Digital PR and Outreach specialists.
We wanted a real-life account of an off-Page SEO specialist to add to Minnie’s advice. Lauren McEvoy helps us to understand what an off-Page SEO Specialist does and what a day in her job looks like. We also find out what inspires Lauren and motivates her everyday.
If you do not find the informations that you need, let us know, we will be happy to add them: isaline@workinseo.com
This article is based on an interview with Lauren McEvoy. Isaline has slightly edited it for readability purpose.
Meet Lauren McEvoy, off-Page SEO Specialist
Lauren McEvoy is a travel enthusiast with a recruitment and travel background, currently working as a Off Page SEO specialist. With over 6 years of experience in the tourism and recruitment industries, she has gained valuable insights into diverse marketing strategies employed by companies. Intrigued by the world of SEO, she made a career shift into digital marketing, completing courses from UCT GetSmarter and other online platforms.
Lauren is a traveler: “A huge goal for me has always been location independence and working fully remotely. I love the fact that while I am fulfilling my day to day duties at any location, I can also travel to create content for my travel blog called Off two wander.”
Connect with Lauren McEvoy on Instagram and LinkedIn.
What is an off-Page SEO Specialist ? A short definition
Lauren McEvoy explains: “Imagine that you have a website, but aren’t seeing any gains from your online presence. Gains can differ from company to company. For example: some companies want more visitors to their website, want to increase downloads on a free template, reach a specific audience, convert into leads or customers, increase brand awareness, get ahead of competitors, etc. This is where Off Page SEO Specialists help their clients be found online by serps (search engines), Google being one of them. When someone types in keywords or keyphrases into search engines, we want our clients to appear organically on page 1, ideally page 1 and number 1.”
“As an off-Page SEO Specialist, my ultimate goal is to improve my clients search engine rankings and improve their organic online visibility. I make use of tools like Ahrefs to boost domain rating (DR), increase monthly organic traffic, and target specific keywords.
For example: If I am working with a client who is trying to push a certain target page and anchor text, I will implement those into my strategy for the month and monitor the movement on Ahrefs.” says Lauren.
Difference between off-Page SEO Specialist, Digital PR and Outreach Specialist
Preparing this article with Lauren, we noticed that Lauren’s job title is off-Page SEO Specialist, and not a Outreach Specialist or Digital PR? What is specific to an off-Page SEO specialist? How different is your job from a Digital PR?
Lauren clarifies the differences and similarities for us:
“All three have a similar skill set and workflow. You will most likely be able to do all three roles with the skills that you will acquire by doing each. Do not put yourself in a box when you see a title that you aren’t familiar with. You will most likely have the background knowledge in order to succeed at the position.
Outreach Specialists is lead generation, pitching and negotiating. Using tools like Pitchbox to monitor campaigns and keep track of emails. Emails can get pretty complicated if you don’t have systems in place. Luckily for me, my OCD is on point!
Digital PR is something that I have not yet done, but you will be pitching to journalists with some interesting and unique angles.
Off-page Specialist combines creativity and communication skills, but relies on already established connections and contacts. I also use the term Off-Page Specialist, as there are 3 main pillars in SEO. Them being: Tech SEO, On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO. “
Here is what you should know about off-Page SEO Specialist
If you want to work as an off-Page SEO Specialist, you will need a lot of patience and organisation. Dealing with “rejection is a huge part of working as an Off Page SEO, and that is something that took me a while to get used to” confides Lauren. When pivoting from the tourism industry, “a huge selling point for me was that the majority of SEO roles are fully remote and that was a big goal for me” shares Lauren.
Dealing with rejection is a universal human experience. As uncomfortable as it is, luckily, it is possible to learn to manage it. I find it a necessary skill to learn. For this article, I asked Lauren follow-up questions. Thankfully, she agreed to answer them.
Dealing with rejections as an off-page specialist
Lauren explains: “I took a lot of the rejection personally, but that is something that you have to learn to put aside. I often put myself in others’ shoes and wonder how they would feel. It does get better with time, learning to separate my personal feelings and work feelings. My manager understands me quite well and continues to give me reminders on not taking things to heart. At the end of the day, everyone has a job to do and I cannot control what is happening on the other side with whoever I am working with.
Here are a few things that I have done to get used to rejection:
– Separate work and life emotions. Work mindset during working hours.
– Have a good balance – find your perfect routine.
– Barriers – don’t look at emails/ slack messages outside of your working hours. Some messages might make your heart beat faster than usual…stress yourself out over the small things.
– Being in nature and breathing in fresh air – works wonders.
– Go to the gym and put some good music on.
– Speaking up. Talking to someone on your team or management about how you are feeling and get tips on how they cope with rejection.
– Dealing with different cultures around the world – We are not all the same and that’s 100% okay! Learn to adapt and read / understand people better.
– Get to the point/ be specific. Some people might be second language English and not reply to emails the same way you might. “
What are the main tasks of an off-Page SEO Specialist?
We are curious to know what a day in Lauren’s shoes looks like! One of her main tasks is to search for websites that are suitable for anchor text and target pages. The sites need to match client criteria (e.g. DR40+). Once she has identified suitable target pages, she generates guest post titles and link placements suitable for the anchor text and target pages.
Regular communication with website managers is a must as she shares her results while she aims to achieve her target each month.
Which skills are most useful to work as an off-Page SEO Specialist?
To work efficiently as an off-Page SEO Specialist, you need an excellent organisation and to learn how to manage your time, explains Lauren: “Use your time well to stay on top of things, because you are working on many links at one time. In terms of organisation, it is all about finding a system that works best for you. Decide if you prefer to write things down or make an excel spreadsheet. Over time, you will also learn what works and what doesn’t work for you. You will be communicating via email and not everyone is first language English, so it is important to be clear in your messages and communicate exactly what you are wanting. If you are not sure, ask and ask again.
Tools and hard skills
Lauren learnt to use Ahrefs: “how to read the data and navigate my way around, was something that I have never done before. That took some time getting used to, but now I feel comfortable reading the data such as referring domain, finding the DR and organic monthly traffic, competitors and top performing content etc.”
You consider a career change as an off-Page SEO Specialist? You need to know this!
When Lauren started at her company, she hadn’t worked in SEO before: “Everything that I learnt about Off Page SEO is from my managers at my current company. In the beginning it can be quite confusing, having to learn different systems and company procedures, just like it is at any company. Practice and time will make you a better Off Page Specialist.”
If you were applying for this SEO role right now, how would you prepare?
Lauren explains that it is important to have basic knowledge on SEO and learn what makes a good or bad website. What helps with user experience, what is DR (domain rating) and organic traffic. Get familiar with SEO tools like Ahrefs, Semrush etc.
Soft skills as an off-Page SEO Specialist
During our interview, Lauren mentioned that most of the soft skills are skills that she had learnt in her previous work experiences. If you are pivoting as an off-Page SEO specialist, look back on your strengths: what are the soft skills and processes that you have developed? Show recruiters what you know.
Lauren also read plenty of blog posts, listened to podcasts and completed plenty of free online courses. There are many free online courses available, you just need to dig a little deeper. By completing these online courses, this gave her the confidence that she lacked in her new interest, to show recruiters the efforts that she put in to make this career move. She decided to apply her digital marketing theory knowledge to a practical example. This is when she built her own website, offtwowander.com and started applying knowledge learnt to a practical example.
In her interview about SEO Project Management, Vanda Pókecz similarly mentions how you might be surprised to find that even without the job title, you may have carried out some tasks pertaining to the new job you are applying for. Over the years, you have developed soft and transferable skills that will be equally useful no matter your current job title.
Apply. Be Bold. Own it.
Lauren is enthusiastic and driven, she urges: “Even if you think you can’t do a job or have never done a role before, just apply. Send the application. Message the recruiter. Be bold. Own it. Everyone always starts at the bottom and works their way up. You never know what kind of candidates the company is looking to hire, and there might be a chance to get into something new, and be good at it.”
When Lauren pivoted, she was a beginner in SEO and successfully learnt how to use SEO tools on the way. “With my 6 years travel and recruitment experience, and me deciding to change career paths at the age I did, was a huge step for me. Looking back now, I am SO happy I made the decision and stuck with it!”
We get it, pivoting and/or applying for a new role can be scary. Listen to a genuine story of what it is like to navigate a SEO career and start new projects: Brenda Malone started an SEO career at age 60.
What are the salary expectations for an off-Page SEO role?
It is difficult to provide a bracket as the salary will depend on the experience and the country/location where you want to work. To prepare for a salary negotiation and create an accurate image of the market you are working in, we recommend using Carolyn Lynden’s method.
What is your next career step after working as an off-Page SEO Specialist?
Lauren is eager to learn other aspects of SEO, whether it be growth or tech SEO: “Whenever I receive the Ahrefs site audit for my personal site, I want to resolve all the errors and find ways to improve the stats and user experience.”
—-
Thank you Lauren for sharing your experience as an off-Page SEO Specialist with us.
You have further questions about the job of an off-Page SEO Specialist? Join a career Q&A with SEOnerdSwitzerland. Find out what we do at SEOnerdSwitzerland and how to join the community.