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Experts are people who are extremely focused on a particular area and devote immense time to perfect one skill. However, the modern concept of an expert is centered around effective learning and can be summed in a quirky one-liner-“Jack of All Trades, Master of Some.” There are subtle skills that distinguish one in interdisciplinary fields like digital marketing and search engine optimization. SEO is at the crossroads of marketing and computer programming but the skills demanded from an SEO expert are not just confined to these two domains. Here are the 6 skills that every SEO expert needs to have.

1. Creative Thinking

Technical skills help an idea take shape. However, analytical and creative thinking is necessary to come up with an original idea. Creativity stems from the knowledge of latest trends through extensive research. SEO is a dynamic field and in order to stay ahead, one needs to be spot on with keyword research and more importantly use the keyword in content wisely. This is where an SEO expert who is creative maximizes his opportunity. Interpreting reports is at the heart of SEO. An analytical mind can draw inferences about web traffic sources, organic bounce rates and hence, monetize the organic traffic.

2. Programming

Getting acquainted with HTML, CSS and JavaScript can get you a long way in frontend web development. You can use any popular HTML editor like Adobe Dreamweaver, Sublime, Brackets or Notepad++. Further, an SEO expert has to be familiar with metatags. Learning PHP can help you understand the backend web development. PHP can automate a lot of processes like authenticating user login or encrypting a code. Knowing even the basic syntax of PHP can help you edit codes in your WordPress site.

3. Web Hosting Experience

Choice of web hosting service plays a crucial role in website load time. There are several parameters that you should consider before selecting the right host. Some of these factors are website downtime, speed, website security, HTTPS/SSL support and round the clock customer support. Google’s algorithm ranks the websites based on hundreds of parameters and website loading time is a significant one. Apart from this, an SEO expert should be familiar with configuring accessibility and some other server-side configuration like using scripts to automatically redirect to specific pages.

4. Knowledge of SEO Tools

An SEO expert should know the crawling tools like Screaming Frog. There are several free tools that one can master to get better SEO results. Some of these are Google Analytics, Google Search Console (previously known as Google Webmaster Tool), Google Keyword Planner, SEMRush and XML Sitemap.

5. Flexibility

An SEO expert should approach websites on a case by case basis. One should remember that strategies which were highly appreciated at one point of time can become obsolete later. For example, Google launched its Soft Panda algorithm followed by Panda 4.0 and Payday Loans 2.0 updates in a matter of months. So, SEO tactics should be dynamic and adaptive to the trends.

6. Interpersonal Skills

Effective communication is not everyone’s cup of tea. Many clients remain dissatisfied with SEO experts because they fail to comprehend how things work. It becomes irrevocably difficult to work with them for a long time. So, having technical expertise is not enough. One must be careful enough to listen to the demands of the clients, assure them of the quality of work and thus, gain their trust.