Believe it or not, we’ve seen our fair share of crazies when it comes to SEO specialist resumes.
The one that we’ve printed on our wall of fame had a resume tile:
“SEO specialist resume, best SEO specialist resume, top SEO specialist resume, NYC SEO specialist, Boston..”
Imagine how the rest was.
And, it came from someone with a background of 2+ years as an SEO professional.
But, we know you are much smarter than that!
So, we collected what most usually known as the unspoken rules of resume writing and built this guide for you.
“The ideal SEO specialist is hungry to learn and provides creative solutions to unique problems. I’m less interested in someone with a degree in English or digital marketing and more keen on hiring a candidate who’s able to accurately represent their ambition and capabilities.”
Paris Childress, CEO & Founder of Hop Online
This SEO specialist resume guide will teach you:
- What resume layouts and sections are perfect for an SEO specialist.
- What your header needs to ensure your resume doesn’t go straight to the trash
- How to write an eye-catching summary.
- What kinds of skills make the greatest impact.
- What certifications to get and how to use them on your resume.
Looking for related resumes?
- SEO Resumes
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- Copywriter Resumes
- Marketing Manager Resumes
- Marketing Resumes
How to write an SEO specialist resume
Well start from the very bottom and read how to write a resume in the first place, then proceed forward. Future employers are most interested in your current career and whether your experience is applicable to the job offer. Therefore, if you’ve been working in the SEO industry for a few years, our experts recommend writing your work experience in reverse-chronological order.
If you’ve got a wide breadth of experience from piecework, freelance gigs, as well as a regular 9-5, you might want to consider a hybrid resume. This sort of document allows you to highlight your skill sets while also incorporating your work experience.
The top sections to include on an SEO specialist resume
- An objective or summary
- SEO experience with a focus on results you’ve gotten
- Certification(s)
- Education
- Relevant soft and technical skills
Layout aside, you’ll also need to make your area of expertise clear. The hiring manager shouldn’t be reading your resume and wondering whether you do on page specialization or outreach.
Ultimately, a SEO specialist resume which is focused on a single area is going to be more effective than one with a bit of experience in 5 areas.
Pro tip
You’ve got less than 10 seconds to grab your audience’s attention – make sure that you’re providing the most accurate information as quickly as possible.
What your resume header is probably missing
As an SEO specialist, your attention to detail is what you’re best known for. Providing the wrong keywords can cause the client’s site to lose major traffic. Incorrect ad copy can ruin any chance for an ROI.
Within a single line, prospective employers can determine whether you meet – and exceed – their hiring requirements.
Nail it, and you’ve got their attention. Here’s how to do it:
What your resume header needs
- Basic information: Include your name contact details (e.g. phone number, professional email address), and your location.
- Certifications/Qualifications: The best resume headers allow readers to quickly make determinations. Do you have an MA in Creative Writing? Have you worked your way through the Hubspot class list? Successfully complete any Google certifications that apply to this specific job offer?
- Personal and/or professional website: Providing your LinkedIn profile and/or another personal website is a great way to efficiently showcase your certifications and skills. A website that’s set up correctly can take you far!
We’ve provided two resume headers from the same person. The first is more eye-catching, followed by one that doesn’t quite stand out.
Should i include a resume objective or summary
If you’re just entering the SEO field (or are considering a new path in the industry), a resume objective is a solid choice. Though writing 1-2 unique and succinct sentences can seem tricky, finding the right language is the biggest part of your job!
Pro tip
Avoid using first-person narrative – keep your text objective.
When you have broad professional experience (in a variety of roles), a resume summary is the better method to utilize. This brief explanation should be no more than 4 or 5 sentences and may include relevant information regarding previous jobs experience, volunteer positions, online certifications, freelance gigs, and more.
Pro tip
Ensure that you’re using great fonts, enough white space, and the right headers. If you can’t show that you understand the basics of SEO content production, you’ll be passed over for positions.
Never guarantee that you can boost any sort of traffic by a specific amount – this is a sign to hiring managers that your resume is either fake or worse – you’re someone who builds fake audiences.
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What’s the most effective way to include your SEO specialist resume experience?
The goal of your experience section is to give hiring managers no choice but to hire you. Though it’s time-consuming, you need to determine what the company is looking for, then build a killer resume that stands out, around those requirements.
You might even want to include a job description section, to highlight your previous achievements and the skills you have developed during your work for different companies. That is, if you have something, worth mentioning.
Have a look at the following examples. Both detail identical work experiences, but they couldn’t be further apart:
02/2016 - 11/2019 
- •Kickstarted MailChimp email marketing campaigns for B2B company, resulting in 23% stronger engagement.
- •Developed standardized content expectations for team of 5 writers to improve their quality and efficiency.
- •Led three B2C content campaigns in the pharmaceutical industry, with the highest organic traffic increase of 45% (in three months).
With these simple three bullets, the hiring manager can see that this person checks all of the major boxes:
- Self-motivated
- Capable of learning new skills/developing more efficient processes
- Worth the investment.
If we view the same person with the same – but poorly-worded – experience, there will be a very different outcome:
02/2016 - 11/2019 - •Ran email marketing campaigns using MailChimp.
- •Created writer guide for content team
- •Responsible for three pharmaceutical content campaigns that saw positive growth
Pro tip
When you’re writing about your SEO content experience, dig deep and crunch some numbers. Your clients might have seen positive growth, but if you aren’t able to provide the hard facts, who’s going to believe you?
Does your SEO specialist resume need an education section?
Though there’s no such thing as a BA in SEO Content Writing, English degrees (e.g. Creative Writing, Literature) are fairly common. And should be mentioned in your resume education section. It’s rare, however, to find a person who understands the point where writing and SEO meet – and someone who takes it to the next level.
Employers almost always try to find someone with proven experience rather than a degree. That said, if you possess a related degree, be sure to mention it in your SEO specialist resume. Recent graduates are welcome to detail an accomplishment or recognition, but it’s preferable to simply list the institution, date of graduation (or the expected date of graduation), and the degree.
How should you decide which skills to include and emphasize?
In a nutshell, your necessary skills should be listed in the job offer. However, not all skills are considered equal. One hiring manager broke it down this way:
Give me someone who knows SEO basics, can read or code HTML, is a good writer and can have an intelligent conversation any day over someone who “only” has a degree. If you have some familiarity with analytics, even better.
Clay Cazier, VP of Search Strategy at PMX Agency
The most in-demand SEO skills either take time to teach (e.g. full funnel marketing) or require innate talent (e.g. writing compelling articles). Anyone can tell a prospective manager that they’re the best writer ever – your goal is to provide examples that back that claim up.
While writing is considered a soft skill, remember that SEO is more reliant upon technical skills and experience. To get ahead in the industry – and of your competition – you’ll need to include these “hard” skills.
Consider including some of the top 20 skills that employers look for in resume skills section:
10 soft skills to include on an SEO specialist resume
- Research
- Writing
- Data analysis
- Communication
- Organization
- Strategic planning
- Creativity
- Bilinguality
- Independence
10 technical (hard) skills to include on an SEO specialist resume
- Keyword research (e.g SEM Rush, BrainRank, Keyword Planner)
- GSuite, Microsoft Office, etc.
- Email marketing (e.g. MailChimp)
- Photoshop
- Google Analytics
- SEO software (e.g. Yoast, Searchmetrics)
- CMS (e.g Monday, Asana)
- Crawl software (e.g. Screaming Frog)
- HTML, Javascript, CSS, etc.
- On/off-page SEO
How to include your certifications on your resume
Make no mistake: Certifications aren’t typically required to become a professional SEO specialist, but they’re an excellent way to showcase skillsets in a specific area.
Like we said above, if you only have a handful of relevant certifications, keep them in your header area. If you’re certified on a wide variety of platforms – from Hubspot to LinkedIn to Google – you might be better off creating a specific section for them.
Pro tip
If you notice that job advertisements constantly reference specific certifications – and you have limited experience in the field – it’s probably a good idea to start studying!
The top 10 certifications for your SEO specialist resume
- Google Analytics
- Google Ads
- Facebook Advertising
- Moz's Free Beginners Guide to Content Marketing
- Hootsuite Social Media Certification
- Google’s Digital Garage: Fundamentals of Digital Marketing Certification
- Hubspot Content Marketing Certification
- Hubspot Inbound Marketing Certification
- Bing Ads Accredited Professional Certification
- YouTube Certification
In short, what makes an SEO specialist resume work?
For you to find your dream job, you’ll need to:
- Write either an eye-catching summary or objective statement.
- Use numbers to back up your claims.
- Show that you can build real, valuable client bases.
- Prove that you’re the independent SEO writer of any company’s dreams.
- Tailor your resume (and cover letter!) for each application.
SEO Specialist resume examples
By Experience
Junior SEO Specialist
- Demonstrates agility across diverse SEO functions – A standout Junior SEO Specialist resume highlights the candidate’s flexibility, detailing hands-on experience with both on-page and off-page strategies, adaptability in fast-changing digital landscapes, and a readiness to learn new analytics tools as industry demands evolve. This versatility reassures employers that the candidate can thrive amid shifting priorities and emerging technologies.
- Integrates essential SEO lingo thoughtfully – Successful resumes effortlessly incorporate key search marketing phrases like “SERP optimization,” “backlink analysis,” “schema markup,” and “keyword cannibalization,” signaling a deep familiarity with the core language of search engine optimization. This precise use of terminology demonstrates the applicant’s technical foundation and awareness of industry standards.
- Balances a confident yet approachable tone – The most effective applications weave professionalism with genuine eagerness, striking a tone that is both assertive and inviting. By confidently outlining accomplishments while expressing curiosity for growth, these resumes convey both capability and an enthusiastic willingness to contribute to a dynamic SEO team.
Senior SEO Specialist
- Demonstrates agility across industries and strategies – A senior SEO specialist’s resume truly shines when it highlights hands-on experience adapting optimization tactics for a broad spectrum of markets, platforms, and business goals—showing not just proficiency, but a proven ability to pivot between technical SEO, content-driven projects, and rapidly changing algorithm updates.
- Brings a distinct competitive advantage to the table – What distinguishes a top-tier candidate is clear evidence of innovative problem-solving or signature methodologies, such as integrating advanced data analytics with creative link-building campaigns or engineering scalable SEO frameworks that have yielded quantifiable business success across multiple organizations.
- Communicates a genuine passion for driving growth – The resume captivates further by articulating specific reasons for targeting the prospective company, such as alignment with organizational values, enthusiasm for tackling complex SEO challenges unique to the brand, or a desire to make substantial contributions in elevating the company’s organic visibility within its niche.
Entry-Level SEO Specialist
- Demonstrated relevance through prior tasks – When a resume showcases previous work such as managing social media content, analyzing website metrics, or collaborating with digital marketing teams, it signals that the candidate brings transferable skills ideal for an entry-level SEO position. This connection between past responsibilities and SEO functions strengthens their suitability, even if they lack direct experience in search optimization.
- Clear intention for growth in SEO – A standout application expresses a genuine desire to enter the search engine optimization field, perhaps referencing a fascination with digital trends or a commitment to continual learning. When the resume includes certifications, self-initiated projects, or volunteer experience relevant to SEO, it highlights not just interest, but an eagerness to build expertise in this specialty.
- Immediate suitability is unmistakable – A well-structured resume leaves an impression of someone organized, detail-oriented, and tech-savvy—qualities essential in SEO work. Carefully tailored content, keyword-rich bullet points, and succinct achievements signal their preparedness to handle analytical tasks and adapt quickly, positioning them as a strong match for an entry-level SEO specialist role.
Advanced SEO Specialist
- Passion for driving measurable growth – A top-tier Advanced SEO Specialist resume clearly expresses a genuine enthusiasm for enhancing website performance and achieving quantifiable results, demonstrating that the candidate is motivated by tangible success and continual improvement within the SEO field.
- Impactful storytelling that connects expertise to outcomes – The resume captivates the reader by weaving concrete achievements with the candidate’s strategic thinking, creating an emotional connection that highlights not just skills, but how those skills directly benefited previous employers or campaigns.
- Logical structure that guides the reader effortlessly – Information is organized so that each section naturally leads into the next; career highlights, technical proficiencies, and key accomplishments are presented in a clear progression, making it easy for hiring managers to follow and absorb the candidate’s value proposition.
Mid-Level SEO Specialist
- Organized layout enhances quick review – A standout mid-level SEO specialist resume is meticulously structured, using clear headings, concise bullet points, and strategic white space to guide the reader’s eye. Prioritizing relevant sections and showcasing quantifiable achievements allows hiring managers to easily spot the candidate’s skills and impact, making a strong first impression within seconds.
- Demonstrates unique technical and analytical acumen – What truly differentiates an applicant is their ability to highlight uncommon skills, such as advanced proficiency with SEO analytics platforms beyond the basics, or experience with custom automation in reporting. Detailing distinct contributions—like architecting a multi-language SEO strategy that doubled organic leads—proves the candidate’s capacity to drive exceptional results.
- Proven track record of adapting to evolving digital trends – Showcasing adaptability, a compelling resume references successful pivots in strategy when facing algorithm updates, and outlines experiences spanning both e-commerce and content-driven sites. Mentioning how the candidate has thrived in dynamic settings, rapidly mastering new tools or switching between industries, underscores their versatile approach to SEO challenges.
By Role
SEO Technical Specialist
- A seamless link between previous roles and technical SEO expertise – The resume stands out when it clearly demonstrates how earlier responsibilities, such as managing website migrations, performing site audits, or collaborating with development teams, naturally evolved into deeper technical SEO work. By mapping out this trajectory, the candidate underscores both relevancy and a proven learning curve, proving they aren’t a beginner but someone who has steadily honed the exact skills a technical SEO specialist needs.
- A compelling yet balanced communication style – What elevates the document is a narrative that exudes both confidence and a genuine enthusiasm for the technical SEO field, all while maintaining an air of steady professionalism. The summary and bullet points avoid superlatives and fluff, instead delivering concrete achievements and skills in an energetic, yet measured, manner that shows the applicant is both passionate and dependable.
- An ability to connect with the reader through tangible impact – The resume draws the hiring manager in by illustrating not just what the candidate did, but how those actions made a difference—perhaps through improved site speed, increased crawl rates, or successful error resolutions. This focus on outcome-driven language ensures the reader feels the value and excitement of the candidate’s work, making their contributions memorable and relatable.
SEO Content Specialist
- Strategic implementation of key SEO principles – A high-impact SEO Content Specialist resume signals expertise by weaving in advanced terminology such as “keyword mapping,” “SERP analysis,” and “on-page optimization.” This not only demonstrates deep familiarity with industry methodologies but also assures hiring managers of the candidate’s technical proficiency and current knowledge of evolving best practices.
- Organized presentation with purposeful flow – The most compelling resumes present information in a well-structured, easy-to-follow manner, making use of concise bullet points, clear section headings, and logical sequencing of achievements. This clarity helps recruiters quickly assess relevant experience, from strategy development to analytics reporting, without wading through clutter or ambiguity.
- Engaging narrative that illustrates results – Beyond outlining skills, a standout resume for this role subtly conveys a story of impact, using action verbs and quantifiable outcomes to evoke enthusiasm. This approach fosters a connection with the reader, showing not just what was done, but the enthusiasm and drive that powered tangible SEO success and content engagement.
SEO Outreach Specialist
- Clear alignment of personal drive with company needs – A standout SEO Outreach Specialist resume succinctly communicates a genuine enthusiasm for digital marketing and a keen interest in link-building strategies, demonstrating not just a desire for any job, but a tailored motivation for advancing a company’s online visibility and authority.
- Proven aptitude for thriving across shifting environments – Versatility is showcased through diverse experience like managing outreach for multiple industries, engaging with a range of digital tools, or adjusting strategies for evolving algorithms, all of which highlight an ability to excel amid change and adapt to different client or campaign requirements.
- Demonstrated expertise in both the art and science of outreach – Evidence of deep knowledge comes through measured results, such as securing high-authority backlinks, incorporating advanced prospecting techniques, and utilizing analytics tools to refine outreach efforts for maximum impact, establishing the candidate’s mastery of the discipline.
SEO Analytics Specialist
- Demonstrates advanced analytics expertise through concrete results – A standout SEO Analytics Specialist resume highlights in-depth knowledge of data analysis tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, and Screaming Frog, backed by specific achievements such as significant increases in organic search traffic or improved keyword rankings. Detailed metrics and examples not only showcase technical mastery but also demonstrate an ability to interpret data and turn insights into action.
- Showcases flexibility by spanning diverse industries and strategies – True versatility is reflected when a candidate details their successful pivoting between various sectors—whether e-commerce, SaaS, or publishing—and notes their adaptation of technical SEO, content optimization, and link-building approaches tailored to each context. This breadth confirms a capability to adjust methodologies quickly while ensuring sustained results across different digital landscapes.
- Communicates intent and future goals with clear focus – A compelling resume doesn’t just recount past roles; it articulates a strong motivation for pursuing new challenges in SEO analytics. By explicitly stating a drive to solve complex problems, contribute to innovative marketing teams, or stay ahead in a fast-evolving field, the applicant demonstrates purpose and determination, aligning personal objectives with the mission of prospective employers.