How Does a Career in SEO Take Shape? WhitePress Presents Findings from Its Latest Study
What does the career path of people working in SEO look like? Answers to this question are provided by the latest WhitePress study entitled "Your Path into the SEO Industry", conducted in December 2024 among more than 200 industry representatives. The analysis of the survey results yielded many surprising conclusions: almost no expert holds a degree in the field, most of them began their professional careers in a different position, and the skills and competencies they acquired earlier turn out to be useful in the SEO industry. The phenomenon of the industry and its development prospects are commented on by experts from WhitePress, one of the European leaders in solutions supporting companies with their SEO and content marketing efforts.
Specialists point to experience, not university degrees
The WhitePress study conducted among SEO specialists shows that a career in the industry does not depend on education. Only 6 percent of respondents admit to having completed studies directly related to SEO, digital marketing or data analysis. For 28 percent of respondents, the degree programme included individual classes on search engine optimisation – this applies to fields such as computer science, journalism or economics. The vast majority of SEO specialists, more than 40 percent, completed studies entirely unrelated to their current profession.
As Tomasz Biegun, Head of Content Marketing & SEO at WhitePress, emphasises, the reasons for this distribution of answers should be sought in two issues: the educational offering of universities and the specific nature of the SEO industry, in which a degree in the field matters less than real skills and experience.
– We must be aware that studies related to internet marketing appeared in Poland quite recently, initially mainly in the form of postgraduate studies, and later as specialisations within marketing or management programmes. By the time that happened, many experts already had years of experience in the industry. If they took part in classes, it was rather as lecturers than as students. Today, training courses and workshops are chosen more often than specialist degree programmes. However, what counts in the labour market is not a document or a certificate, but real professional experience. That is why students and course participants who are thinking about working in the profession should focus primarily on gaining skills while working on specific projects, for example at SEO agencies – explains Tomasz Biegun.
Most SEO specialists who took part in the WhitePress survey have extensive professional experience to their name. Almost 30 percent of respondents have been working in the industry for more than 10 years, and another 18 percent – from 7 to 10 years. Only one in five respondents admitted to having worked in SEO for more than a year but less than 3 years. One in ten people began their adventure with search engine optimisation within the past year.
SEO is usually not the first stage of a professional career
It is interesting that only one in four SEO specialists began their professional career with work in SEO. The others had previously done something else, but in most cases these were areas to some extent related to SEO, e.g. marketing (21.5 percent of answers), copywriting (18 percent) or IT and programming (12 percent).
The vast majority of SEO industry employees use skills acquired in previous positions in their work – fully (28 percent of answers) or at least partially, supplementing their experience with new competencies (30 percent). As Agata Gruszka-Kierczak, International SEO Manager at WhitePress, points out, changing specialisation within broadly understood marketing is a common phenomenon.
– Our data shows that only one in four people had been doing something completely different before entering the SEO industry. The rest already had some contact with the topic of search engine optimisation, for example by working in a marketing department, but in a different position. Some had regular contact with SEO. Examples include copywriters who created texts based on guidelines and keywords, or marketing specialists who established cooperation with an SEO agency and supervised its work. Such a kind of career change within the industry is a way to overcome professional routine and avoid burnout. At the same time, it allows you to acquire completely new skills, which increases a candidate's chances and opportunities in the labour market – adds Agata Gruszka-Kierczak, WhitePress.
Knowledge of technology and IT tools is a key competency in SEO
SEO specialists admit that in their daily work they use various competencies acquired before entering the industry. Most often they point to knowledge of technology and IT tools (29 percent of answers) and the ability to write and create content (25 percent). Analytical competencies (21.5 percent) and general knowledge of marketing (18 percent) also help them carry out their current tasks.
Encouragingly, most people assess the development prospects in the industry favourably. Nearly 80 percent of specialists rate development opportunities as very good and good, pointing to many opportunities for learning and growth, although these require them to keep up with dynamic changes. According to Patrycja Górecka-Butora, Head of Marketing at WhitePress, access to knowledge and skills is easier today than it was a dozen or so years ago, not least thanks to companies such as WhitePress, which offers a range of specialist publications, training courses and webinars and organises industry conferences featuring world-class experts.
– In the SEO industry nothing is obvious, and specialists with the same experience can have completely different views on a given topic. An example from recent years is the issue of artificial intelligence and its impact on search engine optimisation – some advise against creating content with the help of AI, while others believe it is a good and effective way to optimise costs and working time. For complete beginners, therefore, making sense of certain issues and topics can be problematic. That is why it is worth thinking carefully about the choice of a training course or degree programme, paying attention not only to the instructor's experience but also to the curriculum. A large dose of up-to-date knowledge about SEO and content marketing can be gained by watching the free webinars that we regularly publish on the WhitePress website – concludes Patrycja Górecka-Butora, WhitePress.
Most SEO specialists who took part in the WhitePress survey have extensive professional experience to their name. Almost 30 percent of respondents have been working in the industry for more than 10 years, and another 18 percent – from 7 to 10 years. Only one in five respondents admitted to having worked in SEO for more than a year but less than 3 years. One in ten people began their adventure with search engine optimisation within the past year.
SEO is usually not the first stage of a professional career
It is interesting that only one in four SEO specialists began their professional career with work in SEO. The others had previously done something else, but in most cases these were areas to some extent related to SEO, e.g. marketing (21.5 percent of answers), copywriting (18 percent) or IT and programming (12 percent).
The vast majority of SEO industry employees use skills acquired in previous positions in their work – fully (28 percent of answers) or at least partially, supplementing their experience with new competencies (30 percent). As Agata Gruszka-Kierczak, International SEO Manager at WhitePress, points out, changing specialisation within broadly understood marketing is a common phenomenon.
– Our data shows that only one in four people had been doing something completely different before entering the SEO industry. The rest already had some contact with the topic of search engine optimisation, for example by working in a marketing department, but in a different position. Some had regular contact with SEO. Examples include copywriters who created texts based on guidelines and keywords, or marketing specialists who established cooperation with an SEO agency and supervised its work. Such a kind of career change within the industry is a way to overcome professional routine and avoid burnout. At the same time, it allows you to acquire completely new skills, which increases a candidate's chances and opportunities in the labour market – adds Agata Gruszka-Kierczak, WhitePress.
Knowledge of technology and IT tools is a key competency in SEO
SEO specialists admit that in their daily work they use various competencies acquired before entering the industry. Most often they point to knowledge of technology and IT tools (29 percent of answers) and the ability to write and create content (25 percent). Analytical competencies (21.5 percent) and general knowledge of marketing (18 percent) also help them carry out their current tasks.
Encouragingly, most people assess the development prospects in the industry favourably. Nearly 80 percent of specialists rate development opportunities as very good and good, pointing to many opportunities for learning and growth, although these require them to keep up with dynamic changes. According to Patrycja Górecka-Butora, Head of Marketing at WhitePress, access to knowledge and skills is easier today than it was a dozen or so years ago, not least thanks to companies such as WhitePress, which offers a range of specialist publications, training courses and webinars and organises industry conferences featuring world-class experts.
– In the SEO industry nothing is obvious, and specialists with the same experience can have completely different views on a given topic. An example from recent years is the issue of artificial intelligence and its impact on search engine optimisation – some advise against creating content with the help of AI, while others believe it is a good and effective way to optimise costs and working time. For complete beginners, therefore, making sense of certain issues and topics can be problematic. That is why it is worth thinking carefully about the choice of a training course or degree programme, paying attention not only to the instructor's experience but also to the curriculum. A large dose of up-to-date knowledge about SEO and content marketing can be gained by watching the free webinars that we regularly publish on the WhitePress website – concludes Patrycja Górecka-Butora, WhitePress.
Company information
WhitePress is a European leader in solutions supporting companies with their SEO and content marketing efforts. The company specialises in offering a range of specialist publications, training courses and webinars and in organising industry conferences. Among its experts are world-class specialists who share up-to-date knowledge about SEO and content marketing.
Website: WhitePress
