SEO manager (Search Engine Optimisation)

The SEO manager, or organic search manager, leads efforts to improve a website’s visibility in unpaid search engine results. They define a strategy, choose the actions to take and help carry them out. SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, combines activities including technical website analysis, content work and results monitoring.

Their role connects diagnosis with operational decisions. They audit the website and its audience, select relevant keywords and make recommendations. Depending on the needs, they prioritise technical, editorial and link-related work. They then monitor results to explain changes and adjust priorities.

The role can be carried out in-house, in an agency or independently. The professional may work alone or with specialists. In-house, they liaise particularly with IT, marketing and communications teams. When describing the role, specify who they report to, who decides priorities and who makes the changes. The title alone does not establish a single reporting line.

The word “manager” does not necessarily imply line management of a team. It is important to distinguish between leading SEO work, coordinating contributors and managing staff. Nor does the title alone make the role equivalent to Head of SEO.

SEO manager, paid search specialist and content writer: who does what?

• The SEO manager organises organic search work and monitors its results.
• The paid search specialist handles paid advertising. Buying advertising on Google does not determine organic rankings.
• The content writer contributes to content. The SEO manager may work with them to turn keyword choices into editorial recommendations.

The hire should enable findings about the website to be turned into achievable actions. An audit alone does not answer the question of what order the work should follow. The SEO manager must connect the problems identified with the company’s needs, then explain what warrants action and why.

For the business leader, one particular challenge is to make these choices open to discussion with the teams involved. A technical recommendation requires discussion with the people able to implement it. A content change may involve writers or the communications team. When defining the role, therefore, identify the resources available and the person who makes the final decision when several pieces of work require the same staff.

A mismatch between the hire and the organisation can limit the role’s usefulness. If you expect independent execution, specify which changes the candidate will need to make themselves. If you mainly need someone to lead the work, give them people to work with who can carry out the actions. Strong analytical expertise alone does not demonstrate the ability to explain recommendations and persuade those people.

Fictional example: a company receives recommendations about its content and the technical aspects of its website. Its development team can only handle some of the requests. The SEO manager must propose an order for the work, explain their choices and adapt monitoring to the actions actually completed.

Interpreting results is another challenge. Search Console provides information on visibility and clicks in Google, while Analytics describes interactions on the website. This information answers different questions. Their clicks and sessions do not necessarily match. To discuss progress, ask for comparisons using consistent periods and filters, accompanied by an explanation of the differences. This will allow you to examine the decisions made without reducing the discussion to a page’s ranking.

• Audit the website and its audience to diagnose organic search performance.
• Select the keywords that guide editorial work.
• Prioritise technical, semantic and link-related work according to the website’s needs.
• Formulate content recommendations that writers can use.
• Coordinate implementation with the IT, marketing and communications teams involved.
• Monitor the results of organic search actions.
• Explain the changes observed and adjust the strategy.

Education in IT, communications or digital marketing can prepare someone for organic search work. The pathways cited include the BUT métiers du multimédia et de l’internet, licences professionnelles and masters. These examples do not constitute a list of compulsory qualifications. Apec also mentions career changes and initial practical experience in digital work.

Useful knowledge and skills combine audience data analysis, technical understanding of the web and editorial recommendations. Knowledge of a CMS enables routine changes to be made. The level of programming required depends on the tasks assigned. A technical background can be supplemented by editorial practice, and a communications background by a better understanding of how websites work.

Experience develops different skills depending on the responsibilities held: contributing to an audit or organising the follow-up work, selecting keywords, working with writers, explaining results and adjusting a strategy. These activities give a clearer picture of preparation for the role than previous job titles alone.

Keeping up with developments and undertaking regular training help maintain skills. Applying knowledge to concrete decisions and practical work extends this learning.

The foundations of the GetPro method

GetPro prepares the assessment using a framework that prioritises the role’s criteria. It distinguishes between verifiable aspects of a candidate’s background and skills to explore further at interview, with an assessment method for each criterion. This framework guides discussions and allows points still to be established to be revisited.

At interview, GetPro explores the key criteria through open questions and asks for concrete examples. Reference checks are used to cross-check the responsibilities described and explore strengths or areas requiring attention. Discussions are placed in the context of the working relationship and supported by examples. A summary sets out the information useful for the decision.

Advice on assessing an SEO manager

The steps below suggest how to apply this to the role. They should be adapted to the responsibilities and level of autonomy of the position and do not describe a GetPro-specific SEO protocol.

1. Set the criteria before the interviews

Define what the person will need to analyse, decide and carry out themselves. Distinguish between technical diagnosis, editorial recommendations, prioritisation and explanation of results. Add staff management only if the role includes a team.

For each criterion, note a piece of work to examine or an explanation you expect. Use the same criteria to compare candidates. Match the technical depth to the changes that will actually be assigned to the future manager.

If your company does not have the necessary SEO expertise, involve a specialist who can examine the technical reasoning. The business leader or HR should remain responsible for assessing the responsibilities and collaboration expected in the role.

2. Examine a past piece of work

Using a piece of work they can present, ask the candidate to explain the initial need, their diagnosis and the actions actually carried out. Ask them to justify their recommendations and specify their own contribution as well as that of the other people involved.

A positive sign is the ability to connect an observation with a decision, then describe the follow-up. Probe answers that remain focused on the software used or on a collective result without an identifiable contribution.

3. Set an exercise relevant to the role

Prepare a limited exercise with the information needed for discussion. Ask for an order of work and the reasoning behind it, then ask the candidate to explain what information is missing.

Fictional example: provide a brief diagnosis mentioning editorial work and a technical change, with limited developer availability. Ask the candidate to present their priorities to the teams involved.

Observe how they formulate recommendations and take account of the people who will need to carry them out. Value an understandable explanation and precise questions about the context. Probe any priority asserted without justification or without a connection to the needs presented.

4. Discuss measuring results

Ask which metrics the candidate would use to explain the effects of the actions. Ask them to distinguish between search visibility data and website interactions.

If they bring together Search Console and Analytics, ask about the differences between clicks and sessions. Ask how they would make the periods and filters comparable before interpreting these data.

Look for an ability to explain the limitations of measurement and the adjustments being considered. An answer that directly treats all metrics as equivalent calls for further questions.

5. Assess communication and team responsibilities

Ask the candidate to rephrase a recommendation for a business leader, then for someone responsible for implementing it. Ask how they would respond to an objection to the chosen priority.

If the role includes staff management, examine separately the responsibilities they have already held for staff. Avoid inferring this experience from project coordination alone.

6. Cross-check the responsibilities described

If you plan to check references, agree with the candidate on the people to contact. Prepare questions about their contribution, the clarity of their recommendations and their collaboration with teams.

Compare the answers with the criteria defined at the start. Note the points established and those that need further exploration. Finish with a discussion of the responsibilities you are ready to entrust to them.