Search Engine Land introduced three SEO personas. Indeed, SEO Philippines is no longer confined on the world of techie. Everyone can do SEO although not all can do it in the most effective manner. Here are the three personas that are translated into a self-assessment. Nonetheless, another persona is added. Let’s take a look.

 

Persona #1 – Content marketer

Content marketers, who usually have a marketing background, are strategists. They capitalize and build on content assets that are specifically created for a particular audience. Are you a content marketer? Answer these questions.

• Are you in the know various online and offline marketing channels?
• Do you often go to sites like Marketing Prof, Marketing Land and Content Marketing Institute?
• Do you get invites to attend marketing conferences?
• Do you prioritize high-value metrics in Google Analytics?
• Do you know Seth Godin?
• Do you understand branding and how content marketing can help boost its growth?
• Do you heavily rely on social media in promoting your contents?

 

Persona #2 – Data junkie

Data junkies have technical and analytical background. They tend to be logical thinkers who depend heavily on data and what they mean. They are mostly concern in creating new SEO approaches and establishing SEO best practices. Are you a data junkie? Answer these.

• Do you consume data on Google Webmasters, KISSmetrics and Searchmetrics?
• Do you prefer organic search over paid search?
• Do you often go to search marketing conferences?
• Do you mostly consider content strategy-related actions from the search perspective?
• Are you rubbing elbows with the web analytics guru?
• Do you consider white hat SEO only and nothing else?
• Do you rely on social media to determine the impact of search results visibility?

 

Persona #3 – Decision maker

Decision makers are often in the upper tier of the organizational chart; mostly CEOs. The main concern of decision makers is how SEO in general will affect the business’s bottom line. Decision makers make calls on the strategies implemented and should be implemented whenever needed and possible. Are you a decision maker? Answer these.

• Do you visit Forbes and the like on a daily basis?
• Are you warier about multiple marketing channels and the budget for each?
• Do you often get invited to leadership forums as a participant or speaker?
• Do you perceive marketing in general based on its relation to the overall business outcomes?
• Do you know Jim Collins?
• Do you favor business decisions that affect priority and impact?
• Do you use social media randomly?

 

To continue, majority of the SEO personalities are either content marketer or data junkie and only a few are a decision maker. Nevertheless, here comes another SEO persona that does all the dirty work. Such persona is like a combination of the first two personas. And that is…

Persona #4 – Content optimizer

1. Understands that an in-depth research is required in coming up with a highly informative and valuable content.
2. Understands the importance of an editorial calendar and brainstorming the contents of such calendar with other SEO staff.
3. Understands and complies with the best practices and sometimes, experiment on the impact of new approaches.
4. Understands content marketing and yet focuses equally on technical and non-technical SEO requirements.
5. Understands the balance between organic and paid search marketing.
6. Understands the need to draw insights from data on Google Analytics.
7. Understands the marriage between SEO and SEM and why they cannot be separated.

 

While some characteristics overlap, these are just some of the dominant personas in the global SEO industry today. Expect some more personas as offshoots of the already established one. Nonetheless, let’s end the discussion by asking can you tell which persona best fits you?

 

Image credit: LeadZillion.com