How do you determine the level of an SEO

[MassivePrime]

I wanted to know how others classify an individual in the industry. i.e. What makes an SEO beginner, intermediate or advanced? What skill set separates a pro from a newbie?

[josh-riley]

There's going to be a ton of possible answers to this, but my two cents: depth of technical skill set and global knowledge really set experiences pros apart. So many newbies are so focused on the basics - on page optimization and basic HTML coding - that when you come across those who can identify and diagnose true technical issues and work across sites at a global level, you can tell the difference in skill set.

I mean, look at some of the questions that get asked in these forums - great indicators of how complex this can all become.

[MassivePrime]

Thanks for your response, would you say that knowledge in link building is already an indicator of an intermediate SEO or would that still be the basics? I personally believe that you cannot even be considered an SEO if all you do is on-page seo but I'd like to know what everyone thinks about this.

[josh-riley]

I think link building can straddle between beginner and intermediate, depending on your site/content and how you need to go about getting links.

Given that Google, for example, is constantly making changes to its algo and how much weight it wants to give some traditional SEO things, like anchor text, links, KW density, that it's a sign of a more capable person if they are reading up on the changes and being fluid with how to adapt said changes to benefit their site.

(And I agree that anyone who is stuck on page-only optimization shouldn't be qualified to be an SEO, however there's still a lot of people who don't know much about the field who treat that narrow focus as if it's all there is to know. )

[JohnW-UK]

Yes agree... if you are just focusing on the on-site SEO you are still a beginner... SEO is moving more towards marketing as well so you need people that can think outside the box as it is getting harder and harder to get a good link profile these days!

[AdamU]

I would ask them to tell you about some link building campaigns they have done, then find out how successful it was.

[Steven_Macdonald]

As Andrea mentioned, there will be different responses to this question but for me, I would depend on experience and results. I know many SEO's who can talk the talk but when it comes to doing things and delivering, then it's a different story. A newbie can read thousands of blog posts on SEO, but end of the day, is still a newbie.

[imageworks-261290]

people know what link building is, but have they ever done it - and has it ever actually helped them? I think there a lot of factors that go into it.

-How influential are you on your industry?
-What kind of SEO do you do?
-Do you do SEO for yourself, or for your clients?

• A Gazzilion more things to consider

So many different angles at SEO, hard one to pinpoint, but people that have been there and done that. An expert would definitely be someone that is making money for themselves off of their own SEO expertise. Beginners and Intermediates fall short of that.

[MassivePrime]

Hi definitely agree with the point you made about marketing. I have always believed that a top notch SEO should have some insight into the workings of marketing in general to better assist a business in making use of the internet to generate sales. I also believe this to be true for PPC managers by the way but more so for SEOs