How To Write an SEO Resume (With Examples)

By Indeed Editorial Team

Published March 29, 2021

The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed's data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.

Search engine optimization (SEO) analysts, specialists and experts are in high demand among companies looking to expand their online presence and gain more website traffic and sales. If you are looking for an SEO position in this competitive field, you need to show employers you have the skills and experience to drive results. You can do this by creating an exceptional SEO resume that impresses hiring managers and proves you are the best fit for the job. In this article, we explain how to write an SEO resume and provide a template and example for inspiration.

What is an SEO resume?

As SEO resume is a document SEO professionals use to highlight their experience, skills and achievements when applying for SEO and marketing jobs. SEO professionals are responsible for online marketing and improving a website's ranking in search results. Positions that might require an SEO resume include:

SEO analyst
SEO specialist
Junior SEO specialist
Senior SEO specialist
Search engine marketer
Digital marketer
Content marketer
SEO manager

An SEO skills resume shows a candidate has the internet marketing, strategic, communication, creative, research and analytical skills to succeed in this field.

How to write an SEO resume

An SEO resume includes all the elements of any other job resume but showcases the skills and experience unique to SEO specialists. A good format for SEO resumes is reverse-chronological, which lists your most recent work experiences and achievements first, followed by previous jobs, skills and education. This format allows SEO professional to describe responsibilities and skills gained from working with many agencies or projects.

Follow these steps to write a strong SEO resume:

1. Introduce yourself with a header

At the top of your resume, write a header that includes your full name and contact information. Your contact information might simply be your phone number and email, or it might include your full home address. Optional details to list below your name in the header include your title (e.g., SEO specialist), social media handles, professional networking site link or personal website. If you have created a website that shows a portfolio of your projects, list it here so hiring managers can see the type of work you do.

Example:
Harley Tann
Certified SEO Analyst
Park City, Utah
281-556-8981 | htann@hmail.com
@htanndigital | htanndigital.com

2. Write a resume summary or objective

A resume summary or objective is a short statement at the top of your resume that introduces your career goals, skills and experience in one or two sentences. A resume summary focuses on your goals while an objective describes your qualifications for the job. If you are changing or starting your SEO career, you might choose to include an objective, while you might prefer a summary if you have lots of job experience. Both aim to get the hiring manager's immediate attention and explain why you are the ideal candidate for this SEO position.

3. List your work experience

List your most relevant and recent job experience, including company information and things you achieved during your employment. Use data and numbers to prove your results in three to five bullet points, rather than simply listing your job responsibilities. Add keywords from the job posting, strong verbs and active voice. Keywords are particularly important because applicant tracking systems (ATS) look for these when reviewing applications. Even if the hiring manager is not using an ATS, they look for these words when scanning resumes.

Example:

SEO Specialist, Abeja Media
June 2018 - November 2020

Created SEO campaign for complex media website
Grew organic web traffic 33% and lowered bounce rate to 10%
Improved web rankings from page 2 to Top 3 for 15 major keywords
Prepared month-over-month reports in easy-to-read format

4. Share your skills

Hiring managers look for SEO professionals with strong technical and hard skills as well as soft skills. List a combination of these in bulleted list form in the skills section of your SEO resume. Customize this list for each job you apply to, using keywords from the posting. Include all the SEO programs and tools you know how to use, as these play an important role in marketing and analytics.

Example:

Skills:

Proficient in HTML, JavaScript and CSS
Ahrefs, Moz Pro, SEMrush, SpyPro, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Microsoft Excel
Content planning and strategy, with competitor and target audience analysis
Copywriting and SEO editing
Strong critical thinking, time management and collaboration skills

5. Add education and training

Under an education header, list your degree(s), name and location of the institution you attended and your graduation date. If you are a recent college graduate, consider including academic achievements and courses you took in college that are relevant to SEO and marketing.

Also include any certifications you received or training you have completed. These credentials show hiring managers you are dedicated to your career and constantly learning to stay current with changing SEO trends.

6. Proofread your resume

Read your resume closely when you finish to make sure it has correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. Employers want to see accuracy when hiring for an SEO position that involves copywriting, attention to detail and data analysis.

SEO resume template

Create your SEO resume by adding your information to this template:

[Full name and, if necessary, title]
[Address]
[Phone number]
[Email]
[Relevant social media handles and websites]

Resume summary or objective

[One- to two-sentence description of your qualifications, skills and goals]

Work experience

[Title, company name, location]
[Date range]
[Job responsibility or achievement 1]
[Job responsibility or achievement 2]
[Job responsibility or achievement 3]

Skills

[Skill 1]
[Skill 2]
[Skill 3]

Education

[Degree, graduation date]
[Institution]
[Relevant coursework, if needed]

Certifications

[Certification 1]
[Certification 2]

SEO resume example

Use this sample SEO resume to inspire and guide your own resume:

Brandee Trine
192 May Lane
Pittsburg, PA 94565
688-271-0338
Btrine@gmail.com
@Btrine2020, btrinedigitalsolutions.com

Resume summary

Results-driven SEO specialist with six years of experience seeking to apply technical knowledge, project management and analytics skills as an SEO Strategist for Pibarnon Company. Grew leading paper product brand's organic traffic by 25% and elevated organic search rankings from page 2 to Top 5.