Unlike most SEO’s I didn’t actively seek a career in SEO, in fact I hadn’t even considered it when I was given the position. Instead I was handed the position based on my performance in another role with the company I work for. I’m assuming my strong client communication skills and my ability to quickly grasp new concepts played a big part in it, but I’m still not totally sure why I was picked for the position.

July will mark the one year anniversary of my position as a “Website Marketing Specialist”. In that time I have learned a lot, yet at the same time there is still a lot I don’t fully understand. Integrating myself in the SEO industry has been an incredible experience and while I am surely no chameleon that has easily or quickly blended with my surroundings, there has definitely been a significant amount of change. Below I have compiled a list of what I have learned and what has changed since my blind beginnings nearly a year ago.

1. There needs to be an eighth day of the week added solely to catch up on industry blogs and happenings.
2. Twitter will be the downfall of humanity and office productivity. Honestly, Twitter updates have taken priority over checking my e-mail.
3. Branding is everything…Whether it is an avatar, a username, or your love for diet coke; having something that makes you easily identifiable and standout in the sea of SEO’s is key.
4. No matter how hard you try most people will not understand what it is you do…I’ve simply just started telling people I do marketing for websites; it at least shuts them up.
5. SEO is something you eventually eat, sleep and breathe 24/7-365. When your wife can identify Danny Sullivan and Michael Gray , and you have a reminder set to remind you to listen to the Daily Searchcast you know you’re in over your head…
6. No matter how much you learn or think you know, someone else will come along and know more. But as it was so nicely put earlier this week in Neil Patel’s interview on SEOBook, “…someone is always going to have a bigger penis than you, so might as well not try to compete and do the best you can do.”

There are a number of other things here and there that I have picked up, but I really didn’t feel like regurgitating (like basic SEO). Then of course there are also things I am working on or discovering, such as Google’s view of RSS feeds vs. the live content the feed comes from. Either way as I near my 1 year anniversary of working in the SEO industry I know that this is something that is going to stick with me as long as it exists.

My passion will always be web and graphics design, but being able to bring SEO into the equation makes me feel that much more valuable as a designer. Furthermore it’s one more service I can offer my clients.