• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, September 24, 2013

Do you have the characteristics of a successful search engine optimization expert? Companies now expect their SEO experts to become proficient in content marketing and social campaigns. A recent study attempts to define what it takes to succeed. It calls these folks "best in class," but for the sake of the recap of the findings, we'll call them "successful."

Search engine optimization company Conductor analyzed the characteristics and advantages of successful SEO experts for a study in which about 400 enterprise SEO marketers participated. The research aims to offer a benchmark for evaluating performance and improving internal processes. And it calls out an interesting statistic: There are more than one million with 25,000 open job requisitions on LinkedIn.

It turns out that successful SEOs are three times more likely to become involved in content creation projects from the beginning. Some 70% use advanced SEO technology to automate reporting, extend natural search insights and integrate data from disparate sources.

You'll find a few ah-ha moments in the study, but many are common sense and the content should serve more as a reminder of what it takes to succeed. Successful SEOs are twice as likely to cite executive and organizational evangelism as critical to their natural search success: for example, resulting in executive buy-in 2:1 on programs and budget compared to their non-best-in-class counterparts.

Take the initiative. Remove reports being ignored and look for those getting the most attention. Ask around the office to determine what numbers SEO experts use and why.

Here's also an important point to remember. Budget and headcount matter are not the most important parts in the equation.  They are not the sole factors to determine success. Only 43% of successful SEOs have more than 10% of their organization's overall marketing budget allocated to SEO, compared with 18% of those the study characterizes as non best-in-class.