? Advanced SEO techniques, including page titles, META descriptions, META keyword sets, internal page cross-linking, search engine submissions, robots.txt files and domain name management

? Comprehends keyword weighting, proximity, density and related factors

? Search term ranking analysis

? Link popularity building research, management and strategy

? Online forum and industry newsletter monitoring

? National SEO conferences

? HTML and advanced programming languages

? Web site content writing

? Essential Web site usability practices

? Keyword research, including a firm understanding of language and the way people search

? Web analytics, including understanding common and complex metrics associated with visitors, unique visitors, page views, online sales, profitability and more

? Ability to see the big picture and not go so overboard with SEO practices that the web site gets banned from major search engines

? Appreciation for ethical standards (i.e. should know about cloaking, keyword stuffing and the differences and nuances associated with "black hat" and "white hat").

? Marketing and branding experience

? Project management, including ability to effectively communicate needs and foster cooperation from appropriate stakeholders

? Familiarity with pay per click (PPC) programs and how their performance directly relates to natural SEO results

? Management of paid inclusion (72-hour rapid indexing programs)

? How to adjust to the changing algorithms of search engines

The search engine optimization field is complex and ever-changing. To keep pace, you should have plenty of skills on hand. Overall, the SEO program process should be simple: set goals, choose the best keywords, optimize pages, submit to search engines and refine efforts in light of rankings and web analytics.