33 out of 58 respondents to our survey have university-level studies under their belt. That doesn’t align with the picture I’ve personally had of an industry that has traditionally required you to be more or less self-taught. Has the industry changed?
If we include all forms of post-secondary education—such as vocational training programs (like KY) in our survey—then a full 44 out of 58 have chosen to continue their studies beyond high school. Among those with university degrees, most do not have an education specifically focused on SEO or SEM. In fact, it’s among those with other types of post-secondary education that we see a clear focus on doing business online.
“That doesn’t match my view of how people, at least in the past, got into search engine optimization.”
A large portion of Swedish SEO and search marketing professionals, according to our small survey (which should of course be taken with a grain of salt—we’ve received 56 responses so far, but it’s at least a solid analysis of those 56), appear to have higher education in their background. That doesn’t quite match my view of how people, at least in the past, entered the field of search engine optimization. The opportunity to learn in a structured way was limited, and it required being self-taught—at least to some degree.
Granted, many of the educational backgrounds our colleagues have don’t have a direct connection to SEO or SEM. But it still suggests a different path into the industry. Perhaps we’ve now become a much larger industry than before—not just in terms of revenue and number of companies, but also in the ways people find their way in?
Magnus Bråth
Consultant & Adviser
Magnus is one of the world's most prominent search marketing specialists and primarily works with management and strategy at his agency Brath AB.