Over recent years, SEO has very quickly developed into its own, booming industry. Beforehand, webmasters simply carried out some basic SEO for sites, but as the internet marketing and advertising industry continued to grow, so did the demand for an SEO specialist or a team of SEO consultants.
Despite this high demand, however, anyone who is interested in the industry but doesn't quite have the experience required may find it difficult to get a job. The top tip for anyone in this position is to get reading. SEO agencies interviewing potential employees will always ask some simple SEO questions to ensure you have at least a basic understanding of the industry. At first glance, the abundance of information available out there can make this appear almost impossible. A good place to start is with Google itself. It's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide and other guidelines found in the Google Webmaster Tools provide you with the basic but comprehensive information you need to get started. SEOmoz is another highly reputable site which offers great guides for beginners.
One of the best ways to demonstrate your interest in the field is to set up your own website or blog to showcase your skills. This can deal with any of your interests or hobbies. Start practising your content creation and copyrighting skills and aim to get the site into the SERPs with the tactics you have learned in your reading. What's more, implementing some technical SEO techniques to your blog or site also shows any skills you have with HTML code. Although most agencies do not require you to have a sound knowledge of HTML as a prerequisite, you will definitely come into contact with this at some point in your work.
Even after doing copious amounts of reading, some people may not feel confident enough to start their own site or blog straight away. Today there are some great SEO courses available, although in comparison to other fields, these are still thin on the ground. Econsultancy is a recognised provider of SEO training courses, usually lasting 1-2 days.
However, if it's real practical experience you think you need then get it contact with some of your local SEO or internet marketing agencies. Many UK SEO companies will gladly take you on for some volunteer work and show you the tricks of the trade. Even if you are in full time employment, give up a spare few hours at the weekend or after work one evening per week to help the company out with some of the more "beginners level" SEO tasks. Any experience at all will greatly improve your chances of getting your foot firmly in the SEO door.
