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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Content Editor

💰 $55,000 - $90,000

ContentEditorialMarketingSEO

🎯 Role Definition

The Content Editor is a hands-on editorial leader responsible for shaping, refining, and optimizing written content across websites, blogs, email, social, product pages, and long-form assets. This position owns editorial quality, readability, and search visibility by applying best-in-class copyediting, SEO techniques, metadata strategy, and collaborative content operations. Reporting to the Head of Content or Content Manager, the Content Editor partners with writers, designers, product, and marketing to turn strategy into high-performing content that drives traffic, engagement, and conversions.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior Content Editor / Assistant Editor
  • Content Writer / Copywriter
  • Communications Coordinator or Marketing Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Senior Content Editor
  • Content Manager / Editorial Manager
  • Head of Content / Director of Content
  • Content Strategy Lead or Editorial Director

Lateral Moves:

  • Content Strategist
  • UX Writer / Product Content Lead
  • Communications or PR Manager
  • SEO Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Own the end-to-end editorial process for assigned channels and verticals — from brief and assignment to final publication — ensuring every piece meets brand voice, accuracy, legal requirements, and editorial standards before it goes live.
  • Edit and copyedit articles, blog posts, long-form guides, product pages, emails, and social content for clarity, tone, grammar, structure, and style while preserving author voice and brand consistency.
  • Implement on-page SEO best practices: craft and optimize titles, meta descriptions, headers, image alt text, and schema where appropriate to increase organic visibility and click-through rates.
  • Collaborate with content strategists and SEO specialists to translate keyword research and content gaps into editorial briefs with target audiences, search intent, and conversion goals clearly defined.
  • Manage the editorial calendar across channels; prioritize content production, balance evergreen vs. timely pieces, and coordinate deadlines with writers, designers, and PMs to ensure predictable throughput.
  • Produce and maintain detailed editorial briefs and content templates that include recommended word counts, target keywords, internal links, CTAs, and persona guidance to improve writer output and SEO alignment.
  • Conduct thorough fact-checking and source verification for technical, medical, legal, or data-driven pieces and coordinate legal or compliance reviews as required.
  • Lead content QA and pre-publication checks in the CMS (e.g., WordPress, Drupal, Contentful): verify formatting, canonical tags, internal linking, image optimization, and responsive layout.
  • Mentor and provide constructive editorial feedback to freelance and in-house writers, creating revision cycles that develop writer skills and reduce rework over time.
  • Create and enforce the editorial style guide and tone-of-voice guidelines; update the guide to reflect new brand initiatives, accessibility standards, and SEO practices.
  • Drive content performance measurement by defining KPIs (traffic, engagement, dwell time, CTR, conversion), analyzing content analytics (GA4, Search Console), and turning insights into iterated content updates.
  • Identify opportunities for content repurposing and syndication — converting long-form assets into newsletters, social sequences, and gated content to maximize content ROI.
  • Coordinate with design and UX teams to ensure textual and visual content align on messaging hierarchy, accessibility (WCAG), and mobile-first readability.
  • Optimize existing evergreen content through content audits and iterative updates (refreshing facts, adding new keywords, improving headings and CTAs) to recover or grow organic traffic.
  • Manage and scale freelance contributor networks: source talent, write clear scopes, track deliverables, and handle contracting details in partnership with vendor ops.
  • Oversee metadata governance and content taxonomy: ensure consistent tagging, categories, and internal linking strategies to improve site architecture and crawler discoverability.
  • Lead content experiments and A/B tests in partnership with CRO or product teams to validate headlines, CTAs, article layouts, and content formats that impact conversion rates.
  • Liaise with product managers and engineering to prioritize content-related technical improvements (page speed, structured data, canonicalization) and participate in sprint planning where relevant.
  • Drive multilingual and localization workflows by coordinating with translators and localization vendors to preserve voice and SEO relevancy across markets.
  • Maintain an editorial risk register and content governance processes: flag legal, regulatory, and brand-risk items early and coordinate approvals with legal and compliance teams.
  • Create long-form pillar content and guides that establish topical authority, including editorial research, outline development, expert interviews, and final editing for publication.
  • Train non-editorial stakeholders (SMEs, product owners, customer success) on writing best practices and provide clear content intake processes to streamline requests and reduce churn.
  • Maintain content budgets for freelance support, subscriptions (SEO tools, stock imagery), and editorial initiatives; provide forecasted resource needs to content leadership.
  • Build topical content roadmaps in collaboration with SEO and business stakeholders that align content initiatives to business objectives (lead gen, retention, thought leadership).
  • Monitor industry trends, search landscape shifts, and algorithm updates; proactively alter editorial tactics and training materials to adapt for SEO and reader expectations.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc editorial data requests, analyze content KPI trends, and produce executive-friendly reports that drive strategy decisions.
  • Contribute to the organization's content strategy and roadmap by recommending topic clusters, pillar pages, and editorial investments based on performance data.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate product announcements, research, and case studies into compelling customer-facing content.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies for content-technology projects and CMS migrations to ensure editorial readiness.
  • Maintain relationships with subject-matter experts and internal stakeholders to source quotes, interviews, and technical validation for complex pieces.
  • Run regular content audits to identify thin content, duplicated pages, and gaps that hinder SEO and UX, and prioritize remediation plans.
  • Ensure accessibility and inclusive language across content, applying WCAG guidance and diversity-conscious editorial checks.
  • Coordinate creative briefs with multimedia teams: recommend video, infographics, and interactive elements to enhance written content performance.
  • Manage content version control and archival processes for legal and compliance traceability and historical reference.
  • Help develop onboarding and continuous education programs for new writers and editors, including style training and SEO fundamentals.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced copyediting and proofreading skills with mastery of grammar, punctuation, syntax, and multiple style guides (AP, Chicago) — demonstrated by published work.
  • Practical SEO editing skills: keyword intent alignment, on-page optimization, meta tag writing, internal linking strategies, and content gap remediation experience.
  • Proficiency with CMS platforms such as WordPress, Drupal, Contentful, or similar, including publishing workflows, custom fields, and content scheduling.
  • Experience with web analytics tools (Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console) to measure content performance and inform editorial optimization.
  • Familiarity with SEO and content tools such as Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz, SurferSEO, Clearscope, or MarketMuse for research and optimization.
  • Competency in content collaboration and project tools: Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Asana, Trello, Jira, or Monday.com.
  • Basic HTML/CSS knowledge to troubleshoot formatting and ensure content renders correctly across templates and devices.
  • Experience managing freelance pipelines, editorial budgets, and content production schedules at scale.
  • Understanding of content accessibility (WCAG) and inclusive language standards; ability to apply accessibility checks during editing.
  • Experience with content experimentation and A/B testing platforms (Optimizely, VWO) and CRO best practices for optimizing content-driven conversions.
  • Familiarity with localization workflows and tools (e.g., Transifex, Lokalise) and experience scaling content across multiple languages/regions.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional attention to detail and a relentless focus on editorial quality and consistency.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills for cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management.
  • Project management and organizational skills to manage multiple editorial projects, deadlines, and contributors simultaneously.
  • Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret content metrics, draw insights, and make prioritized recommendations.
  • Coaching and mentoring capability to develop writers and editors through feedback and structured reviews.
  • Creative problem-solving to reframe complex topics into clear, audience-appropriate content.
  • Adaptability and resilience in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities and iterative product demands.
  • Diplomacy and negotiation skills to balance editorial standards against business constraints and stakeholder requests.
  • Strategic thinking that combines editorial craft with business goals, SEO, and user experience outcomes.
  • Curiosity and continuous learning orientation to stay current on editorial best practices, SEO updates, and content innovation.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in English, Journalism, Communications, Marketing, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree or advanced certificate in Journalism, Digital Marketing, Technical Writing, or Content Strategy preferred but not required.
  • Professional editing or SEO certifications (e.g., HubSpot Content Marketing, SEMrush Academy) are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Journalism
  • English / Creative Writing
  • Communications
  • Marketing / Digital Marketing
  • Technical Communication

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–6 years of professional editorial or content experience, with demonstrated success in digital content production and SEO.

Preferred:

  • 3–5+ years as a Content Editor, Senior Editor, or similar role at a digital publisher, SaaS company, agency, or in-house marketing team.
  • Proven track record increasing organic traffic and engagement through content editing and optimization initiatives.
  • Experience leading cross-functional editorial projects and managing freelance content networks.
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