Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Web Content Editor

🎯 Role Definition

The Web Content Editor is a hands-on content professional who plans, produces, edits, optimizes, and publishes content for websites and digital properties. This role ensures content is accurate, brand-consistent, search-optimized (SEO), accessible (WCAG), and aligned with business goals such as engagement, lead generation, and conversion. The Web Content Editor partners closely with marketing, product, design, and analytics teams to manage content lifecycles, editorial calendars, metadata and taxonomy, on-page SEO, A/B test programs, and content governance.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Content Writer / Copywriter
Junior/Web Content Coordinator
Editorial Assistant or Communications Assistant

Advancement To:

Senior Web Content Editor
Content Manager / Content Strategist
Digital Content Manager or SEO Manager
Head of Content / Content Director

Lateral Moves:

UX Writer / Product Content Designer
SEO Specialist / SEO Manager
Social Media Manager / Community Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Plan, write, edit, and proofread high-quality web copy for landing pages, product pages, blog posts, help center articles, email templates, and campaign microsites, ensuring clear brand voice, accuracy, and alignment with marketing goals.
Conduct comprehensive keyword research and apply on-page SEO best practices (title tags, meta descriptions, headers, internal linking, alt text) to increase organic search visibility and improve SERP performance.
Manage day-to-day content in the CMS (WordPress, Drupal, or similar): create pages, format templates, upload assets, schedule publishing, and ensure correct redirects and canonical tags.
Perform regular content audits and inventory to identify outdated pages, thin content, duplicate pages, and opportunities for consolidation, re-optimization, or removal.
Define and maintain content templates, style guides (AP/Chicago/brand style), and taxonomy to ensure consistency across authors, teams, and channels.
Collaborate with designers and UX teams to ensure content is usable, scannable, and optimized for conversion across devices; provide content requirements for wireframes and design comps.
Monitor content performance using Google Analytics, Search Console, and other analytics tools to identify trends, measure KPIs (traffic, bounce rate, time on page, conversion rate), and drive data-informed improvements.
Run A/B tests and personalization experiments in partnership with CRO/analytics teams to validate content hypotheses and optimize headlines, CTAs, and page structure for conversions.
Implement and maintain structured data/schema markup (JSON-LD) and metadata to improve rich results, knowledge panels, and click-through rates from search.
Coordinate with product, legal, and compliance teams to review content for regulatory accuracy, brand safety, and required disclosures, particularly for product descriptions and promotional pages.
Create and manage the editorial calendar: prioritize content initiatives, map content to funnel stages, and align publishing schedules with campaigns and seasonal priorities.
Optimize images and media for web performance (compression, appropriate formats, descriptive alt text) and enforce best practices for page speed and Core Web Vitals compliance.
Lead content migration projects and QA for CMS migrations or website redesigns, mapping old content to new templates, validating redirects, and ensuring SEO is preserved.
Localize and adapt content in coordination with localization teams and external translators to maintain meaning, tone, and SEO in target languages and regions.
Train and support content contributors, subject matter experts, and external agencies on CMS use, editorial policies, SEO basics, and content submission workflows.
Establish and enforce content governance processes, including content ownership, review cycles, archival policies, and version control.
Create and maintain help center/knowledge base content and FAQs designed to reduce support load, improve self-service, and increase customer satisfaction.
Collaborate with marketing and acquisition teams to produce SEO-driven blog content, pillar pages, and topical clusters that align with paid campaigns and inbound strategies.
Monitor industry trends, search algorithm updates, and competitor content strategies to proactively refine content tactics and maintain a competitive edge.
Draft and edit microcopy and UI copy (buttons, error messages, form labels) to improve clarity, accessibility, and conversion performance across journeys.
Coordinate multimedia content production (video scripts, infographics, podcasts) and manage publishing workflows and metadata for multi-channel distribution.
Maintain accessibility (WCAG) best practices within content: semantic HTML, alt text, headings structure, and clear language to ensure inclusive user experiences.
Create and report monthly content performance summaries and actionable recommendations to stakeholders to inform roadmap and resourcing decisions.
Manage editorial deadlines and coordinate cross-functional reviews to ensure timely launches without compromising quality or compliance.
Identify opportunities for repurposing evergreen content into new formats (whitepapers, email series, social snippets) to maximize content ROI.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc analytics requests and deeper exploratory analysis to answer business questions about content performance, traffic sources, and user journeys.
Contribute to the organization's content strategy, roadmap, and prioritization framework by providing editorial estimates, effort sizing, and tactical recommendations.
Collaborate with business units, product managers, and developers to translate content needs into engineering tickets and acceptance criteria for implementation.
Participate in sprint planning, agile ceremonies, and cross-functional stand-ups to integrate editorial work with product and marketing delivery cycles.
Assist with governance of content automation tools, content tagging standards, and marketing tech integrations (CDP, CRM, marketing automation).
Support crisis communications and urgent content updates in coordination with PR and communications teams when timely website changes are required.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Content Management Systems (CMS) proficiency — WordPress, Drupal, Sitecore, or similar; ability to create pages, manage templates, and troubleshoot.
SEO — on-page optimization, keyword research (Ahrefs/SEMrush/Keyword Planner), SERP analysis, and publishing SEO best practices.
Web analytics — Google Analytics (GA4), Google Search Console, and familiarity with event tracking and KPI dashboards.
HTML & CSS basics — ability to edit simple HTML, apply inline styling correctly, and understand layout implications.
Metadata & structured data — creation and maintenance of meta tags, Open Graph, Twitter Cards, and JSON-LD schema markup.
Copyediting and proofreading — strong grammar, AP/Chicago style, tone and voice control, and fact-checking skills.
Content auditing and information architecture — inventorying content, applying taxonomy, and mapping content to user journeys.
A/B testing and experimentation tools — Optimizely, VWO, Google Optimize, or equivalent, and ability to implement content experiments.
Accessibility (WCAG) knowledge — semantic HTML, alt attributes, heading hierarchy, and plain language principles.
Basic image and media optimization — using tools for compression and responsive assets, and understanding CDN considerations.
Familiarity with marketing automation and CMS integrations — working knowledge of CRMs, CDPs, and content syndication workflows.
Localization workflows and translation QA — managing multilingual content lifecycles and quality checks.

Soft Skills

Strong editorial judgment and attention to detail; ability to balance speed with accuracy.
Clear written and verbal communication for cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management.
Project and time management — ability to handle competing priorities and meet strict publishing deadlines.
Analytical mindset — comfortable interpreting traffic and engagement metrics to drive content decisions.
Collaborative team player — works effectively with designers, developers, product managers, and marketers.
Adaptability and problem-solving — responds to algorithm changes, technical constraints, and shifting business priorities.
Customer-centric thinking — writes with empathy for end-users and optimizes for user intent and conversion.
Initiative and ownership — drives content initiatives from ideation to measurement with minimal supervision.
Coaching and mentorship — ability to train authors and contributors in content best practices.
Ethical judgment and discretion — handles sensitive or regulated content appropriately.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in English, Journalism, Communications, Marketing, Digital Media, or equivalent experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's or Master's degree in related field plus certifications (Google Analytics, SEO certifications, UX writing courses).
Professional certifications in content strategy, UX writing, or digital marketing are advantageous.

Relevant Fields of Study:

English, Journalism, Communications
Marketing, Digital Media, Information Architecture
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), UX Design
Technical Writing, Linguistics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2 – 5 years of progressive experience in web content, digital editorial roles, or content marketing.

Preferred: 3+ years of hands-on experience managing website content in a CMS, proven track record of improving organic traffic through SEO-driven content, experience with analytics-driven content optimization, and familiarity with accessibility and localization practices.