I’ve been in SEO for 3 years now. The first two years, I worked at an agency that focused on local businesses. At first, I did really well and was seen as a problem solver. But now, I’ve moved to a bigger agency and it feels like everyone around me has years of experience, and I’m starting to doubt myself. I feel like I don’t bring any value to the team, and all my knowledge seems basic or outdated. I don’t even know how I was hired. I’ve gone from being good at my job to feeling like I’m not sure what I’m doing. During client meetings, the reps don’t seem to trust me with reports, and it’s really getting to me. I feel like I’m just average, and I’m worried about my clients because I do care about helping them get leads. Some results have happened by chance, and it doesn’t feel like I really know what I’m doing.
Has anyone else experienced this? Could it mean that I should change my career?
I’ve been doing content marketing for 7 years, a bit of everything—SEO, copywriting, CRO, product management, and more. I got into a full-time SEO role recently, and it’s honestly really scary. I keep thinking they’re going to fire me, and it sometimes keeps me up at night. But, you just have to do your best. In SEO, doing anything is better than doing nothing. If something doesn’t work, just fix it. Google changes its algorithms every month, and AI is changing things, so I sometimes just blame it on that.
Sounds like impostor syndrome. But honestly, everyone seems to be faking it till they make it. Just keep being confident and do your best. That’s how you build your career over time.
Try focusing on solving problems. You’re in a great position to learn from your more experienced coworkers. Be humble and find someone who can guide you. Three years isn’t long in a career, and you can’t expect to be an expert yet. But you’ve already got what it takes—you know how to recognize where you need to improve.
@Miles
Good advice. You could find a mentor within your team to learn about enterprise-specific challenges while also expanding your knowledge outside of work. Putting your pride aside and letting someone mentor you gives them a chance to develop their own skills too. Big companies often work with complex systems, so it’s useful to learn how to work with that. It’s a different environment than agency work with fewer limitations, but there are still challenges. Building networks and having a student mindset, both at work and outside of it, will help you thrive in this new pace.
If your colleagues have a decade more experience, just relax. Take the opportunity to learn from them, be humble, and accept that you’re not the best from the start. You have a huge learning opportunity here .
I’ve been there too. When I joined more experienced teams, I wasn’t the SEO expert anymore, and that hit hard. But I just told myself it was time to grow. Now, I’ve been in SEO for nearly 10 years and I still learn something new every day. You’ll get through this—just embrace the process.
I don’t feel like a fraud, but I do see a lot of people in the industry who call themselves SEOs but can’t set up a full SEO strategy or even fix technical problems. It seems like they just changed their job title.
A long time ago, humans evolved by learning from others. That still happens today. When you start a new job, you learn from your colleagues. Even if you have a degree or a PhD, you’re always learning on the job. That’s why they hired you—you have the potential to learn and grow.
It’s common to feel like this. If you’re getting good results, you’re doing well. Just keep learning from your coworkers, ask questions, and stay active in learning. It sounds like you’re doing fine.
Don’t quit. You’ve got this. Share these feelings with some of the senior people at the agency. If they’re smart, they’ll respect your honesty and hold you accountable to the level you want to reach.
I went through the same thing. I worked at two companies where I was the best, but then I joined a new one and no matter what I did, my boss was never satisfied. Just keep learning and do your best.
Think of it this way: you’re in a position where you can learn from people with more experience, which not everyone has the chance to do. Also, your worries might affect how others see you. But remember, they’ve all been where you are, so they shouldn’t judge you unfairly, especially if you’re putting in the effort and showing progress.