What are the basic skills which an SEO professional should have?

As an SEO professional, I believe some of the most essential skills one needs to possess are:

Strong keyword research abilities - You need to be able to identify relevant keywords with good search volumes and intent that your target audience is actively using. Having command over keyword research tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner etc. is crucial.

Technical SEO knowledge - Understanding the technical nuances of how websites work, site architecture, URL structures, crawlability, indexing, redirects, site speed optimization and other factors that impact SEO performance is very important.

Link-building expertise - A major part of SEO is acquiring high-quality backlinks through ethical means like guest posting, creating linkable assets, digital PR, fixing broken links etc. You need strategies and outreach skills for effective link-building.

Content marketing skills - SEO today is heavily intertwined with content marketing. You should know how to map content to search intent, do keyword mapping, and optimize content formats like blogs, videos, and guides for searching and promoting content effectively.

Data analysis and reporting - Driving SEO success requires constantly measuring and analyzing performance metrics like rankings, traffic, and conversions using tools like Google Analytics and Search Console. You need to be able to generate insights from data.

Local SEO (for local businesses) - For local SEO clients, you'll need specific skills for local listing management, review acquisition, citation building and optimizing for the local map pack.

While technical SEO knowledge is essential, you also need strong marketing fundamentals, project management abilities and creative problem-solving mindsets to truly excel as an SEO professional in today's landscape.