Google's John Mueller believes that there is a lot of opportunity for a technical SEO to learn JavaScript. He said that there is going to be a lot more JavaScript development over the next couple years than in the previous two decades and having that skillset as a technical SEO gives you a competitive advantage over other SEOs.
John said in a Reddit thread "Coding isn't something everyone likes to do, and there's enough around SEO which doesn't involve doing that, but if you're keen on JavaScript, there's a big opportunity here."
Technical SEO is of growing importance, it was always important, but it is getting more complex with how Google interacts with JavaScript. So having those technical skills and knowhow can give you an edge over other SEOs.
John wrote:
You're going to run into significantly more JavaScript over the next years than in the 2'ish decades in SEO before. If you're keen on technical SEO, then past HTML you're going to need to understand JS more and more.There's something to be said for making a sleek, static HTML site, that's unlikely to go away. However, in practice, JS frameworks are everywhere nowadays. Given the number of SEOs who have a good grasp on technical SEO for static HTML, if you want to differentiate yourself, understanding how JS works, where it works with SEO, where it blocks SEO, what the effects are on other search engines & clients -- obviously on top of understanding technical SEO -- will make your services much more valuable. Coding isn't something everyone likes to do, and there's enough around SEO which doesn't involve doing that, but if you're keen on JS, there's a big opportunity here.
I do not disagree, I doubt many SEOs disagree? But if you do, I am sure I will hear from you in the comments.
Forum discussion at Reddit.
