Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Web Content Intern

🎯 Role Definition

The Web Content Intern supports the content and digital marketing teams by creating, publishing, and optimizing web content across corporate websites, landing pages, blogs, and microsites. This entry-level role combines copywriting, basic on-page SEO, content formatting in CMS platforms (e.g., WordPress, Drupal), asset preparation, and analytics monitoring to increase organic reach, engagement, and conversion. Ideal for students or recent graduates in marketing, communications, journalism, or digital media who are building a portfolio and gaining hands-on experience in content strategy, SEO, and editorial workflows.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Marketing Intern or Communications Intern transitioning into web content production.
Social Media Intern or Content Writing Intern with demonstrated writing samples.
Student or recent graduate in Marketing, Journalism, English, or Digital Media with a portfolio.

Advancement To:

Content Coordinator or Content Specialist (managing content calendars and publishing).
Junior Content Editor or Copy Editor (focusing on editorial quality and style).
SEO Specialist or Digital Marketing Coordinator (specializing in analytics and optimization).

Lateral Moves:

Social Media Coordinator or Social Media Manager.
UX Writer or Product Content Associate.
Email Marketing Assistant or Performance Marketing Coordinator.

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Produce clear, brand-aligned long-form and short-form web copy for pages, blog posts, product descriptions, and landing pages, optimizing for readability, tone, and conversion.
Draft, edit, and proofread content to ensure grammatical accuracy, consistency with brand voice, and adherence to editorial guidelines before CMS publishing.
Publish and format content in content management systems (e.g., WordPress, Drupal, Contentful), including headings, lists, tables, links, embeds, and basic HTML/CSS tweaks.
Conduct keyword research and integrate targeted keywords and semantic phrases into content to improve organic search visibility and relevance.
Write SEO metadata including page titles, meta descriptions, URL slugs, and image alt text that follow SEO best practices and character-length guidelines.
Collaborate with designers and multimedia teams to prepare and optimize images, graphics, and video assets (size, alt text, responsive formats) for web performance and accessibility.
Maintain and update evergreen content, ensure links and resources are current, and perform seasonal or campaign-driven content refreshes.
Assist in developing and maintaining a content calendar, tracking deadlines, coordinating publishing dates, and aligning web content with marketing campaigns and product launches.
Implement internal linking strategies and suggested cross-links to improve site architecture, user navigation, and search engine crawlability.
Use Google Analytics, Google Search Console, or other analytics tools to monitor page performance, traffic trends, bounce rates, and conversion metrics; produce brief performance summaries for the content team.
Run basic on-page SEO audits (headings, meta, schema presence, canonical tags) and escalate technical issues to SEO specialists or web developers.
Format and upload downloadable assets, lead magnets, and gated content; ensure tracking parameters and form integrations work correctly with marketing automation platforms.
Assist in A/B testing content variations for headlines, CTAs, and hero text; collect results and recommend copy changes based on data.
Support localization and simple transcreation tasks by adapting content for regional markets and ensuring culturally appropriate messaging.
Monitor comments, user-generated content, and basic site moderation requests under editorial guidance, escalating sensitive or complex issues to senior staff.

Secondary Functions

Conduct competitive content gap analysis and keyword opportunity research to inform article topics and content planning.
Create short-form promotional content and captions for social distribution that link back to web content and landing pages, coordinating with social media teams.
Prepare weekly or monthly content performance dashboards and concise insights to help prioritize optimization efforts.
Help maintain content governance documentation such as style guides, image libraries, and approved tone/messaging matrices.
Support email marketing by repurposing web content into newsletter copy, subject lines, and preheaders; aid in campaign QA and link verification.
Assist with basic accessibility QA (WCAG checks) such as verifying alt text, heading hierarchy, and color-contrast flags and report issues.
Collaborate with product, UX, and customer success teams to convert product updates, FAQs, and support content into clear website copy and knowledge base articles.
Participate in editorial planning meetings, give constructive feedback on peer drafts, and implement edits suggested by editors and SEO leads.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Content creation and copywriting for web: blog posts, landing pages, product descriptions, and marketing pages.
Proficiency with Content Management Systems (CMS) such as WordPress, Drupal, Contentful, or similar.
Basic on-page SEO: keyword integration, title tags, meta descriptions, URL optimization, and alt text.
Familiarity with Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and basic web analytics reporting.
Keyword research tools experience (e.g., Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz) — or willingness to learn.
Basic HTML and CSS for content formatting and troubleshooting (headings, anchors, paragraph spacing).
Image optimization and elementary graphic tools (Canva, Adobe Photoshop, or similar) for resizing and exporting web-friendly assets.
Familiarity with editorial tools and collaboration platforms: Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Notion, Trello, or Asana.
Understanding of content workflows, version control, and publishing QA processes.
Basic knowledge of accessibility (WCAG) principles and SEO-friendly structured data/schema awareness.

Soft Skills

Strong written communication, editing, and attention to detail with a demonstrated ability to match brand voice.
Time management and organizational skills to handle a content pipeline and meet recurring deadlines.
Curiosity and willingness to learn SEO, analytics, and digital marketing best practices quickly.
Team collaboration and cross-functional communication with designers, marketing managers, and developers.
Critical thinking and problem-solving mindset when prioritizing content updates or addressing content gaps.
Adaptability and receptiveness to editorial feedback and rapid iteration.
Creative thinking for ideation of topics, headlines, and content angles that resonate with target audiences.
Empathy and audience-first writing approach to craft user-focused content that drives engagement.
Proactive attitude: identifying opportunities to improve content performance and suggesting actionable changes.
Basic project management skills and ability to track multiple tasks across editorial calendars.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High school diploma and currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a relevant undergraduate program.

Preferred Education:

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

Relevant Fields of Study:

Marketing
Communications
Journalism
English / Literature
Digital Media / Multimedia Design
Graphic Design (for asset work)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

0 to 2 years of relevant experience; internships, campus writing roles, student publications, or freelance/projects are acceptable.

Preferred:

1+ internship or coursework demonstrating web writing, CMS publishing, or SEO basics.
Portfolio or writing samples showing web-optimized content, blog posts, or landing pages.
Familiarity with analytics reporting and content performance metrics is a plus.