How to choose your Malt skills: the complete SEO strategy
You ticked 30 skills "just in case" on your Malt profile and you don't understand why you appear nowhere. That's normal. Skills on Malt aren't a checklist, it's a matching algorithm. Each skill you add dilutes the others. Each badly chosen keyword makes you rank on zero-volume searches. According to Levan, SuperMalter Level 2 who has optimized 250+ Malt profiles, 80% of freelancers choose their skills by feel — and that's exactly why they're invisible. This guide gives you the exact strategy: which skills to choose, in what order, how many, and how to match them with what clients really type in the Malt search bar.
SuperMalter Level 2 · +250 Malt profiles optimized
Understand how the Malt algorithm uses your skills
Before choosing your skills, you have to understand what they really do.
On Malt, skills serve three things simultaneously.
1. Mission matching. When a client posts a project and ticks "React + TypeScript + Next.js", the algo looks for freelancers who have these 3 EXACT skills on their profile. If you have "React" but not "Next.js", you're evicted from matching, even if you actually master Next.js in practice.
2. Client search. When a client types "react developer" in the search bar, Malt ranks profiles that have React as a priority skill (first positions in the list) ahead of those who have it in 15th position.
3. External SEO. Google indexes Malt profile pages. Your skills appear in the URL, title, H1 and meta. A well-chosen skill makes you rank on Google, not just on Malt.
Operational conclusion: your skills aren't there to describe you, they're there to make you match. That's a huge difference. A back-end dev who ticks "team management" because he did it 6 months pollutes his profile and misses the real missions.
The 3 concentric circles rule (Levan method)
Here's the method I use on all profiles I coach. It gives measurable results in 4 to 6 weeks.
Organize your skills into 3 circles.
Circle 1 — Core profession (3 to 5 skills max). What you do every day, what you're paid for, what you can prove with 3+ missions. E.g. for a senior front dev: React, TypeScript, Next.js, Tailwind CSS, Testing (Jest/Vitest). Period.
Circle 2 — Direct ecosystem (5 to 8 skills). Tools/techs you master in support of the core. E.g.: Git, Figma, GraphQL, Storybook, Vercel, Redux Toolkit, Zustand.
Circle 3 — Transverse skills (3 to 5 skills). What differentiates you and matches briefs that include soft/process. E.g.: Web accessibility, Design system, Code review, Product thinking, Fluent English.
Optimal total: 12 to 15 skills maximum. Not 30, not 40.
Why this ceiling? Because the Malt algo calculates a "relevance score" by dividing your matches by your total skills. The more off-topic skills you add, the more you dilute your score. A profile with 12 ultra-targeted skills matches significantly better than a profile with 35 catch-all skills.
How to identify skills that really pay on Malt
Most freelancers choose their skills by looking at their CV. It's the opposite you have to do: start by looking at the market.
Step 1 — Analyze Malt briefs. Go on Malt in client mode (create a company account), publish a fake brief in your field, and look at the proposed filters. These filters = the skills real clients tick. That's where demand is.
Step 2 — Analyze SuperMalter competitors. Type your profession in the search bar, open the top 10 SuperMalter profiles. Note skills that come back at at least 6 profiles out of 10. These are the "mandatory" skills to rank in your segment.
Step 3 — Cross with Google Trends and LinkedIn. A skill can be hyper-demanded on LinkedIn and weak on Malt (or vice versa). E.g.: "Prompt engineering" is top on LinkedIn but little searched on Malt in 2026. Conversely, "Webflow" is underrated on LinkedIn and ultra-searched on Malt.
Step 4 — Sort. Keep only skills that cumulate: (1) presence in Malt briefs, (2) presence at SuperMalter competitors, (3) stable or growing demand. Throw out the rest.
Concrete example: Sarah, UX designer in Bordeaux, reduced her profile from 28 to 13 skills by applying this method. Result: +180% profile views in 6 weeks, +4 missions signed.
Skill order: the factor 90% of freelancers ignore
On Malt, the order in which you display your skills has a direct SEO impact. The top 3 count 5 to 10x more than the following ones.
Rule 1 — Skill #1 = your title. If your title is "Senior React Developer", your skill #1 must be React. Maximum coherence = maximum matching.
Rule 2 — The top 3 skills pick up your main SEO keywords. These are the ones highlighted on your profile, indexed by Google as priority, matching short client searches ("react", "figma", "seo").
Rule 3 — Place "differentiating" skills in position 4 to 7. That's where a client scrolls quickly. "Web accessibility" or "Design system" in position 5 pulls you out of the pack vs generic profiles.
Rule 4 — Complement skills go at the end. They serve secondary matching, they don't need to be visible first.
Classic mistake: putting "Git" in position 1 because it's written first on the CV. Git is a complement skill, never a search keyword. A client never types "freelance Git" on Malt. They type "React developer".
Trap skills that weigh down your profile (absolutely avoid)
Some skills look useful but break your positioning. Here's the blacklist.
Trap 1 — Generic mega-skills. "Marketing", "Web development", "Design", "Communication". Zero discriminant, zero precise matching. A client searches for "technical SEO" or "React Native", never "Web development".
Trap 2 — Buzzword skills without proof. "Web3", "Blockchain", "Generative AI" added because it's trendy. If you can't show 2 concrete works, remove. Senior clients immediately detect the fake buzzword profile.
Trap 3 — Off-profession skills. A dev who ticks "Community management" because he managed a side project's Twitter. You pollute your signal. The algo understands "confused profile" and drops you.
Trap 4 — "Soft" skills with no searchable keyword. "Autonomy", "Rigor", "Curiosity". Nobody searches for that on Malt. Write it in your bio if you want, never as a skill.
Trap 5 — Obsolete skills. jQuery, AngularJS (v1), Flash. They signal "outdated profile" and pull you out of 2026 matches.
According to Levan, each trap skill on your profile costs you about 5-8% visibility. Cumulated, that's what makes the difference between invisible and top 10.
How to test and optimize your skills (A/B method in 4 weeks)
Choosing your skills isn't a one-shot action. It's an iteration cycle.
Week 1 — Baseline. Note your 3 current indicators: number of profile views over 30 days, number of proposals received, average position in key searches (do the searches yourself in client mode). Screenshot everything.
Week 2 — Targeted modification. Change ONLY your skills (not your title, not your bio, not your photo). Apply the 3-circle rule, cap at 15 skills, reorder to put SEO keywords in positions 1-3.
Week 3-4 — Measure. Compare the same indicators. If your views rise by +30% or more, you're on the right track. If they drop, you removed a too-demanded skill: reintegrate it.
Week 5+ — Fine tuning. Test a different order, replace 1 secondary skill with an emerging skill (e.g. "Cursor", "Cache Components" for a 2026 dev). Each isolated change tells you what really works.
Practical tool: on profil-score.com, you can scan your profile and see in 20 seconds which skills are slowing you down. It's the shortcut if you want to avoid the 4 weeks of testing.
Skills by profession: the winning combos 2026 (concrete examples)
Here are the combos that really rank in 2026 on Malt, by profession, with optimal order.
Senior Front-End Developer: React (1), TypeScript (2), Next.js (3), Tailwind CSS (4), Web accessibility (5), Testing (6), Figma (7), Design system (8), GraphQL (9), Storybook (10), English (11), Code review (12).
Full-Stack Developer: Node.js (1), React (2), TypeScript (3), PostgreSQL (4), REST API (5), AWS (6), Docker (7), Next.js (8), Prisma (9), CI/CD (10), Web security (11), English (12).
UX/UI Designer: Figma (1), UX Design (2), Design system (3), User research (4), Prototyping (5), UI Design (6), Accessibility (7), Mobile design (8), Wireframing (9), User testing (10), English (11).
SEO Consultant: Technical SEO (1), On-page SEO (2), Netlinking (3), Google Search Console (4), Analytics (5), Content SEO (6), Local SEO (7), SEO audit (8), Semrush (9), Ahrefs (10), WordPress (11).
Web Writer: Web writing (1), Editorial SEO (2), Copywriting (3), Content marketing (4), Storytelling (5), WordPress (6), Editorial line (7), Proofreading (8), Interview (9), English (10).
Growth Consultant: Growth marketing (1), Paid acquisition (2), SEO (3), Lifecycle marketing (4), CRM (5), Analytics (6), A/B testing (7), Automation (8), Copywriting (9), SQL (10).
Skill update calendar (to do 3 times a year)
A Malt profile frozen for 12 months loses 30 to 50% of its performance. Your skills must move with the market.
January (annual review): review your 15 skills based on missions signed the previous year. Remove what you didn't bill, add what came up (e.g. a new client stack).
May (mid-year): check emerging skills in your sector. In 2026, on tech professions: Cache Components, Server Actions, Vercel AI SDK, Cursor, Claude API. Add 1 or 2 max.
September (back-to-school): back-to-school moment when clients relaunch recruitments. Verify that your top 3 skills correspond well to your current commercial target (if you pivoted from agencies to scale-ups, your order must change).
Strong signal: each time you change a skill, Malt partially re-indexes you in the following days. It's a free visibility boost. Use it strategically, not randomly.
According to Levan, freelancers who update their skills 3x/year have a mission matching rate 40% higher than those who freeze their profile.
Frequently asked questions
Q:How many skills to display on Malt ideally?
Between 12 and 15 skills. Below 10, you fall below the Malt algo's matching threshold. Above 15, you dilute your relevance score: each non-relevant skill reduces the weight of others. According to Levan, SuperMalter Level 2, the sweet spot is 13 skills distributed in 3 circles (core profession, direct ecosystem, transverse). A profile with 30 skills systematically performs less than a profile with 13 targeted, A/B tests supporting on 250+ optimized profiles.
Q:Which skills to put first on Malt?
The top 3 skills must be your main SEO keywords, those that correspond exactly to your title. E.g.: title "Senior React Developer" = skills 1-2-3: React, TypeScript, Next.js. Order has a direct SEO impact: Google and Malt index priority first positions. A skill in position 1 weighs 5 to 10x more than in position 10. Never place Git, a soft skill, or a secondary skill in top 3.
Q:Should you add skills outside your core profession?
No, unless they directly serve your positioning. A developer who adds "Team management" or "Community management" pollutes their signal and exits relevant matches. The Malt algo interprets off-topic skills as a "confused profile" signal. Stay in your core profession + direct ecosystem + 3-4 coherent transverse skills (e.g. English, accessibility, code review for a dev). Any skill unrelated to your commercial target costs you visibility.
Q:How to know which skills are in demand on Malt?
Three reliable sources. (1) Publish a fake brief in client mode to see the skill filters proposed by Malt: that's real demand. (2) Analyze the top 10 SuperMalter profiles in your profession, note skills present in 6/10 or more. (3) Cross with permanent job offers on LinkedIn and Welcome to the Jungle: what recruits permanent also recruits freelance. Combine these 3 sources to identify the 15 skills really demanded in your segment.
Q:Does changing skills boost the Malt profile?
Yes. Each skill modification triggers a partial re-indexing by the Malt algo within 24-72h. It's an activity signal that temporarily raises your visibility. Don't use it randomly: each change must be strategic (adding an emerging skill, removing an obsolete skill, reordering to better match your target). According to Levan, freelancers who optimize their skills 3x per year have a mission matching rate 40% higher than frozen profiles.
Q:Should "soft" skills (autonomy, rigor) be in the list?
No, never in Malt skills. Nobody searches for "autonomous freelancer" or "rigorous freelancer" in the Malt bar. These qualities belong in your bio or presentation, but they waste your 15 skill slots if you list them as skills. Malt skills are technical matching keywords, not a soft skills CV. Use them only for searchable hard skills (concrete tools, techs, methodologies).
Choosing your Malt skills isn't filling a form, it's building an algorithmic signal. 15 well-chosen skills rank better than 40 skills in bulk. Apply the 3-circle rule (core profession, ecosystem, transverse), care for the order of the top 3 positions, remove traps (soft skills, buzzwords, obsolete), and iterate 3 times a year. That's what all SuperMalters I've coached do. If you want to know immediately which skills are weighing you down and which are missing, scan your profile on profil-score.com: you'll get a targeted diagnostic in 20 seconds.
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