Are Web Designers & SEOs One IN the Same?

MSN.com recently posted and article on the top “Five Careers That Sail Through a Tough Economy.” Topping that list is “Web Designer.” According to the article:

“As companies look for ways to cut overhead costs, demand for Web design grows. The Internet has evolved from an information resource into a robust economic platform. Companies take advantage of low-overhead Internet storefronts to tap new markets worldwide as they market and sell their products online. They need a compelling Web presence to reel in customers -- and that's where you come in.”

[emphasis in red font is mine]

A common public misconception is that “website design” and “SEO” are one IN the same when they are not. No disrespect to “web designers,” but most web designers do not understand how the conceptual model of the web works nor do they care (at least, that has been my experience in working with web designers). That’s why companies like FTD, 1800flowers, and Proflowers, hire SEOs independent of their web designers.

In my opinion, MSN is wrong to list “web designer” in their report when clearly they are meaning an “SEO.” A “web designer” is usually just that, a “web designer.” An SEO however, is focused on strengthening their client’s web presence through various strategies that have little or nothing to do with design.

Of course, having both work together is ideal, but that’s not what we are talking about here.

What say you? Did MSN make a mistake in correlating a “web designer” with an “SEO”?

If so, who is now #1??