For quite some time now I have been involved with a number of high-profile Search Marketing Agencies and have had a great time recruiting at all levels within these businesses.
There are of course subtle differences between each but on the whole most have the same set of principles for candidates aiming to break into the industry and therefore learn from the very best talent available. This is the true beauty of the SEO / PPC Account Executive or Junior Analyst type role – it is an opportunity for someone to get paid for learning directly about Search and see an embryonic career start to flourish.
At the very heart of the need is a real passion for the industry, someone who is looking to push the boundaries and stay abreast of new developments in the search space. It is not always essential to offer a demonstrable track record of success at this level, more a desire to succeed and a technical familiarity.
These days it is imperative that you have a good degree, preferably a 2:1 or above and advantageous if it involves mathematics as numeracy and a head for figures is a great starting point.
Following university it would be beneficial to find a role that will involve at least an element of online marketing and if possible try to instigate involvement in an SEO or PPC campaign. You could also start by adding value to a social media project that will involve raising a clients profile via blogs, forums and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. If you can blog in your own time then that will also give you an edge over the competition.
Typically a junior member of an SEM team will be involved in research, analysis and creation of Paid Search campaigns. For SEO the role will comprise of data analysis, report writing and drafting presentations.
Client-facing staff will manage strategy and delivery of campaigns aswell as being a key driver for strategic change, meeting revenue targets, discovering new revenue opportunities and identifying up-sell opportunities. Establishing and maintaining strong client relationships take time and effort that will involve long hours in face to face meetings and strategy planning sessions back at base. This industry is not for the faint-hearted!
These sort of responsibilities will require candidates to offer a real passion for online marketing with good commercial awareness, excellent Excel skills, attention to detail, the ability to work to tight deadlines, familiarity with web analytics and the ability to draw conclusions from raw data. You will also be at ease presenting information to senior staff, be organised and have the ability to generate creative solutions.
You see these roles are much more than data analysis and keyword research!
At its core the Search Marketing arena is stacked with creative and inspirational talent so if this evolving and exciting industry feels right for you the opportunities are out there to grasp.
At the moment Digital Personnel have vacancies available at entry-level within the Paid and Natural Search arenas, visit our jobs page at the short link here http://bit.ly/5Xe9ev.
Ashley Seddon
ashley.seddon@digitalpersonnel.co.uk
Tags: advertising, digital, marketing, media, natural, online, organic, paid, ppc, search, seo
August 27th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Hi Ashley,
Thanks for writing a great “top view” of what it takes to be a search marketer. As one of the founders of SEMPO, the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, I might add that an intrinsic quality I find throughout the most successful SEMs is “curiosity” – the best search marketers are never satisfied with status quo, and they always want to know “What happens if I do *this*?” That type of brain has led to some of the most innovative development in digital marketing, and the highest return on investment for companies investing in the space.
The SEMPO site is funded by our member fees, and has a large library of free training webinars that are useful to a beginner and intermediate marketer (www.sempo.org) – click on Learning Center to see articles, links and webinars. Registration is required for the webinar playback, but there’s no cost. If someone is serious about making a career in SEM, I also suggest they consider investing in a formal certification program from the SEMPO Institute (www.sempoinstitute.com). The “Insider’s Guide” is the most popular course, and there are advanced modules as well.
SEMPO members span 40 countries worldwide, and we encourage beginners to reach out to a local member to find mentoring opportunities and local networking events. This is a great community of people, really willing to help out and share our knowledge.
Best regards,
Dana Todd
Co-chair, SEMPO Education Committeee
September 5th, 2010 at 11:33 am
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