Three Must-Have Search Marketing Skills for 2018

After 10 years in the digital recruitment space, recruitment of Search Marketing professionals remains a central focus for Adaptive Digital.

As the search landscape continues to evolve, we share 3 top skills candidates need to be adding to their repertoire to stay competitive and versatile in the current job climate.

There’s something new in search every day. Algorithms, AI, platform evolution and shifting consumer behaviour all combine to keep search marketing professionals permanently acquiring new skills to stay relevant and continue delivering results for clients.

As specialist industry recruiters, we have a front-row seat to learn what employers are looking for more of as the hiring landscape changes with demand.

As we approach the mid-point of the year, these are the skill trends we’ve observed which continue to shape the way the search marketing industry is moving.

Voice search

With futuristic voice assistant tools like Google Duplex on the horizon, search marketing professionals need to ensure their knowledge is up to date on the ins and outs of how exactly voice search will impact local businesses and the world of search. Among other concerns, this means an understanding of strategies to gain footholds in the coveted ‘position 0’ answer boxes on SERPs where voice assistant tools often pull data from.

SEO Content Writing

The days of manipulative keyword optimization are long gone, and modern search marketers need some content strategy in their mix to ensure they are at the top of their game. Search engine requirements continue to award authority to sites which offer genuine, valuable ‘high-quality’ content to users, displacing those which have been mechanically assembled with pure SEO in mind. For search marketers, an awareness of the increasing interplay between content and search is vital to guide customers in the right direction and build durable, effective search strategies. 

Mobile-first Indexing

As Google moves to acknowledge the growing dominance of mobile device usage, traditional search rankings based on desktop devices are on the way out. Already commencing roll-out, Google’s Mobile-first index will have a profound effect on all sites not optimized for mobile usage. Businesses whose mobile site offers poor user experience or substantially different content from their desktop site may see their desktop pages cease to rank in search results.

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Adaptive Digital’s recruitment services in the search marketing space cover a broad range – we recruit for some of the world’s major agencies, as well as staffing in-house roles with e-retailers and top international brands.

One thing is common across our work – hiring managers are looking for forward-facing candidates who can demonstrate what they’re doing to keep pace with market movements.