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Hiring An SEM Expert: What Skill Set To Look For

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SEM experts are in high demand. Not surprising, given the tremendous growth rate of e-commerce.

In 2018, about 1.8 billion people across the world bought goods online. E-retail sales in 2018 amounted to US$ 2.8 trillion.

B2B (business to business) online sales in 2018 were almost 4 times higher than e-retail. The gross merchandise volume (GMV) of B2B e-commerce in 2018 amounted to US$ 10.6 trillion.

It’s a huge market when we take B2B and B2C online sales together.

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article | Hiring An SEM Expert: What Skill Set To Look For

Ranking by Total E-Commerce Volume 2017: Source

This growth in e-commerce has also fueled the demand for Search Engine Marketing (SEM) experts. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 20% growth in the demand for SEM experts between 2018 and 2028.

What Does An SEM Expert Do?

The core job of an SEM expert has not changed, however. An SEM expert has the responsibility of improving the SERP ranking of a business webpage.

In jargon-free terms, the company website must appear towards the top of a search engine results page (SERP). That’s what an SEM expert needs to ensure. At the heart of SEM is a company’s SEO (search engine optimization) strategy.

The SEO strategy, in turn, involves the following:

  • Keyword research and implementation
  • Content strategy planning and implementation
  • Link building
  • Web marketing with analytics

Categories of Digital Marketing Strategies

Digital marketing can be of three types, at least:

  • Organic: Your business webpage automatically appears towards the top of SERP
  • Pay Per Click (PPC): A paid marketing campaign where you pay the platform every time your ad gets clicked
  • Paid Directory Listing: You pay to be included in a web directory relevant for your business

An SEM expert needs to have the skills necessary to plan, implement, manage, assess, and restrategize as and when necessary, for each of these three categories.

The Skill-Set An SEM Expert Must Have

Two distinct sets of skills are necessary: technical skills and soft skills. Technical skills refer to the specific capacities needed to efficiently and effectively execute what a job position demands. Soft skills are generic skills that determine how effectively a person can work in any position.

Technical Skills

1. Thorough Knowledge of SEO

SEO (search engine optimization) is the foundation of SEM. Without SEO, there is no SEM. An in-depth understanding of how SEO works in different search engines is a non-negotiable skill for an SEM expert.

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Thorough SEO expertise involves the following:

  • Up-to-date knowledge about search engine algorithms for ranking: This is a critical element as search engines keep changing their algorithms. The mode of search engine rankings changes accordingly.
  • How to blend quality content with keywords: This is pivotal to improving organic ranking. It is equally essential for PPC campaigns to be effective. Merely using the researched keywords is not enough.

A seamless blending of the relevant keywords with attractive content is what works. Search engines like Google are smart enough to reject content that focuses only on the keywords.

  • Comprehensive understanding of offsite SEO: Everything that you and others do away from your site to improve the ranking of your website is offsite SEO.

A critical element in offsite SEO is building links to your page. Google, the most-used search engine, depends on links to determine how relevant your content is. Writing blog posts and guest articles on other sites are methods of link building.

The SEM expert does not need to write. But they need to have technical information like using critical keywords towards the beginning of a post for effective linking. This is necessary to guide copywriters to produce content that works.

2. PPC Management Skill

PPC (pay per click) campaigns are the paid counterpart of driving organic traffic to your webpage. The aim is the same: improving the SERP ranking of your website. Therefore, all the skills needed for SEO are relevant.

However, PPC campaigns involve financial investments. To ensure high returns on investment (RoI), its management needs additional skills as well. Focus on the following when you hire your PPC campaign manager:

  • Marketing Skills including a basic understanding of consumer behavior, consumer segmentation, and trend analysis of targeted consumers.
  • Planning and Time Management to determine how long a PPC campaign should continue, how often the content needs tweaking, etc.
  • Monitoring, Reviewing, and Adapting skills are critical to efficiently and effectively manage PPC campaigns.

B3. asic Knowledge of Programming Languages

The ability to use CSS and to write in HTML is essential for an SEM expert. Some technical understanding of web design is also critical. Without a basic understanding of how websites work, efficient and effective SEM is impossible.

An SEM expert needs to understand technology from the user perspective to be effective.

4. Ability to Work with Data Analytics

Analyzing the numbers and making sense of the statistics are necessary to understand the general trends in relevant search patterns. These become even more critical with paid ad campaigns.

5. Copywriting and Copyediting

The SEM expert need not be directly responsible for generating the content. Without a creative understanding of what works and what does not, it is impossible to guide and refine the content to match SEO needs.

6. Social Media Management

Social media platforms continue to play an increasingly more important role in influencing consumer behaviors. A recent report mentions that 54% of social media users research products on these platforms.

No SEM expert can do their job competently without social media management skills.


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Soft Skills Critical For An SEM Expert

Soft skills refer to competencies that are non-technical, yet critical for effective functioning in nearly any role. For an SEM expert, the must-have soft skills include the following, without being limited to them.

1. Curiosity and the Willingness to Learn

Stagnation of thought is a killer for any marketing position. An SEM expert is ultimately a crucial component in your marketing wheel. The quality of being a lifelong learner is essential.

That presupposes a curious bent of mind, in turn. Without it, an SEM expert would fail to engage in research, which forms an indispensable part of their job.

2. Analytical Skills

Working with data analytics is a technical aspect of the larger analytical skill-set that an SEM expert needs to have. Common usage packs several competencies within the domain of analytical skills. The ability to disintegrate complex information, critical thinking, and problem-solving are the core components.

3. Proactive, Transparent and Effective Communication

An SEM expert cannot work in a silo. They need to work as part of a team. Effective team functioning requires strong communication skills.

More importantly, without proactive and transparent communication abilities, an SEM expert will be unable to judge the aptness of the contents to be used. Contents are meant to communicate – to search engines and consumers alike.

4. Cross-Functional Partnership Competency

An SEM expert needs to function with a multidimensional team addressing different business needs. Without the ability to collaborate and coordinate with a cross-functional team, an SEM expert will be shoddy at their job.

5. Project Management Skills

An SEM expert will likely need to manage several projects simultaneously. That needs strong project management skills. Planning, strategizing, time management, review and prioritization, etc, are some of the key abilities included within project management skills.

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Outsourcing Might Be The Smarter Choice

Partnering with an experienced SEM agency with a proven track record often proves more cost-effective than hiring an in-house SEM expert. You save on overheads and other related costs without losing access to the expertise you need.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Sheryl JonesSheryl Jones is the Sr. Marketing Specialist at Uplers who has a great experience in designing well-defined user journeys across the digital marketing domain. She leverages her digital marketing expertise to help businesses draw significant ROIs.

3 Legal Pitfalls You Should Avoid on Social Media

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, 3 Legal Pitfalls You Should Avoid on Social MediaMany people use social media for private and business communications without knowing that what they post online can have serious legal ramifications. John Branca, an attorney who has represented pop superstars like Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake, warns that even people who don’t have a media empire at stake should be aware of the pitfalls.

Revealing Others’ Personal Information

Be careful not to reveal personal information without permission, especially if you’re using your social media platforms for a business venture. For example, if you’re trying to promote your cosmetic dentistry practice, you shouldn’t post before and after photos of one of your patients without his or her consent. Be aware that the same privacy laws apply for your patients even when you’re trying to advertise your work on a satisfied client.

Committing Defamation

What you post on social media about others can be considered defamation if it is untrue and causes harm to their reputation. By sharing something negative about another person, you may be opening yourself up to legal action, even if you think it’s true but have no evidence.

Every entertainment lawyer can attest to times that major publications have paid dearly for posting rumors and falsehoods about famous clients. However, regular folks are at even greater risk for legal action because private citizens enjoy stricter protections against public calumny. Therefore, the best course of action is simply to keep any harmful information about others to yourself.

Using Copyrighted Material

Whenever you use a photo from someone else’s website or play music you don’t own the rights for in a post, the law considers it theft. Although you may not think about as you blare your favorite song in your latest dance video, it is illegal unless you have the artist’s consent. This can be a costly mistake if you’re forced to pay the artist.

Social media is a relatively new way to communicate, but the platforms require the same responsibility and knowledge of the law to shield you or your business from legal action.

Simple Marketing Tips for Entrepreneurs

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Marketing Tips for Entrepreneurs|Simple Marketing Tips for EntrepreneursEveryone knows that entrepreneurs, working on their startup enterprises, have a lot of different tasks to juggle. As well as representing their firm in business meetings and conversations with clients and customers, the entrepreneur is also asked to oversee all elements of their business – from their accounts and finances through to the strategy and planning that leads an industry toward its goals. As such, entrepreneurs need to know the shortcuts and the tricks to each part of their business – and this article is all about getting the most out of your marketing strategy without spending undue time on advertising and marketing.

Use Apps and Programs

Many entrepreneurs choose to outsource all of their marketing responsibilities to those businesses that they can trust to build them a workable strategy. While this works in practice, in principle, it can sometimes be a waste of money in the early lifespan of a startup.

A better solution is to make use of the digital tools available to generate shortcuts for your team when they’re marketing your brand and your products. Simply search for marketing tools, and use them to cut down your research, content design and strategy development time when marketing.

Or, you could get the best of both worlds by using AI marketing services. These companies, rather than taking over all of your marketing responsibilities completely, offer an automated AI-powered marketing tool that uses deep learning to analyze your customer’s interests. This data can in turn be used to create a strategy tailored to your marketing objectives and your brand. If your business is growing and you’re struggling to keep up with the marketing needs of your company, this may be a good option.

SEO Boosts

Another element of your marketing strategy that it’s crucial to get right is the SEO approach. If you have a marketing professional on your team, this is one of the primary areas of focus that you’ll want them to concentrate on throughout the week.

Above and beyond the usual marketing tips for SEO, though, it’s worth considering investing in Spanish SEO assistance – so that your firm can tap into the millions of Spanish speakers in the US and abroad. Competing in this space is far easier – a great way to conquer this large market.

Social Media

It’s incredible how much you can achieve with an hour on social media when you’re looking to share your product and your brand with a specific demographic of consumer. You can target adverts incredibly specifically on the likes of Facebook and Instagram, and you can get into the feeds of your target consumer on YouTube with ease.

All of this takes a little investment in targeted advertising, but this is the sort of investment which pays off almost immediately, with big hits on your website and your social media pages. For time-pressed entrepreneurs, social media is a great ally in your attempts to market your products.

Website

Finally, it’s incredibly important that you’re proud of your website. You should certainly hire a trustworthy professional to help you build out your site, ensuring that you’re on-trend and looking professional for consumers who visit your corner of the internet.
Remember, too, that this is your home on the internet. It’s the foundation that you’ll build upon. As such, it pays to get some aspects of your website right the first time – like the page structure and the color scheme and branding. Invest in this part of your business to see your traffic convert to more sales over time.

Busy entrepreneurs should make use of the above tips to ensure their marketing is second-to-none in their first few months of business.

Choosing A Web Design Training Course

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, Choosing A Web Design Training Course

Website design training is a must for all businesses. In the current day and age, the importance of having an attractive and effective website simply cannot be ignored. The only trouble is that there are so many web design courses for you to choose from, which can be a little bit confusing and overwhelming.

But, there is no need to panic, as we are going to give you a helping hand by giving you an insight into the key qualities that all web design training courses should have.

  • Private training – You should always look for a training instructor who is willing to provide you with private training. This ensures that you extract maximum value from the training course, and that the content you are being taught is entirely suited to the needs of your business.
  • A good reputation – You are advised to read reviews that have been left by people that have already taken the course. The same applies irrespective of whether you are looking for HTML training, an Adobe Illustrator course, or any other form of training. If you come across a lot of negative comments, you know to look elsewhere.
  • Various design platforms – What platforms are you going to be taught about creating a website on? Does the trainer have the flexibility to adapt to your needs? WordPress training may be something you want to look out for in this respect. If you take a look at a reputable website design company today, they may specialize in one platform, but they will have a basic understanding and have probably received training in a number of areas.
  • Impressive portfolio – Last but not least, take a look at the trainer’s website design portfolio. After all, why should you trust them to teach you about website design if they can’t create impressive websites themselves?
  • Their own website – This leads to the next point: if you are going to choose the right website design training company for you, you should look at their website first. After all, if the website is slow to load and difficult to navigate, this does not leave a very good impression, does it? Experts working in custom website design company shouldn’t have excuses when it comes to making an incredible website, and so this is definitely an area that we recommend paying a lot of attention to when you are looking for the best courses for you.
  • Practicalities – Last but not least, you will want to consider all of the practicalities, such as course time and location. You should also consider the price to make sure that this is something you are happy with as well. These are all the sort of things that you will know yourself what is right for you.

If you take the points that have been mentioned into account, you can be confident that you have found the best website design training for your needs. This is not an area you can afford to rush into and make a rash decision.

5 Ways Content Can Help Your Company’s SEO Efforts

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, 5 Ways Content Can Help Your Company's SEO EffortsIf you’re hoping to improve your business’s search engine rankings, you may be wondering whether SEO content writing and tweaking your marketing strategies could help. Content marketing is a key part of search engine optimization and can make all the difference in getting visitors to your page, especially since studies have shown that most users don’t scroll past the first page of results. With SEO-friendly content, your company can generate the results you need and stay competitive in an increasingly digital business landscape. The key to boosting your search engine rankings is quality content, which helps inform your audience and build organic relationships over time. Here are just a few of the top reasons effective content writing is one of the best ways to make the most of your company’s SEO efforts.

1. It Helps Educate Consumers

As opposed to outbound marketing efforts, which interrupt consumers’ days with traditional tactics like flashy ads, content marketing is part of what’s commonly referred to as inbound marketing. Inbound marketing brings customers to you in an organic way. When a user looks up information in a search engine and your page pops up, they can get informed on the topic they’re interested in and see your company as a trustworthy source. This is mutually beneficial, since you can educate consumers while drawing in potential new customers.

2. It Can Span a Wide Range of Strategies

Content marketing and content writing can actually encompass a wide range of strategies and types of content, which can be tailored according to your business’s needs. Company blogs are a popular option, for instance, since they allow you to post articles relevant to your industry and keep customers updated on the latest news. However, you can also launch social media campaigns, email marketing campaigns and employ search marketing tactics. Some of these types of content, especially social media posts, can be particularly effective for different demographics like younger people.

3. You Can Make the Most of Your SEO Efforts

When you produce quality content on a regular basis, your other SEO efforts don’t go to waste. Savvy SEO strategies won’t account for much if your content is subpar, since users will become disinterested and leave the page, resulting in a high bounce rate and less of a chance of getting conversions. If you’re already investing time, energy and money in digital marketing techniques like linking, creating sitemaps, enhancing metadata, tagging and more, you can help ensure those efforts don’t go to waste by making content readers really want. One important strategy is to identify your most important keywords and to optimize your website for them, making it more likely that customers interested in that topic will find your site.

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4. You Can Satisfy Rigorous Algorithms

If you have good content but don’t produce enough of it, that alone could harm you in search engine rankings. Certain algorithms strongly prefer continuous streams of fresh content, so if you post regularly, you’ll greatly improve your chances of showing up on the first page of results. In fact, in some cases, over-optimizing existing content could even harm your rankings. This means the best way to go forward is to regularly produce and publish new, interesting and well-written content.

5. You Can Get More Backlinks

Finally, if you’re producing high-quality content, you increase the odds of other websites linking back to it. The more backlinks you have, the more your website will be seen as a trusted authority and a noteworthy source. This could help appease algorithms, which may then be more likely to place your website higher up. In creating good content, you give yourself a better shot of impressing other websites and eventually the search engine algorithms.

The key to attracting visitors to your website, boosting your rankings in search engine results pages and building trusting relationships with customers over time is high-quality content. With effective writing and the right content marketing strategies, you can get more out of your SEO efforts and even improve brand awareness and begin establishing your company as an industry thought leader. If your search engine optimization strategies haven’t quite been yielding the results you hoped for, consider focusing on improving the quality of your content writing or outsourcing your content needs to professional services. It could make all the difference in getting the results you’re looking for.