Should search marketing steer your training and development programmes?

The marketing sector is continuously adapting and developing in today’s market. Being visible within a sea of websites, content, and competitors, is becoming increasingly challenging. Large blue-chip organisations are often seen at the top of the search engine results page, but, it is the small wins that can make a difference in today’s search marketing world. That is why it is crucial for marketing leaders to develop good search strategies that can drive businesses forward.

It is important to train your staff about search marketing and develop them to improve your online presence. It is crucial for businesses who want to improve their search marketing strategy, to hire top talent who have experience in search marketing. This talent is becoming ironically difficult to find in today’s market. This is due to the fact that universities aren’t currently teaching search marketing to degree-level students. The lack of top talent in the market will eventually create a gap in skills, which will negatively affect business growth in the near future.

What is search marketing?

Search marketing involves trying to obtain visibility and traffic to your website, either through paid or unpaid media, from various search engines on the internet. Search marketing is performed by a variety of professionals within your marketing function. Be it professionals in Pay Per Click (PPC), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and Paid Media. 

All of these professionals play a part, through their specialism, in gaining visibility for your website. They will aim to boost your brand awareness and increase page views from various search engines to your website, by keeping up to date with trends and any changes in algorithms.

What are the benefits of search marketing?

Search marketing is the ultimate tool within digital marketing, it enables you to gain traffic, attract new business, and keep an eye on what your competitors are doing in real time. Due to the fact that there are so many pages available to us on search engines, it can be difficult to know where to start and to distinguish what areas you should be covering. A simple search on Google can give you access to your competitors’ content, an insight into their strategy, and knowledge on how they are approaching content and advertisements. 

Search marketing allows you to track and analyse your efforts in writing content and producing advertisements. Through utilising SEO tools that enable you to identify relevant keywords with the optimum search volumes, you can create purposeful content that your audience is already interested in, and looking for online. It is all about being visible in today’s online space, so keeping up with the market and producing relevant, informative content that will rank well on Google, and resonate with your audience, is crucial. 

The importance of upskilling your search professionals

As mentioned above, universities aren’t yet incorporating search marketing modules in their syllabus. Although this may not be the case for much longer, due to the growing need for professionals with experience and familiarities in this area, it is important for businesses to take the lead with upskilling and developing their professionals who are interested in or currently working in search marketing professions. 

If businesses don’t train and upskill their search marketing professionals with the market, it is likely they will create a skills gap in their organisations. When the professionals that have years of experience in SEO and PPC leave businesses for retirement or other reasons, then you will see a gap emerge in search marketing skills in the professionals that are currently learning on the job. 

Utilising a mentoring programme within your organisation could help you to identify potential in the less experienced candidates on your payroll, as well as give the experienced professionals the chance to learn more about the ever-evolving world of search marketing at the same time. 

There are numerous events available to search marketing professionals, but the large search marketing conference and training event, Brighton SEO, is a chance for professionals to speak to many industry leaders about their experiences with search marketing and outline how they have developed businesses that they have been a part of, through the tool.

It is crucial to keep up with your competition, as well as to ensure that you are best placed to tackle changes in the marketing industry when they occur. If you are looking to hire top talent with search marketing experience get in touch with your local Michael Page office today for a confidential discussion.

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