What Skills Should Search Managers Have?
Search Managers must be experts in SEO and search advertising. A high-level understanding of digital marketing is also important. Tools like Google Analytics, Moz Pro, SEMrush, Majestic, Ahrefs, and DeepCrawl should be familiar to the Search Manager. They’ll also be working with Google Ads and other paid advertising platforms. An understanding of the available paid advertising platforms and how they work is important for any Search Manager.
Search Managers will likely find themselves performing search engine marketing (SEM), managing a budget for paid advertisements, and working on a digital marketing team. Some Search Managers might be expected to create copy or graphic design assets for their marketing efforts, but most Search Managers work on a team with a Graphic Designer or Digital Marketer who will create those assets instead.
A Search Manager is expected to track their performance, conduct A/B testing, and compile reports to show how effective their campaigns are. Because search engine algorithms are constantly changing, all Search Managers must stay up-to-date with the latest trends and changes. They should be proficient in the most popular web analytics dashboards, and if they’re working freelance, should know which one they would recommend for the projects they propose.
Typical office skills like proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, or the Google Workspace suite, are a must for any Search Manager. Knowledge of industry jargon—such as Google’s key algorithms, paid advertising abbreviations or acronyms, and SEO concepts—will certainly come in handy. Soft skills like communication, presentation, and the ability to educate a client on these concepts are generally expected.
Some Search Managers choose to maintain a high-level knowledge and work exclusively in management roles, while others work their way up from specialties like Organic Backlink Specialist, SEO Specialist, PPC Specialist, or Digital Marketer. Specializations can be somewhat useful, but managerial positions typically pay more. Management positions require a “T-shaped” skill set, meaning the manager has broad high-level knowledge but deeper expertise in specific areas. Specialist roles function in the opposite way: a specialist has deep knowledge of specific tools and techniques and only limited understanding of adjacent specializations.
Learn the Skills You Need to Become a Search Manager
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Digital Marketing
Digital marketing utilizes the internet and web based digital platforms to promote products or services. This includes the use of digital advertisements, social media, brand identities, and more.
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SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is the practice of increasing both the quality and quantity of website traffic using tactics like keywords and backlinks to create organic, high-ranking search engine results.
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Google Ads
Google Ads is the new name for Google AdWords. It is an online advertising service that allows advertisers to pay for the display of brief advertisements, video content, listings, and calls to action within the Google Display Network (GDN) to web users. You'll see Google ads on the GDN which includes Google Search, YouTube, and over 2 million other sites.