Top 5 Skills You MUST Have to Be a Successful SEM Marketer

The skills you need to be a successful SEM marketer are many, but some skills transcend all others. These skills can make or break your campaign and determine whether you will succeed in the long run. So what skills do you need? Here’s my list of five skills every SEM marketer needs for success:

Research Skills

One of the skills that you need to be an SEM marketer is research. If you're not doing any kind of research, then don't even bother getting into SEM. You have to understand your niche and have an interest in learning about it. If you don't, you won't be able to provide your client with the knowledge they need. Understanding how an industry works and who its key players are is key, as well as what the market looks like. You should know everything about your client's business and their competitor's businesses as well! As an SEM marketer, knowing your stuff is a must.

If you want to get ahead, make sure you nail your research.

When it comes to conversion, research is the name of the game. You have to understand not only your client's business as a whole but also their target audience and what they're looking for. So make sure you know your stuff!

Know about your niche and their key players

Think about your niche and try to figure out who the big players are. It's good to take a look at competitors' sites and make sure that you're top-notch. Remember, don't just do what everyone else does – be different.

Analytic Skills

It's no secret that analytics is one of the most important skills an SEM marketer can have. When you understand how the data flows, how to make sense of it, and when to apply those insights into your strategy... you'll be able to have a more successful SEM campaign. In order to do this, you need to know your way around Excel and Google Analytics.

Making sure that you're able to understand all aspects of the data is important too - knowing how to set up goals, segment data, etc. You can't just look at aggregate site conversion rates or average cost per conversion. You have to learn how to dig into the data and get actionable insights from it.

Reporting skills

Another important skill you need to become an SEM marketer is reporting skills. You gotta know when something isn't working and make sure it gets fixed. You gotta know what is working and make sure it gets replicated. This means you must know how to create custom reports that are specific to your client's needs. Knowing how to communicate findings in a way that will be effective is key here as well - instead of just dumping the data on your clients, you need to help them understand the strategy behind taking action from the data.

Understand how data translates into success

Some advisers will try to convince you that spending more money on ads will always result in more conversions. This isn't the case. You have to know when it's time to scale back and tighten your belt (and not spend recklessly), and when it's time to go ahead and start spending more money.

Communication Skills

Another important skill a paid search marketer can learn is communication. It doesn't matter if you're a manager, an account executive, or an analyst. If you can't communicate effectively with your team and clients, then you'll never be successful in this business. You have to be able to communicate with your clients and know how to listen — listening is just as important — and you must be able to communicate with your co-workers and managers. You have to be able to communicate the data in a way that they can understand and take action on it. And you must be able to communicate updates to clients and how your strategies are working.

Communicate with the client

The best way to communicate with your team and clients is through a well-oiled reporting format that everyone knows - this way everyone is on the same page and there's no grey area.

Communicate data effectively for more conversions

Communicating the data effectively is what will make or break your campaigns. You have to know how to present the information in a way that's easy for people to understand, and you need to be able to communicate with them about what changes need to be made based on the findings.

The best way to achieve all of this... well, it's really up to you. The more comfortable you are with all of these subjects, the easier it'll be to focus on your own growth rather than having to depend on someone else for direction! So start training yourself now if you want to become a successful SEM marketer!

Technical Skills

One of the skills that I've focus on a lot when it comes to SEM marketing is technical skills. It's extremely important because you need to understand how the platform works and what makes your ads perform better than others. You need to understand how bids and keywords work, how remarketing works, what the benefits are for each campaign type, etc. You have to know all of that for you to really succeed at managing SEM campaigns.

You can't keep learning and studying new things if you don't understand the basics. Once you do, then you're good to go and can start learning more detailed information so that you can become better and more efficient in your work. So always make sure that you know the ins and outs of Google Ads, that way you can scale campaigns as they become more successful!

Conclusion

In order to be a successful SEM marketer, you must have the skills research the data, to understand it, know how to take action from that data, and communicate effectively with your clients. Additionally, having technical skills and being efficient in your work is essential for success. With these tips in mind, start training yourself now so that you can become a successful SEM marketer!