How To Find The Best Talent For SEO & Content Marketing In 2023?

How To Find The Best Talent For SEO & Content Marketing In 2023?

By Digital Journal Blog

SEO and content marketing are two of the most effective and popular digital marketing strategies in 2023. According to HubSpot, 61% of marketers named SEO as a top marketing priority in 2021, and content marketing generates three times more leads than paid advertising.

Finding and hiring the finest candidates for these positions can be difficult, though, particularly in a market that is competitive and evolving.

In this article, we will share some key lessons for hiring managers who are looking for SEO and content marketing professionals in 2023. We will also cover the top skills and competencies to look for, the average salaries for these positions, and some organizational retention strategies to keep your talent happy and loyal.

Table of Contents

Key Lessons for Hiring Managers
When Hiring for SEO and Content Marketing Roles in 2023
The Most Typical Competencies for SEO
The Most Typical Competencies for Content Marketers
Average Content Marketing & SEO Salaries for 2023
Organizational Retention Strategies
Conclusion

Key Lessons for Hiring Managers

Before we dive into the specific skills and competencies for SEO and content marketing roles, let’s review some general best practices for hiring managers who want to attract and recruit the best talent in 2023.

Clearly State Your Ends in Mind and Expectations

You must have a clear understanding of what you want candidates to accomplish and how you plan to assess their performance before you start looking for candidates.

For example, do you want them to increase organic traffic, conversions, revenue, or brand awareness? What measurements and key performance indicators (KPIs) would you employ to assess their performance? How will you align their goals with your overall business objectives and strategy?

Write A Detailed and Compelling Job Description.

Your job description is your first opportunity to showcase your company’s culture, values, vision, and mission.

It should also highlight the benefits and perks of working for your company, such as flexible hours, remote work options, learning opportunities, career growth, etc. And, your job description should include the main responsibilities, qualifications, skills, and competencies that you are looking for in your ideal candidate.

Be clear and reasonable in your expectations for them and what they can anticipate from you.

Use Multiple Channels and Sources To Find Candidates

You can employ a variety of techniques to identify qualified individuals for your SEO and content marketing tasks, depending on your budget and resources. Some of the most common ones are:

Job Boards

You can post your job openings on popular online platforms such as Indeed, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Monster, etc. Through these sites, you can connect with a sizable pool of people who are actively looking for work in your industry or specialty.

Social Media

You can leverage your social media presence to promote your job openings and attract candidates who are interested in your company or brand. You can also use hashtags, groups, communities, influencers, or ads to target specific audiences or segments.

Referrals

You can ask your current employees, customers, partners, or network to refer candidates who might be a good fit for your SEO and content marketing roles.

One of the best ways to identify qualified individuals who are already familiar with your business or sector is through referrals.

Agencies

You can hire professional recruiters or agencies who specialize in finding and placing SEO and content marketing talent. Agencies can save you time and money by screening candidates, conducting interviews, negotiating salaries, etc.

Conduct A Thorough and Structured Interview Process

After you’ve narrowed down your list of prospects, you must interview each one to determine whether they are a good fit for your organization and job. You should have a clear and consistent interview process that covers the following aspects

Resume Review

You should review each candidate’s resume carefully and look for relevant experience, education, certifications, achievements, etc. You should also check for any gaps, inconsistencies, errors, or red flags that might indicate a lack of professionalism or credibility.

Phone Screening

You should conduct a brief phone call with each candidate to introduce yourself, explain the role and expectations, ask some basic questions about their background and skills, and gauge their interest and enthusiasm for the position.

Technical Assessment

You should test each candidate’s technical skills and knowledge related to SEO and content marketing using online tools such as Moz Pro, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Grammarly, etc.

You can also assign them a practical task or project that simulates a real-life scenario or challenge that they would face in their role.

Behavioral Interview

You should conduct a face-to-face or video interview with each candidate to evaluate their personality traits, soft skills, communication skills, problem-solving skills, etc.

You should use behavioral questions that ask them to describe specific situations or examples from their past work experience where they demonstrated these skills or qualities.

Cultural Fit Interview

You should assess each candidate’s alignment with your company’s culture, values, vision, mission, etc. You should ask them questions that reveal their motivations, goals, preferences, work style, etc.

They should be given the chance to question you about your organization or job as well.

Make A Data-Driven Hiring Decision

After completing the interview process with all candidates, you should compare their scores, feedback, references, etc., and make an objective hiring decision based on data. You should avoid any biases or assumptions that might influence your judgment.

You should also communicate your decision promptly and respectfully to all candidates, whether they are hired or rejected.

When Hiring for SEO and Content Marketing Roles in 2023, Check For These Top Skills

The process of increasing a website’s accessibility, relevance, authority, usability, etc. on search engines like Google is known as SEO (search engine optimization).

Content marketing is the process of creating, distributing, sharing, and publishing valuable content that attracts, engages, educates, persuades, converts, retains, etc., target audiences.

Technical and creative abilities are needed for both SEO and content marketing, including copywriting, narrative, graphic design, and other technical skills like keyword research, web analytics, and HTML coding. However, these professions can be distinguished by a few particular talents and competencies.

The Most Typical Competencies for SEO are:

• SEO Strategy: The ability to plan, implement, monitor, evaluate, optimize and report on SEO campaigns that align with business goals and target audiences.

• Keyword Research: The ability to identify, analyze, prioritize and optimize the most relevant and profitable keywords for each web page or piece of content.

• Technical SEO: The ability to optimize the technical aspects of a website such as site speed, mobile-friendliness, crawlability, indexability, security, etc. to ensure a positive user experience and search engine performance.

• On-Page SEO: The ability to optimize the content elements of a web page such as title tags, meta descriptions, headings, images, links, etc. to match the search intent and expectations of target audiences.

• Off-Page SEO: The ability to build and maintain a strong online reputation and authority for a website through link building, social media, content promotion, influencer outreach, etc.

The Most Typical Competencies for Content Marketers are:

• Content Strategy: The ability to plan, create, distribute, share, and publish content that supports business goals and target audiences.

• Content Creation: The ability to produce high-quality, original, engaging, informative, persuasive and optimized content for various formats such as blogs, eBooks, infographics, videos, podcasts, etc.

• Content Distribution: The ability to leverage various channels and platforms such as social media, email marketing, SEO, paid advertising, etc. to reach and attract potential customers to the content.

• Content Analysis: The ability to measure and evaluate the performance and impact of content using web analytics and other tools such as Google Analytics, HubSpot, SEMrush, etc.

• Content Optimization: The ability to improve and update existing content based on data and feedback to increase its relevance, value, engagement, conversion, retention, etc.

Average Content Marketing & SEO Salaries for 2023

Glassdoor reports that the typical yearly income for an SEO professional in the US is $51K, while that of a content marketer is $56K. However, these numbers could change according on things like location, experience, education, industry, size of the organization, etc.

For instance, an SEO expert in New York City would make $65K annually, whereas a content marketer in Austin might make $49K. Use internet resources like Salary.com, PayScale, or Indeed to tailor your search based on different parameters to obtain a more precise idea of how much you can anticipate to pay or earn for an SEO or content marketing employment in 2023.

Organizational Retention Strategies

Finding and hiring the best talent for SEO and content marketing roles is only half the battle. You also need to retain them by providing them with a positive work environment, competitive compensation, career development opportunities, recognition, feedback, etc.

Here are some organizational retention strategies that can help you keep your SEO and content marketing talent happy and loyal:

Provide Competitive Compensation and Benefits

One of the most obvious ways to retain your SEO and content marketing talent is to pay them fairly and offer them attractive benefits such as health insurance, retirement plan, paid time off, etc. You should also conduct regular salary reviews and adjust your compensation based on market trends, performance, and feedback.

Offer Career Development Opportunities

SEO and content marketing are dynamic and evolving fields that require constant learning and upskilling. You should provide your talent with opportunities to grow their skills and knowledge through training, coaching, mentoring, certifications, etc. You should also help them set clear and realistic career goals and support them in achieving them.

Recognize and Reward Their Achievements

SEO and content marketing can be challenging and demanding work that requires creativity, patience, and perseverance. You should acknowledge and appreciate your talent’s efforts and results by giving them positive feedback, praise, recognition, rewards, bonuses, etc. You should also celebrate their milestones and successes as a team.

Encourage Collaboration and Communication

SEO and content marketing are not isolated or siloed activities. They require collaboration and communication with other teams and departments such as web development, design, sales, customer service, etc.

You should foster a culture of teamwork and transparency by facilitating regular meetings, updates, reports, feedback sessions, etc.

Also, you ought to employ online tools like Slack, Trello, Google Docs, etc. to improve communication and productivity.

Promote Work-Life Balance and Wellness

SEO and content marketing can also be stressful and exhausting work that can affect your talent’s physical and mental health.

You should promote a healthy work-life balance and wellness by offering flexible hours, remote work options, wellness programs, employee assistance programs, etc. You should also respect your talent’s boundaries and avoid overloading them with unrealistic deadlines or expectations.

By implementing these organizational retention strategies, you can create a positive work environment that motivates, empowers, and satisfies your SEO and content marketing talent.

This will increase your productivity, quality, and reputation as a business in addition to lowering your turnover rate and hiring expenses.

Conclusion

SEO and content marketing are essential digital marketing strategies that can help your business grow and succeed in 2023.

Finding and hiring the finest candidates for these positions can be difficult, though, particularly in a market that is competitive and evolving.

That’s why you need to follow some key lessons and tips to attract and recruit the right candidates for your SEO and content marketing positions.

You also need to retain them by providing them with a positive work environment, competitive compensation, career development opportunities, recognition, feedback, etc.

By doing so, you can build a strong SEO and content marketing team that will deliver high-quality results and value for your business.

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