Certain skills could fast track you into a job in search marketing. Whether you come from an academic background in maths or languages, the industry could prove just right for you.

Numerical

Being good with numbers and boasting strong analytical skills can definitely score you an interview for a Pay Per Click (PPC) search marketing job, as well as a more general industry role.

PPC analysts spend a lot of time planning and assessing expenditure, and structuring ad campaigns around a set of factors.

In general, anyone working in the search marketing industry will be required to use Excel at some point, and numerical skills help make sense of the formulae involved.

Design

Anyone working in the broad new media industry will pay more attention to the design of your CV and cover letter so this is your first chance to shine.

Design skills and awareness are also very useful to Conversion Rate Optimisation and optimising the user experience. A designer's perspective can help understand why button, shopping cart, and other element placement isn't leading to the expected results, and why people might be looking elsewhere.

Some search marketing agencies may have dedicated designer posts in house that allow for the building of fully optimised websites from scratch.

Languages

Knowledge of foreign languages could well land you that all important first interview in search marketing. In fact, it is an industry in which language graduates are increasingly finding a place for themselves.

The internet being a global network, most SEO agencies will have at least one multinational client on the books whose websites need to cater for users of various native tongues. Foreign language skills can therefore come in handy for content localisation, from the initial keyword research stage through to producing original content in the given language. It can also help identify gaps and opportunities in foreign markets, such as business directories and press release distribution channels.

Multitasking and Time Management

The ability to multitask is very important for people working in an agency environment. SEO teams could be working on a very broad range of clients at any one time so being able to juggle between them is vital.

While most tasks can be assigned on a monthly basis, others can appear suddenly as clients phone in their requests, or websites fail to perform properly and the agency team has to come to the rescue. You therefore need to be able to assess your priorities, and plan your time accordingly. This could mean leaving your directory submissions until the next day in order to write and distribute a topical press release, for example, but there is certainly no room for hesitation or panic.