What are the prospects of a career in Search and Social Media in Manchester? Is it worth my time re-training? How much can I expect to earn? These are some of the typical questions faced by many of us thinking of a new career move or those thinking of employing us too!

My name is Tim Guest, @TimTheGuest on Twitter, and I’ve been invited to write this Blog post based on my recent presentation – “How and why to get a job in SEO and Social Media” – at the Search & Social Media Marketing open day, organised by the University of Salford, on 20th January 2011. I run a Digital recruitment business called Quantica Technology, @QuanticaTech Quantica Technology on Twitter, and Digital Marketing is one of our specialisms:

Stats on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) employment in Manchester:

Four years ago 3% of ALL IT jobs advertised contained the term “SEO”, today over 10% of ALL IT jobs contain the term “SEO” – This shows how important SEO is becoming in all areas of technology.

There are currently 90 jobs containing the term “SEO” advertised within a 30 mile radius of Manchester here are some of the main themes and average salaries:

• 30 of these jobs are SEO Executive, SEO Consultant, SEO Account Exec. Average salaries are £23,000 – £25,000 and up to £28,000 dependent on experience.
• 9 are SEO Manager, SEO Account Manager, Senior SEO Consultant. Average salaries are £30,000 – £40,000 dependent on experience.
• 14 are Head of SEO, Head of e-Commerce, Head of Digital. Average salaries are £45,000 – £60,000 dependent on experience but could even be higher for top people.

The remainder are a mixture of front & back end web development jobs & general marketing roles.

These figures are from: Jobserve.com, Totaljobs.co.uk, CWjobs.co.uk, Creativepool.co.uk, ITJobswatch.co.uk

What skills do employers look for in an SEO or Social Media employee?

The generic SEO skills are a mix of social and technical and you need to see the specifics of a job. Dependent upon the company, your role can be more focused and be primarily based on optimised content development or on the technical implementation of the content: 

• Knowledge of Google Analytics / Webtrends
• Ability to speak “non technical” to sell to board members
• Knowledge of White, Grey & Black hat SEO techniques
• Knowledge and experience of Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
• SEO link building
• Creating monitoring & improving Google Adwords campaigns
• An online presence, minimum Twitter / Facebook / Tumbler / Posterous
• A portfolio of work even if done for “free” to show interest and ability
• Knowledge of Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML)
• Knowledge of Content Management Systems (CMS) like Drupal / WordPress
• Understanding of server software and technical elements of websites
• Involvement in out of work groups like SMC Mcr, SEO Manchester etc

How to get a job in SEO / Social Media?

Have a strong Social Media presence; let people know WHO you are and WHAT you do. What to post / not to post on Twitter & Facebook is a debate for another time but a good mix of industry stuff and personal (not too personal) posts works best!

Get to know who’s who in top agencies and end clients by doing research on LinkedIn etc. Follow them on Twitter, interact with them so when they are looking to hire they already know you.

Keep an eye on job boards Jobserve.com, jobsite.co.uk, totaljobs.co.uk

Register with SPECIALIST agencies like Quantica Technology

I’m happy to speak impartially to anyone if you want more advice on this

Tim Guest
@TimTheGuest
@QuanticaTech
Quantica Technology
07798 634538
www.quantica-technology.co.uk  

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