Digital Marketing Skills: 15 Essentials That Every Marketer Should Have

There are many digital marketing skills that digital marketer professionals must have to be successful.

As our world continues to become more digital, the importance of digital marketing cannot be overstated.

From social media to email marketing, search engine optimization to pay-per-click advertising, digital marketing skills are essential in today’s online-focused world.

In this blog post, we’re going to explore 15 essential digital marketing skills that are a must-have for any professional or business owner looking to navigate the digital landscape successfully.

Why Is This Article Important?

In a field as dynamic and fast-paced as digital marketing, staying updated with the latest trends and skills is crucial.

This article is here to help you do just that. Backed by industry knowledge and research, it provides a comprehensive list of vital digital marketing skills that will keep you ahead of the curve.

Essential Digital Marketing Skills

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is all about optimizing a website or web page to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). The higher your site ranks, the more visibility it gets, leading to more traffic and potential customers.

SEO includes techniques like keyword research to understand what terms your audience is using, content optimization to make your pages more relevant, and link building to boost your site’s authority. An understanding of SEO is fundamental for any digital marketer.

Learn SEO with these courses:

1. Learn SEO Basics With Online SEO Course For Beginners – BitDegree
2. SEO Simplified – Teachable
3. Free SEO Tutorial – SEO Tutorial for Beginners – Udemy
4. Starter Pack (Series) – Moz Academy
5. SEO Fundamentals – Moz Academy

2. Content Marketing

Content marketing is all about creating and sharing valuable, relevant content to attract a target audience. The goal? Turning those readers or viewers into customers.

This could mean crafting compelling blog posts, creating informative infographics, or producing engaging videos. A good content marketer understands their audience’s needs and knows how to create content that meets those needs.

Learn content marketing with these courses

1. HubSpot Content Marketing Certification
2. The Strategy of Content Marketing – Coursera
3. Content Marketing Fundamentals (Free with Certification) – Digital Marketing FC
4. Building A Content Marketing Engine – This Is Good Marketing

3. Social Media Marketing

With most people spending a significant amount of their time on social media platforms, it’s no wonder social media marketing is a critical skill. It’s about connecting with your audience where they’re spending their time.

From Facebook to Instagram, Twitter to LinkedIn, a successful social media marketer knows how to leverage these platforms to engage with their audience, promote their brand, and ultimately drive sales.

Learn social media marketing with these courses

1. Meta Social Media Marketing – Coursera
2. Social Media Marketing Mastery 2023 | Get Unlimited Traffic – Udemy
3. Social Media Marketing Course -The Step by Step Guide – Coursetto
4. Digital Marketing Business Online For Free Social Media 2022 – CoursesBits
5. Online Business Pro Marketers – Teachable

4. Email Marketing

Despite the rise of social media, email marketing remains a highly effective digital marketing channel. It involves sending out email messages to a list of subscribers with the intent to promote a product, service, or brand. Successful email marketers know how to segment their audience for more personalized messages, craft compelling subject lines, and use A/B testing to determine what works best.

Learn Email marketing with these courses

1. Email Marketing Beginner – The Web Doctor
2. Email Marketing Course for Beginners (Email Marketing Explained) – YouTube
3. Email Marketing Jumpstart – Productive Blogging
4. Email Marketing Magic – Smart Passive Income
5. Learn How to Use Email Marketing – The Programming Buddy Club

5. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

PPC advertising is an online advertising model in which businesses pay each time someone clicks on their ad. This is most commonly associated with search engine advertising, where your ads appear at the top of the search results. Understanding how to effectively use PPC advertising can drive immediate traffic to your site and can be a powerful tool when used in conjunction with SEO.

Learn PPC Advertising with these courses

1. The Complete Google AdWords Course: Beginner to Advanced! – Teachable
2. Google Ads 2023: How to Drive Sales With PPC! – Udemy
3. Free Online Google Ads Training – Skillshop – Google Skillshop
4. Complete Digital Advertising Course: PPC Advertising Mastery – Udemy
5. Paid Advertising: The Complete Google & Facebook Ads Course – ClickMinded

6. Display Advertising

Display advertising is like online billboards. They are the banners or small boxes on websites, often image-based, used to promote a product or service. They can be particularly effective for brand awareness campaigns. A good digital marketer should understand the principles of effective display advertising, such as compelling visuals and concise copy, and know how to place ads for the best visibility.

7. Affiliate Marketing

In affiliate marketing, businesses pay a commission to affiliates for every sale generated from their referral. As a digital marketer, understanding how affiliate marketing works can add another tool to your arsenal. Affiliate marketers promote products or services on their websites or social media channels and can be an effective way to boost sales or reach new audiences.

Learn affiliate marketing with these courses

1. Authority Hacker
2. The Affiliate Lab
3. Blog Growth Engine
4. Beginner Affiliate Marketing – Massive Profit Marketing
5. Best Affiliate Marketing Course For Beginners 2023 – CPA Marketing Tutorial

8. Web Analytics

Web analytics involves collecting and analyzing data about website traffic. This includes being proficient with Google Analytics and collecting data about where your visitors are coming from, what pages they’re visiting, how long they stay, and more.

Understanding this data is crucial for making informed decisions about your website and marketing strategies. It helps to understand what’s working and what’s not, enabling you to optimize your efforts.

Learn web analytics with these courses

1. Introduction to Web Analytics – Online Course – FutureLearn
2. 100% Free Udemy Certificate Courses – Google Analytics, GA4, GTM. How to improve your marketing? – Udemy
3. Free Online Course: Google Analytics for Beginners from Google – Class Central
4. Web Analytics Courses – UCSD Extended Studies
5. Google Analytics 101 + 201 package deal – TechSoup

9. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

CRO is all about improving the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action, whether that’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or something else. This involves understanding how users move through your site, what actions they take, and what’s stopping them from completing your goals. It’s a critical skill for improving the effectiveness of your site and increasing your return on investment.

Learn CRO with these courses

1. Introduction to Conversion Rate Optimization – Coursetreat
2. Grow your sales with Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) – Impodays
3. Conversion Rate Optimization – Digital Marketing Institute of America
4. Conversion Optimization Course Online – Live CRO Training – Shamsher Khan
5. ConversionWise – The Ultimate Conversion Rate Optimisation Course Download – X7 Courses

10. Data Analytics

Data analysis involves collecting, cleaning, and interpreting data to make informed decisions. It’s crucial in understanding consumer behavior, identifying trends, and making evidence-based strategic decisions.

Data analysts often use statistical software, machine learning, and AI tools to analyze data, so familiarity with these tools can be a significant advantage.

11. Reporting and Measurement

Being able to measure the success of your digital marketing efforts is vital. Reporting and measurement involve collecting and analyzing data related to your marketing campaigns.

This includes metrics like click-through rates, conversion rates, bounce rates, and more. Understanding these metrics and being able to interpret them helps you assess the effectiveness of your campaigns, make necessary adjustments, and plan for the future.

12. Creativity

While it might not be the first skill that comes to mind when thinking about digital marketing, creativity plays a significant role. From creating engaging content and designing eye-catching ads to developing innovative marketing strategies, creativity is a valuable asset in the digital marketing world.

Marketers who can think outside the box and bring fresh ideas to the table often have an edge over their competition.

Develop your creativity with these courses

1. 100% Free Udemy Certificate Courses – Unlock Creativity For Any Topic And Become More Creative – Udemy
2. The Complete Creativity Course: Unleash Your Innovation Now! – Impodays
3. Ignite Your Everyday Creativity – Coursera
4. Creativity, Innovation and Transformation – Coursera

13. Problem-Solving

In the ever-changing world of digital marketing, challenges are inevitable. Whether it’s figuring out why a campaign isn’t performing as expected or how to increase website traffic, problem-solving skills are crucial.

Being able to identify problems, come up with potential solutions, and then test those solutions is a valuable skill for any digital marketer.

14. Communication

Effective communication is at the heart of digital marketing. Whether it’s writing a compelling email newsletter, pitching to a client, or collaborating with your marketing team, being able to communicate clearly and effectively is crucial.

This includes both written and verbal communication. Good communicators can convey their ideas clearly, listen to others, give and receive feedback constructively, and tailor their message to their audience.

15. Teamwork

Digital marketing is often a team effort. Whether you’re working in an agency, in-house, or even as a freelancer, you’re likely to be working with others in some capacity. Sales and marketing teams must work with finance, developers, and senior management in order to execute their work.

Being able to work effectively as part of a team, including being reliable, respectful of others’ ideas, and giving and receiving feedback, is an essential skill for all digital marketing professionals.

Conclusion

Digital marketing is an incredibly competitive field and you need to keep learning to stay on top of the game.

Even if you possess a certain skillset, you should always strive to be a continuous learner.

As digital marketing evolves, the competencies and number of skills required is only going to increase!