your SEO or PPC teams in need of re-skilling, or an upgrade? //
You may have noticed this trend if you reviewed the schedule for SMX Advanced on June 13-14:
Eleven sessions have titles that include “How generative AI is changing SEO as a career.”
This doesn’t even include four other sessions that cover related topics, such as “Revolutionize PPC with GPT.”
Hey, I get it. Marketing executives and marketers attended the most important industry events.
- Stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends.
- New products and services are available.
- Relationships should be maintained and built.
Attending leading trade shows and conferences keeps you competitive and informed.
There’s no doubt that generative AI is going to revolutionize PPC and SEO.
Whether you attended SMX Advanced, or not, now is the time to ask a new question: Do your SEO and PPC team need reskilling?
Definition of upskilling and downskilling
Upskilling is the process of learning new skills to enhance an employee’s existing set. These skills improve the worker’s performance and could potentially advance them in their career.
Employee reskilling is the process of learning new skills that are not part of an employee’s current skill set. These skills may be closely related to the worker’s current job, but sometimes they are geared towards a completely different career path.
Why do 80% PPC specialists require upskilling skills?
According to my experience, around 80% of PPC specialists in brands or agencies are likely to need upskilling and about 20% will require reskilling.
Why?
Elizabeth Reid, Vice President and General Manager of Search at Google, stated that “In this new, generative experience, Search Ads will continue to show up in dedicated ad spots throughout the page.”
Google’s main source of income is advertising. This accounts for around 80% percent of its total revenue.
Around 80% of PPC experts will need to upgrade their skills in order to benefit from Google’s Search generative experience (SGE).
Imagine that brands and agencies are trying to stay ahead of their competitors by two steps.
If this is the case, then they should also offer their PPC specialists some training or workshops to help them take advantage of the new opportunities that come with the migration to Google Analytics 4(GA4).
Remarketing campaigns can be used to re-engage GA4 audiences, such as “Likely 7 day purchasers” or “Predicted top 28-day spenders”, with a GA4 property linked to Google Ads.
These skills improve a worker’s performance in his or her current role.
Why will 20% of your PPC staff need to be retrained?
You already know that AI is able to scale the production of assets in order to deliver the most relevant version across all channels, via Performance Max, Video Action Campaigns, App and App action campaigns.
AI-powered solutions are set to play a key role in the creative process, from media planning to campaign planning.
This will require learning new skills that are not part of the existing skill set for a PPC Manager.
Why are 80% of SEO experts in need of reskilling?
According to my experience, around 20% of SEO specialists in brands or agencies may need to upgrade their skills this summer. However, around 80% might need to reskill. It’s also probably time to reorganize.
Yes, I understand Reid said: “As Google brings generative AI to Search, we are committed to continuing to send valuable traffic to websites across the web.”
SEO is still alive. It has also survived many major Google algorithms updates, including the Panda update in 2011. It should also survive SGE 2023.
To maintain or improve rankings in search engines, increase website traffic and convert visitors, SEO should be part of a Venn Diagram that also includes content marketing and social marketing.
Why?
Google’s survival in the new Search era is not dependent on SEO’s success. Many SEOs will have to acquire new skills that are not part of their current skill set.
Lauren Clark, Product Manager for Google Search, wrote a blog post entitled ” Get more perspectives on Search by learning from other people’s experiences.”
In the weeks to come, you might see the Perspectives filter at the top when searching for things that could benefit from other people’s experiences. You’ll only see videos, written posts, images and long-form videos that have been shared on social media, discussion boards and Q&A websites.
GA4 now has new default channels, which allow SEOs to track the performance of organic search, organic social media, organic video and organic shopping. The referral channel allows you to see who is coming from other websites/apps that do not have ads (e.g. blogs, news sites).
Plus, new research from SparkToro has found that “a substantial portion of social traffic is referred without accurate, proper referral data and misclassified as “direct.” Fishkin also adds “for those who invest in proactive social media marketing we recommend using unique links to track activity on social promotions.”
Many brands and agencies need to adopt new organizational structures.
When long and short videos, images and written posts appear in the perspective filter, it is important that the SEO, content and social media teams are integrated.
It makes sense to create a reporting structure that includes the digital PR team.
Think with Google published this article in June 2023: ” Do you have the essentials for your marketing to be successful with AI?“.
- “Silos are a kryptonite to AI. They limit its ability for it to maximize and optimize performance.”
Alex Clemente is also quoted as the managing director of Harvard Business Review Analytic Services.
- “Cross functional teams will need a culture of test-and learn where leaders can quickly adapt the plan if results do not come as expected or double down on that which works.”
Hey, the reorganization is overdue. Google has integrated video, news and images, maps, webpages, and maps since they announced Universal Search in 2007.
It has taken 16 years for brands and agencies to finally get everyone who is involved in the creation of content to work together.
It’s time to change the way marketing and executive teams are structured.
Benjamin Franklin, at the time of signing the Declaration of Independence said, “We all must hang together or, most certainly, we will all hang separately”.
What are the next steps for marketers and executives?
What should you do now?
After you have learned as much as possible about generative AI, and other topics related to it, you may want to spend some time thinking about the differences between reskilling employees and upskilling them.
Find out if the majority of your PPC experts need the first, while the majority of your SEO specialists require the second.
Google Digital Garage offers a variety of free online courses for employees. Some of the courses are offered by Google and others come from their partners or universities.
Marketers and executives might also reimburse their staff for obtaining certifications from a reputable institute.
The post Does your SEO and PPC team need to upskill or reskill? first appeared on Search Engine Land.