In our series of finding more about people and their jobs we interviewed a full-time digital marketing manager and an SEO expert about his job.
Course Feeder (CF): Hi, what is your name and what is your job title?
Nick Biggs (NB): My name is Nick Biggs and I work in digital marketing and search engine optimisation, also known as SEO.
CF: How long have you worked in digital marketing and SEO?
NB: Around 4 years.
CF: What made you want to be involved in digital marketing and SEO?
NB: I have always been drawn to entrepreneurship and marketing but also wanted to be able work from my computer and travel. This work allows me to live anywhere with an internet connection.
CF: What relevant digital marketing and SEO qualifications do you hold?
NB: I studied marketing and entrepreneurship in college on my way to a business degree.
CF: How long did it take you to qualify in digital marketing and search engine optimisation?
NB: There really aren't any formal qualifications for SEO. Instead you must use past work experience and client testimonials to show potential clients that you are qualified and know why you are talking about. I learned SEO and marketing by building my own sites and ranking them.
CF: What qualities do you have that make you a good person to work in digital marketing and search engine optimisation?
NB: Creativity and the ability to interpret data and create strategies. I think creativity is very important when it comes to developing a strategy for content creation and outreach. The marketers who can come up with unique ways of getting their content in front of other people's audiences will have a major advantage.
CF: What does a typical day working in digital marketing and SEO look like for you?
NB: Pretty normal I think. I work from my home office but other than that it looks just like any other day job. I start around 7 or 8 and work 8 - 10 hours depending on what I have going on.
CF: What is the best thing about working in digital marketing and and SEO?
NB: Location freedom and working with small businesses. I work from my computer so I can work anywhere with an internet connection. I also love being able to work with small businesses and help them grow.
CF: If you didn't working in SEO and marketing, what would be your dream job and why?
NB: If I wasn't doing SEO / marketing for clients then I would be building my own sites. I really enjoy online marketing so I would want to be involved in that with my own sites if I wasn't going the client route.
CF: What do you do in you down time?
NB: I enjoy traveling, skiing, hiking and camping. My wife and I recently spent 13 months oversees slow traveling while working from our computers. Now we live 20 minutes from the ski slopes and try to ski once a week.
CF: For someone looking to work in digital marketing and SEO what advice would you give them?
NB: Start learning and build your own site. There are lots of great resources out there that will teach you the basics of SEO/digital marketing. Start with you own site and when you learn how to create content, build links and rank sites then you can begin taking on clients.
CF: What other jobs have you had in the past?
NB: I was a tech manager at my previous job, hiring, training and managing technicians.
CF: How does your current job compare to your previous jobs?
NB: They don't really. My current job is a much better fit for me. The only thing I really enjoyed about my previous job was the higher amount of face to face interaction.
CF: Thank you for your time and good luck in your chosen profession.
