The Most Sought-After Marketing Skills [Semrush Study]

The numbers are in—digital marketing is on the rise. A Semrush study shows that employers are looking for candidates skilled in writing, social media, analytics, and other job-specific specialties to help bolster their marketing efforts around the world. And marketers themselves are searching for online courses at increased rates, to shore up those skills and ensure they stay competitive.

According to the study, digital marketing courses (with 177,000 average monthly searches) are the most popular. Other in-demand course topics include project management (72,154 average monthly searches), web design (47,885 average monthly searches), and product management (25,677 average monthly searches).

These numbers are good, especially for anyone anxious about being replaced by generative AI. The fundamentals of digital marketing with a human touch—like content creation—remains a business need even with the rise of helpful tools. And, evidenced by the skills prioritized in their job postings, businesses continue to recognize the value of high-quality, human-created content.

Keep reading for a more detailed breakdown of the study’s findings.

To know which marketing skills are the most in-demand, we first have to understand the job landscape in which marketers will use them.

Semrush found that “digital marketing jobs” was the top job search in the marketing space globally, with an average monthly search volume of 57,885. This was followed closely by project management (54,769 monthly search volume), copywriting (51,754 MSV), and content writing (49,115 MSV).

It’s a similar story in the United States. Project management (24,462 MSV) was the top job search, followed by proofreading (21,123 MSV), writing (15,054 MSV), and communication (11,592 MSV).

Semrush also surveyed 1,161 unique job listings on Indeed.com to find out which job skills marketing employers really want.

In terms of candidate background, marketing experience was the most important factor for employers. It was mentioned in 148 unique job listings. Employers also sought experience interacting with customers, prior management roles, and sales experience.

But how much experience were they looking for?

171 job listings asked for two years experience. Three years was the runner up, appearing in 146 roles, and five years came in third, meaning today’s in-demand marketers don’t need to be long-tenured, seasoned veterans.

But experience can only be gained on the job. What about other skills?

Communication skills were the most in-demand by a wide margin, appearing in 1,220 unique job listings, followed by social media, appearing in 480.

Other in-demand expertise included writing, communication, analytics, project management, and SEO—all of which were popular course topics globally.

Do the most popular courses align with the most in-demand marketing skills on the job front? In short, yes.

According to Semrush, digital marketing courses are the most popular by a large margin. With an average MSV of 177,000, it was 145% higher than the runner-up, “project management courses.”

Why is digital marketing such a popular search?In part, because it’s such a diverse category.

On one hand, beginners might be looking for a single all-encompassing fundamentals course, like Google’s Fundamentals of Digital Marketing course.

On the other hand, the results page suggests that many searchers are looking for variety. For example, Semrush Academy’s entire course catalog focuses on all aspects of digital marketing, including subtopics like SEO (another popular search, with an MSV of 17,969), content marketing, social media, sales, PPC, and business and career-related courses.

Nonetheless, searchers are looking for more specific topics too. They’ve sought education in web design (47,885 MSV), public speaking (17,075 MSV), copywriting (16,331 MSV), networking (12,723), and leadership (11,631).

While it didn’t dominate in search volume, “Content creation courses” saw the biggest spike in interest, with search volume increasing by 131.6%, further underlining the continued importance of a human touch in the creative process despite the rise of generative AI.

Other topics that grew in popularity include diversity and inclusion, marketing analytics, process control, and writing.

In the United States, interest largely aligned with global trends. Once again, the most searched course topic was digital marketing, followed by project management and copywriting.

But if we look at which terms increased at the highest rate, there are some interesting insights.

At a 200% increase, “marketing coordinator courses” had the sharpest change. Though, considering it only saw an average of 19 queries per month, interest still remains relatively low, at least for now.

US searchers also looked for SEO and content creation courses, each one seeing a 126.9% increase in search volume in 2022.

Of the course topics with a high interest spike, “copywriting courses” had the largest overall search volume, with an average MSV of 3,292.

So what does it all mean?

In short, people want education that covers all stages of the digital marketing process, from project management and coordination to content creation, optimization, and analytics. And with a wealth of options at their fingertips—like our own Semrush Academy—they’ll find what they need relatively easily.

So what’s the ultimate takeaway from all this marketing data?

As digital marketing continues to become more desirable, current and aspiring marketers want to stay competitive by honing new skills through education and training, and gaining experience in new roles.