If you've decided to expand your team, or perhaps hire your first link marketer, there are some important qualities to look for in potential hires. A candidate with many of these five qualities is more likely to be a successful and productive member of your link marketing team.
There are certain traits to look for in a job applicant that can indicate whether the candidate will be a successful and productive member of your link marketing team. If you’ve decided to expand your team, or perhaps hire your first link marketer, here are some important qualities to look for in potential hires.
Multitasking
The ability to handle several projects at once is extremely important in link marketing. At any given time, link marketers are approaching Webmasters for links, developing a strong social media profile, handling link requests, putting together a viral marketing campaign, negotiating a link deal, mining competitor’s backlinks, researching industry trends to blog about, working with content developers, finding niche directories, and the list goes on. Ideally, this person can quickly and easily switch from task-to-task.
Broad Background
Along with being able to multitask, the applicant needs to have a variety of interests. This is important to expand the link search and maximize results.
Take the example of an apparel site. If a link marketer were only interested in clothing and fashion, this person would be rather limited with places to promote an apparel site. Someone who has a broader set of interests could pull in their knowledge of travel, weddings, parenting, outdoor activities, clubbing, music, and so on. With great knowledge comes great linking opportunity.
An agency or SEO firm needs to give special consideration to this because a link marketer will work on a variety of client topics. Perhaps they’ll start the day working on a plastic surgery client, then end the day promoting a construction equipment site. Having a broad set of interests will make this transition easier.
Analytical Mind
In order to analyze the potential value of a link, the person needs an analytical mind to take in lots of data and make sound judgments. There are many factors that influence how valuable a link is — from the site’s backlinks, to the age of the site, to the type of link, to rankings, and the list goes on. Just as Wall Street’s stock analysis often have conflicting recommendations, SEOs rarely agree on a link’s value. Only Google truly knows the link’s true value, and they’re not telling.
Diligent and Organized
Link marketing can require a lot of follow-up work, recordkeeping, and even managing contributors such as writers and developers. This requires an attentive and thorough person for maximum success.
Creative
I’ve covered creativity in link building many times in my columns. Creativity is beneficial in every aspect, from how to approach Webmasters, to developing viral campaigns, to content ideas, to promotions.
A creative person will benefit the entire team, from group brainstorming sessions to mentoring others one-on-one. Often when a fellow team member comes to a roadblock they’ll turn to this type of person for ideas.
Of course, not everyone on your team will possess all these qualities. Some might lean more to the analytical side, while others are more creative. Still others might be better at multitasking. The key is to build a balanced team.
If you already have diligent, multitasking employees, then it’s time to bring in more creative people. This allows for employees to mentor each other and improve their weaker areas. The multitasker can teach the creative person some tricks, and the creative person can help the diligent worker open up to creative ideas. And I’m in no way implying that diligent or creative people are lacking in either area by default.
Now it’s time to sit down with the human resources department to make sure everyone is on the same page in terms of recruiting, interviewing, and hiring.