Digital marketing is very different from traditional marketing and requires different skill sets. When hiring for digital marketing positions, you want candidates that are technologically savvy. You also want people that are capable of planning and carrying out marketing campaigns. Since digital marketing is an evolving field, the ability to learn new technologies is also important.

Here are some important digital marketing interview questions for testing candidates:

1. What do you know about Digital Marketing?

You want to know if they understand the basics of digital marketing. Can they tell you why digital marketing is more effective than offline marketing, and what the difference is between the two? Do they know how to reach out to current and potential clients online? Do they know how to keep their audience engaged? Do they know about social media marketing and email marketing? What do they know about inbound and outbound marketing? Do they know how to carry out market research and use multiple marketing channels?

2. Tell me about some of the benefits of Digital Marketing.

You want potential candidates to explain to you how digital marketing has changed the scope of advertising. Where once marketing was a one-sided affair in which consumers had little say in the campaigns you put out, it is almost mandatory now to gauge what the consumers think and how they behave and to incorporate that information in an upcoming campaign for better results. With digital marketing, you can reach out quickly to a diverse, worldwide audience and generate more leads. If you make errors in your marketing campaign, you can correct them at once. You can measure how well your campaign is working and people’s reactions to it.

3. Do you have a website?

Some recruiters think it is essential for a candidate seeking a career in digital marketing to have a personal website, but not having one doesn’t necessarily detract from their hiring potential. Some people may have privacy concerns or may not feel the need to have their website. What matters is do they know what is involved with building and running a site? Do they know how to register a domain and get web hosting? Do they know about content management, content creation, and SEO?

If they are well-informed and experienced in these aspects, they will be able to do the work you’re hiring them for.

4. Can you suggest ways to increase traffic to a website?

You want to know if the candidate understands that building a good website is only one step in digital marketing. The site must also attract a targeted audience for your marketing plan to work. There are several ways to do this. Make the website easy to use and navigate, and provide clear and easy to access information. Update the website content regularly and include the right SEO keywords and terms to get noticed by search engines.

Have a prominently displayed email sign-up and offer free gifts to encourage people to sign up for your newsletter. Compile and send the newsletter on a regular basis. Interact with a potential audience on social media and direct them to the website.

5. What do you know about SEO?

Search engine optimization is such an important aspect of digital marketing that being uninformed on this aspect is just not going to cut it for potential marketing candidates. They must know how to research for specific words and phrases that people use to search for things and how to use that research to produced optimized content that will make your website rank higher in search engine results and bring you the desired traffic. If SEO didn’t give your website visibility and traffic, the website wouldn’t be of much use for your business.

6. What are the limitations of digital marketing?

Along with knowing the benefits of digital marketing, candidates should also be aware of its limitations. While digital marketing is inexpensive and offers access to more people, it also makes it difficult for anyone to stand out in the crowd of marketers. The audience has limited time and a limited attention span, and you must constantly be on your toes to keep them engaged. If you slack or are not up to par, they will move on to someone they find more engaging.

It can get overwhelming to process the huge amounts of available information and data, and to decide which tools and platforms will bring the most benefits. If you aren’t careful, you can end up wasting time rather than utilizing it.