Why marketing resumes get filtered before a human sees them
Marketing is one of the most diverse job functions — a "marketing manager" at one company manages paid search campaigns; at another, they run brand strategy and events. ATS systems filter based on the specific marketing channels, tools, and metrics in each job description.
The most common marketing resume keyword failures:
- Saying "digital marketing" without specifying channels (SEO, PPC, email, social)
- Listing tools generically ("analytics tools") instead of by name (Google Analytics, Amplitude, HubSpot)
- Missing the specific platform names for paid media (Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads)
- Not including the performance metrics used in the job description (ROAS, CPA, LTV, CAC)
Use the resume keywords checker to compare your resume to any specific marketing job description.
Core marketing resume keywords
Strategy and planning:
- Marketing strategy, integrated marketing
- Go-to-market strategy (GTM), campaign planning
- Brand positioning, brand identity, brand awareness
- Target audience, buyer persona, market segmentation
- Competitive analysis, market research
- Marketing budget management, ROI analysis, marketing mix
Digital marketing channels:
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
- Email marketing, email automation
- Social media marketing, organic social
- Content marketing, content strategy
- Influencer marketing, affiliate marketing
- Display advertising, programmatic advertising
Performance and analytics:
- Google Analytics (GA4), Adobe Analytics
- Marketing attribution, multi-touch attribution
- A/B testing, conversion rate optimisation (CRO)
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), Return on Investment (ROI)
- Customer Lifetime Value (LTV/CLV)
- Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL), Sales Qualified Leads (SQL)
- Funnel analysis, pipeline contribution
Digital marketing and paid media keywords
For performance marketing, growth, or digital marketing roles:
Paid media platforms and keywords:
- Google Ads, Google Search Ads, Google Display Network
- Meta Ads (Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads), Meta Business Manager
- LinkedIn Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager
- TikTok Ads, Twitter/X Ads, Pinterest Ads
- Programmatic advertising, DSP, DMP
- Campaign optimisation, bid management, budget pacing
SEO-specific keywords:
- On-page SEO, off-page SEO, technical SEO
- Keyword research, keyword targeting
- Link building, backlinking, domain authority
- Core Web Vitals, page speed optimisation
- Schema markup, structured data
- Tools: SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, Google Search Console
Email marketing:
- Email automation, drip campaigns, nurture sequences
- Segmentation, personalisation, dynamic content
- Open rate, click-through rate (CTR), unsubscribe rate
- Tools: Mailchimp, HubSpot, Klaviyo, Marketo, Pardot
Content, brand, and B2B marketing keywords
Content marketing:
- Content strategy, editorial calendar
- Copywriting, long-form content, thought leadership
- SEO content, blog writing, article writing
- Video content, podcast, webinar production
- Content distribution, content promotion
Brand and creative:
- Brand guidelines, brand voice, tone of voice
- Creative direction, creative briefs
- Visual identity, design collaboration
- Campaign creative, integrated campaigns
B2B / demand generation:
- Demand generation, lead generation, pipeline generation
- Account-Based Marketing (ABM), target account list
- Sales and marketing alignment, revenue marketing
- HubSpot, Salesforce, Marketo, Pardot (CRM/MAP)
- MQL to SQL conversion, lead scoring
- Case studies, white papers, webinars (B2B content formats)
Marketing operations:
- Marketing automation, workflow automation
- CRM management, CRM data hygiene
- Marketing tech stack, MarTech
- Campaign tracking, UTM parameters, attribution