With the new year fast approaching, now is the time that people start throwing their two pence in on what’s going to be big in 2015 in terms of new roles that companies will be recruiting for over the next 12 months.

This is no different with the digital industry, and is especially important as the sector is constantly evolving, changing and growing as technology advances at such a rapid rate.

As social media algorithms change and Google updates change the way sites appear in search results, these alterations can really affect the industry, and especially affect the way companies do and should hire in the future.

With this in mind, here are my top five digital job trend predictions for 2015.

1) Paid social media experts

It will come as no surprise to anyone who manages a company’s social media presence that organic reach on platforms like Facebook has dropped significantly in 2014. This is due to them changing their algorithms to encourage brands to pay for advertising rather than letting them reach their fans for free. So, say if you have 2,000 fans on Facebook and you post an update, only 10 or 20 of those fans might see that post.

Due to this, in 2015 I think we’ll see a lot of businesses look to paid social media experts as additions to their main marketing and social media team to help them get the most ROI out of advertising. These roles will be a very important part of brand marketing as companies try to get their reach back to its original levels.

2) Decrease in SEO hiring

In the next 12 months I think we’ll see a step away from pure SEO positions in the digital industry, and more of a lean towards a hybrid of content marketing, online PR and Pay-Per-Click roles.

This is because the overdue Penguin 3.0 Google Algorithm update landed in October but was less significant than many SEO Managers had wished, leading them to be much more wary of traditional link-building and look to other methods of increasing site traffic, which includes getting brand mentions on large, high-authority websites and building a good online reputation rather than cheap, low-quality backlinks.

So, while the term “SEO Manager” might still exist – it won’t be as we know it. They will become more ingrained in areas like content marketing, public relations as well as social media as they look to other avenues to drive more people to their website.

3) Digital communications managers

Digital Communications Manager is a position that we’ve seen a huge demand for on our jobs board in the last quarter of 2014. From charities and public sector bodies to communication companies, this is a role that keeps growing and cropping up all over the country in different organisations.

This comes as certain companies look for one person who can look after their social media, online content marketing and PR all in one role. I think this is something that will carry on for the next 12 months as we see lots of digital roles merge together as the lines become blurred in what certain employees’ responsibilities are.

Also, as mentioned in the previous point, this sort of role proves that public relations is a huge part of digital marketing and will continue to be in 2015.

4) Less digital agency outsourcing

Digital agencies will always have a part to play in the industry, so this point isn’t to say that they’re going to be completely wiped out in the next 12 months, but it is fair to say that a lot of companies will look to hire their own digital marketing staff that can work closer to home and be more connected to their business.

This is because the importance of having a strong digital presence is becoming more apparent to brands that need to work harder to reach their fans on social media or rank higher on search engine results pages, and they need to have more full-time, dedicated staff who can make this happen.

Digital agencies won’t be able to dedicate all of their time to one company, so in 2015 I think we’ll see a lot of big organisations step away from agencies and look to hire in-house talent instead.

5) More focus on analytics

Over the last 12 months, it’s become clear that big brands have identified that the way to keep their customers engaged and loyal is to fully understand them to deliver the best content and user experience, and this – in turn – will result in more revenue and increased profits.

There was an increase in the hiring of Insights and Analyst employees who are dedicated to getting to know brands’ customers’ habits and activity better to deliver the best possible service and experience to them.

This said, in 2015 I think this will continue to be the case as companies look to overtake their competitors and become market leaders in terms of customer service and user experience.