Is Your SEO Salary Fair? Find Out Now!
More than 73% of SEOs believe their salaries are not competitive, and median global SEO earnings stand at around $51,680.
However, 46% of SEOs earn under $50,000 annually, placing them significantly behind other skilled digital marketing and tech roles.
Geographic disparities are stark: SEOs in the US earn approximately 60% more than their European counterparts despite equivalent skill sets.
While in-house SEOs enjoy stability, they often hit salary ceilings quickly, whereas specialized freelancers who scale clients can earn more than senior in-house professionals.
The video offers actionable strategies to improve earnings: specializing in high-demand niches, tracking revenue impact, negotiating confidently, and exploring new markets.
I'm Rejoice Ojiaku and I'm the SEO manager at Nelson Boss.com Unlimited and I'm also the co-founder of BDC UK and I'm here to speak to you guys about salaries. Did you know that over 73% of SEOs think that their salary isn't competitive? And I had just seen the latest survey results and let me tell you, they do tell a story. According to the survey, the median SEO salary is around $51,680 worldwide. And that sounds fine at first, but here's the reality. More than 46% of SEOs earn under $50,000 a year. And this is compared to other highskilled jobs such as tech or other jobs in digital marketing. It just goes to show that SEOs are still far behind. From what I've seen, roll type and experience change everything. I know freelancers who earn more than in-house senior SEOs. And they do this because they scaled their clients. They also do this because they specialize in high demand markets. Meanwhile, in-house SEOs are still hitting that ceiling and they're hitting it quite fast. I mean,
sure, they get the stability, they get the perks, but what about the growth? The growth isn't always there. According to the survey, location is a big deal. In the survey, it says that those SEOs in the US are earning around 60% more than SEOs in Europe, and they earning that with the same skill sets. This just shows you how uneven the market is right now and how unfair it is right now. However, I don't want to be here to be the bearer of bad news because other SEOs sometimes myself may feel stuck when it comes to your salary. But there is good news and the good news is there are ways for you to improve this. You can either specialize in high niche markets. You can look at the revenue that you drive. You shouldn't be afraid to negotiate and explore new markets. But don't just take my word. If you want to see exactly how your salary stacks up worldwide, then please check out SE Rankings full survey. And trust me, the numbers, they will shock you. Until next time.
Key takeaways
Chapters
Quotes
“Over 73% of SEOs think that their salary isn't competitive.” — Rejoice Ojiaku
“More than 46% of SEOs earn under $50,000 a year, compared to other high-skilled jobs such as tech or other jobs in digital marketing. SEOs are still far behind.” — Rejoice Ojiaku
“I know freelancers who earn more than in-house senior SEOs because they scaled their clients and specialize in high demand markets.” — Rejoice Ojiaku
“Those SEOs in the US are earning around 60% more than SEOs in Europe with the same skill sets. This shows you how uneven the market is right now.” — Rejoice Ojiaku