Average Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) Salary in United States for 2024
In this article, we will look at the average Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) salary for 2024 in United States and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!
The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.
All salary information is in the local currency, which is the United States dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the USD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.
How Much Does a Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) Make in United States?
A Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) working in United States will typically earn around 65,800 USD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 31,700 USD to the highest average salary of 105,800 USD.
These are average salaries for a Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) in United States and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.
Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.
Distribution of Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) Salaries in United States
So we've looked at the average salaries a Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) will earn in United States. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.
Salary ranges
We already know that a Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) can earn between 31,700 USD and 105,800 USD on average in United States. This is known as the range in statistics.
The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.
Median salary
The median salary for a Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) in United States is 67,800 USD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.
What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 67,800 USD, and 50% of the population earn more than 67,800 USD.
If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.
If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).
Percentiles
Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.
For the average Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) salary in United States, 25% of the population are earning less than 45,600 USD while 75% of the population earn more than 45,600 USD.
75% of the population earn less than 91,700 USD, and 25% of the population earn more than 91,700 USD.
Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.
The difference between a median and an average salary
The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.
- If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
- If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
- If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.
Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) Salary by Experience Level in United States
The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.
We have researched the average search engine optimization specialist (seo) salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.
- 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) in United States that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 36,400 USD.
- 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) salary would increase to 52,300 USD.
- 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO), the average salary would be 71,100 USD.
- 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 84,300 USD.
- 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 92,100 USD.
- 20+ Years Experience. For a Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 99,700 USD.
Average Salary by Experience Chart
| 0-2 Years |
36,400 USD
|
|
| 2-5 Years | +42% |
52,300 USD
|
| 5-10 Years | +31% |
71,100 USD
|
| 10-15 Years | +23% |
84,300 USD
|
| 15-20 Years | +6% |
92,100 USD
|
| 20+ Years | +10% |
99,700 USD
|
Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) Salary by Education Level in United States
As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?
In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.
The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.
In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) in United States based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.
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High School. A Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) in United States with a high school education can earn an average salary of 48,600 USD.
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Certificate or Diploma. A Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) in United States with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 52,300 USD.
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Bachelor's Degree. A Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) in United States with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 77,000 USD.
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Master's Degree. A Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) in United States with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 98,800 USD.
Average Salary by Education Chart
| High School |
48,600 USD
|
|
| Certificate or Diploma | +16% |
52,300 USD
|
| Bachelor's Degree | +46% |
77,000 USD
|
| Master's Degree | +23% |
98,800 USD
|
How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?
The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in United States is around 39,500 to 118,000 USD and takes two years to complete.
As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.
It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.
Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.
Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) Salary Compared by Gender
In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.
In United States, a male search engine optimization specialist (seo) will earn an average of 69,100 USD, while a female search engine optimization specialist (seo) will earn around 65,100 USD.
This means that a male search engine optimization specialist (seo) earns approximately 6% more than a female search engine optimization specialist (seo) for performing the same job.
Average Salary by Gender Chart in United States
| Male |
69,100 USD
|
|
| Female | -6% |
65,100 USD
|
Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) Average Pay Raise in United States
In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.
From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) in United States is around 10% every 16 months.
The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in United States is around 8% every 16 months.
In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.
To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:
Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12
So for this example, it would be:
Annual Increase = ( 10 ÷ 16 ) × 12 = 8%
What this means is that a Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) in United States can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.
Annual Pay Raise by Industry in United States for 2024
In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in United States.
You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.
| Banking |
4%
|
|
| Energy |
8%
|
|
| Information Technology |
3%
|
|
| Healthcare |
7%
|
|
| Travel |
2%
|
|
| Construction |
6%
|
|
| Education |
1%
|
Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) Bonus and Incentive Rates in United States
Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.
Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.
A Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) is a moderate bonus based job, with 58% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.
42% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.
For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6%.
| Received Bonus |
58%
|
|
| No Bonus |
42%
|
What are the Types of Bonus?
There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:
- Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
- Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
- Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
- Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.
Government vs Private Sector Salaries
Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.
Public sector employees in United States earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.
| Public Sector |
98,800 USD
|
|
| Private Sector | -6% |
93,100 USD
|
Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO)
In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO) in United States.
Salary Comparison by City
If you want to compare salaries with different cities in United States, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.
Salary Comparison by State
The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in United States.
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