How much salary can you expect within SEO or SEM? Brath’s annual industry survey is here.
Brath’s industry survey is completed for this year and we received a few more responses than last year, landing at 59. As you understand, this is not a basis for statistics, but since the industry is small, it can still provide some indication — at the very least, the survey shows what the situation looks like for these 59 respondents. Enough about that, here are the numbers.
Find updated figures here: Salaries in SEO and SEM 2021
This year’s industry survey
Time for a job change?
Of those who responded this year, 50% have considered changing jobs during the past year. 68% have been offered a new job, which is a high number but actually a decrease from last year’s survey, where 80% had received an offer. 30% have changed jobs during the year.
Where do you earn the most?
There are some geographical differences, and these align fairly well with last year. The main difference is that Norrland has surpassed both Svealand and Götaland (excluding Stockholm from Svealand) in salaries this year.
- Götaland: 33,000 SEK/month
- Svealand excluding Stockholm: 32,000 SEK/month
- Stockholm: 38,395 SEK/month
- Norrland: 35,990 SEK/month
How much does salary increase per year?
Salary increases are fairly significant in the industry, where someone with 1 year or less experience averages 28,606 SEK/month, while someone with 8 years or more averages over 45,000 SEK. The difference between the first year and the most senior level shows an increase of 2,148 SEK per year in monthly salary.
- 1 year: 28,606 SEK/month
- 2–4 years: 35,553 SEK/month
- 5–7 years: 40,032 SEK/month
- 8 years or more: 45,791 SEK/month
Work at a small agency or a big company?
Where is it best to work — where many others are doing search marketing, or where you’re the only one in the role? The image above shows salary depending on the number of employees at the company also working with SEO or SEM.
- 1 employee: 37,435 SEK/month
- 2–7 employees: 34,420 SEK/month
- 7–14 employees: 41,527 SEK/month
- 15–30 employees: 37,548 SEK/month
- 31 or more: 37,500 SEK/month
Average salary
And finally, the average salary for all respondents: 36,950 SEK/month, a little lower than last year’s 38,944 SEK. We can assume there hasn’t been an actual pay cut in the industry but rather that the difference comes from who responded.
Magnus Bråth
Consultant & Adviser
Magnus is one of the world's most prominent search marketing specialists and primarily works with management and strategy at his agency Brath AB.