Salaries are rising sharply in 2021. Across the board, wages in 2021 have climbed significantly since the last industry survey. The average salary for everyone this year lands at SEK 42,975 per month.
Just like in previous years, many are considering changing workplaces, and the offers are even more frequent. 23% have changed jobs in the past year, and 56% have considered making a move.
Mobility within the industry
- Have considered changing workplace: 56%
- Have received an offer during the year: 70%
- Have changed workplace during the year: 23%
Comment
There has long been a shortage of specialists within SEO and SEM. On the agency side, many have chosen to train and develop their own specialists, while in-house teams have traditionally found this more difficult, which is why they tend to recruit aggressively. This also explains the relatively low starting salaries and the rapid salary growth. A new hire at an agency essentially needs to learn the entire craft, but after a year or two they already become a valuable team member.
Salary development
Salary growth is still steep within the search industry, where someone who has worked for eight or more years almost earns double the salary of someone who has just started. One interpretation is that there is still a shortage of senior competence in the industry, while juniors are more common.
Salary based on years in the industry
- 1 year: SEK 27,000 / month
- 2–4 years: SEK 36,000 / month
- 5–7 years: SEK 42,000 / month
- 8 or more years: SEK 50,000 / month
Where in the country are salaries the highest?
Unlike previous years, the metropolitan areas stand out more. Stockholm is clearly the location with the highest salaries, but Götaland has caught up compared to previous years.
Salary based on geographic location
Götaland: SEK 39,000
Svealand excluding Stockholm: SEK 36,000
Norrland: SEK 36,000
Stockholm: SEK 48,000
Better to be at a larger or smaller workplace?
Unlike previous years, workplaces with more people working in SEO or SEM now stand out with higher salaries. With the exception of one-person teams, the rule is: the more people working with SEO and SEM at your workplace, the higher the salaries.
1: SEK 42,000 / month
2–7: SEK 39,000 / month
7–14: SEK 40,000 / month
15–30: SEK 48,000 / month
31 or more: SEK 49,000 / month
Invest in a university degree?
An interesting observation from this year’s survey is that a university education doesn’t seem to make much difference in the long run. For the starting salary, however, it makes a big difference. Overall, the average salary for both those with and without a university education is SEK 43,000 / month.
For everyone in their first year in the industry, as mentioned, there is a difference. A university degree raises the salary by SEK 6,000 / month, from SEK 33,000 to SEK 39,000.
What benefits can one expect within SEO/SEM?
Only 31 out of 80 respondents reported having benefits in addition to salary. The most common benefit is a phone.
What does an SEO or SEM professional do?
The usual tasks such as on- and off-page work, link strategies, or in the case of SEM, setting up accounts, writing ads, and similar activities were not examined in this survey. Instead, the survey looked at other responsibilities that may influence salary. Among the respondents, the following number reported having these tasks:
- 39 lead projects
- 26 have budget responsibility
- 15 have personnel responsibility
- 27 produce
- 27 write texts
- 39 have client contact
- 19 are responsible for ads
50 of the respondents stated that they hold one or more Google certifications. The most common by far is Google Analytics, with 23 certified.
About the survey
The survey collected 80 responses through an online questionnaire. This means the sample size is too small to draw conclusions about the industry as a whole. However, regarding the individuals who responded, the data is of course accurate. The industry is still relatively small compared to most others, which makes 80 participants a not insignificant share.
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.