Crandall Associates, Inc. has recently released its 2011 edition of its annual “Online Marketing Salary Guide” and discovered that search engine optimization (SEO) specialists are now earning a base salary of $59,100 this year. This is approximately $9,000 more than what the firm reported a year ago, which revealed that last year, SEO specialists earned a base salary of $50,300. Furthermore, the firm reports that the $59,100 salary for this year is 17.5% higher than last year. Base salary is actually the lowest salary for a given position.
To be fair, Crandall Associates also reports that all positions are currently experiencing increased salaries, except those positions which produce measurable results, such as the SEO business, give the most compensation to its employees, according to Wendy Weber who currently serves as the President of the company.
What does this mean? This reflects the need for more employees in the SEO industry, indicating that the sharp rise of the salaries being offered aims to attract more newcomers in the field. The 2011 study also reveals that the average salary for those employed in the SEO industry is at $75,000 – not much increase from last year’s $74,900. Higher positions mean higher salaries though and it is revealed that high-end salaries rose 2.6% this year, from $87,300 to $85,100.
SEO specialists, as defined by Crandall Associates, are marketing professionals “responsible for getting web sites ranked in top positions on all major search engines utilizing relevant and popular keywords.” The new salary guide also shares the salary of other online professionals such as e-commerce directors ($99,900, $125,900, $167,500), web analytics managers ($70,000, $78,200, $91,500), Internet marketing directors ($84,100, $101,200, $125,800), email marketing managers ($61,100, $73,800, $88,300), and SEO specialists ($59,100, $75,000, $87,300).
Crandall Associates, Inc. is an executive recruitment firm who hires management level professionals for all aspects of marketing, including direct marketing, e-commerce, and interactive marketing. The company also recruits employees for consumer, B2C corporations, and marketing agencies.