When planning your agency's SEO strategy, it's important to keep the bigger picture in mind. Having access to the latest data is essential for making informed decisions that will help you stay ahead of the competition.
Our annual State of SEO: Agency Report covers everything from salaries and skills to budgets and reporting, with insights from real agency SEO professionals. This year's report also covers the impact of machine learning and artificial intelligence in agency settings.
If you're looking to set your agency up for success in 2023, this is a great place to start.
A new study sheds light on the inner workings of agency SEO departments. The study, conducted by Searchmetrics, surveyed over 500 SEO professionals from around the world to get insights into the challenges they face, how they're compensated, and what strategies they use to get results for their clients.
The highly-specialized nature of agency SEO presents fewer struggles than in-house when getting buy-in and resources, according to the survey. However, working with a variety of clients comes with unique challenges, such as managing a multitude of performance metrics.
Agency SEO pros earn a little more on average than their in-house counterparts, but their location is also a big factor. In general, SEO professionals in North America and Western Europe tend to make more than those in other parts of the world.
Agency SEO professionals work with a wider variety of budget limits compared to in-house professionals. Strategies used by agency SEO pros tend to vary depending on the size of the budget – strategies also vary between business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B).
The salaries of SEO professionals rely heavily on factors such as experience and location. On average, once SEO professionals in the agency space hit the five-year threshold of their careers, their salaries tend to skew toward the higher brackets.
For example, SEO professionals in India often earn $34,000 or less after 10 years in the industry, while their U.S. counterparts with equivalent experience tend to earn between $50,000-$100,000.
SEO salaries across different cities, states, and regions within the U.S. also vary significantly.
Regional salary trends are important to consider, especially for businesses looking to attract and retain qualified SEO candidates.
The Impact Of Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence
As we move into 2023, it's important for SEO professionals to start planning their strategy for the new year. This can be a daunting task, but luckily there are resources available to help.
One such resource is the State of SEO: Agency Report from Search Engine Journal. This report contains key insights that can help you plan your strategy and stay ahead of the competition.
Some of the key takeaways from the report include the importance of machine learning, inspiring ML strategies that brands are using, and trends to watch out for in the coming year.
Using this information, you can start planning your 2023 SEO strategy and ensure that you are prepared for whatever the new year may bring.