A study conducted by Eli Schwartz, a growth advisor and SEO strategic consultant, shows the demand for SEO professionals in increasing, creating a “seller’s market.”
Data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator reveals there are 47.5k US job openings related to SEO, and 909K professionals in the US with “SEO” in their profile. That works out to 20 people for every job, a ratio of 20:1.
For comparison’s sake, here are some ratios for other types of jobs:
- For software engineers the ratio is 10:1.
- For product managers, the ratio is 30:1.
- For designers, the ratio is 23:1
Numbers Are in Favor of SEOs
Breaking down the data even further, there are 26.5k people on LinkedIn with the word “SEO” in their job title. Of those people, the majority work in marketing and advertising.
Most work in small-to-mid sized companies with anywhere from 1 to 200 employees. A decidedly small number of SEO professionals (864) are self-employed.
Data suggests that a significant number of SEO professionals (10.5k) are relatively new to the field with 1 to 5 years of experience. There are around 4k SEOs with 6-10 years of experience, and 3k with 10+ years of experience.
Related: 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Hiring an SEO Vendor
Barely Enough Talent to Meet Demand
This is where the data gets especially interesting, as 12k of current SEO job openings are looking for someone with mid-senior level experience and above. Assuming an SEO with at least 3-years of experience meets the qualification of being mid-senior level, then there are 12.5k qualified professionals on LinkedIn.
That’s almost a ratio of 1:1, which makes this a “seller’s market” for SEOs, according to the author of this study.
“In short if you are looking for an SEO role and have experience, this is a sellers’ market. Know who your competition might and definitely don’t underprice yourself.”
Companies who are looking to hire SEOs should prepare for some competition when it comes to recruiting talent, as there are now more workplaces in the US market that have the same role to fill.
Related: 140 Top SEO Experts You Should Be Following
