SEO
Looking for Affordable SEO Services? Here’s What You Need to Know

For someone starting a new business, this figure could be way outside your reach. So how do you find a truly affordable SEO solution that can fit any budget? Well, it comes down to asking yourself three simple questions:
- What SEO services does your website need?
- Can you do it yourself?
- If not, how can you find an affordable SEO service provider to do it for you?
In this article, we will answer all these questions and give you everything you need to know when looking for affordable SEO services.
There are four main SEO services you need to take into consideration: on-page, off-page (mainly link building), technical, and local. Although all of these aspects play a role in every website, you may not need help in every area.
Here’s the thing. If you go directly to an agency and sign up for a standard retainer, you will be paying for work in all of these areas. But the fact is you may already have killer links and just need some on-page optimizations, or vice versa.
This means that even if the retainer is within your budget, you could be paying for work you don’t really need.
So with that in mind, let’s take a more detailed look at what each service is, how you can figure out if you need it, and which aspects (if any) you can manage yourself.
On-page optimization
On-page optimization is where you improve content to help you rank higher. Sometimes, even the smallest changes can be the difference between your website being on the first or third page of Google.
It’s good to start your evaluation with on-page because these are the aspects you can control. Examples of some common on-page optimizations include:
Do I need it?
The easiest way is to look at the SERP overview in Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer for the keyword you want to rank for. First, are you ranking? And if so, are you ranking as high as you’d like?

You need to do this on a page-by-page basis rather than sitewise to analyze which pages need improvement.
Can I do it myself?
The key here is to focus on search intent. If your page is not ranking as highly as you’d like, check to see whether it aligns with what people want. Example: Is your page a how-to guide, but all of the top-ranking articles are listicles?
If it aligns, the next thing is to check if your page misses important points that your competitors cover. One way to fill potential content gaps in your existing pages is to use Ahrefs’ Content Gap tool.
When using the SERP overview, select the competitors that are performing better than you and open with Content Gap.

In the Content Gap report, add your page for comparison.

This will show all of the keywords your competitors’ articles rank for that yours do not. Some of those keywords may indicate points or subtopics that your content is missing.

Link building services
Link building is all about getting other websites to link to pages on your site. In 2016, Google’s Andrey Lipattsev confirmed backlinks are one of Google’s strongest ranking factors. So if you want your pages to rank highly on the SERPs, you’re going to need quality links.
Popular link building techniques include:
Do I need it?
As a general rule, you’re always going to need link building. If you’re pretty sure your on-page SEO is on point, checking the SERP overview in Keywords Explorer can also give you insights into whether a lack of backlinks is the issue.
Ahrefs’ URL Rating (UR) works on the same basic principles as Google’s PageRank. Therefore, the UR on your own page can give you an idea of its strength compared to your ranking competitors.
If your UR is lower than competing pages and you have fewer backlinks, you probably need to do some link building.
Can I do it myself?
The question is not necessarily if you can do link building for your site but more of whether you want to.
Quality link building is hard work and takes a lot of time and dedication. If you want real results, it’s not something you can do here and there; it’s a full-time commitment.
If you want to learn more about how to do link building yourself, you can check out our free link building for beginners and advanced link building courses.
For the most part, it may be better to let the professionals handle this one. Especially if link building is a new concept to you, it will probably take you a lot of time with very few results.
Technical optimization
Technical SEO is where you optimize pages to make sure search engines can find, crawl, and index them. It involves things like having a sitemap, logical site architecture, and using schema markup.
Do I need it?
The ins and outs of what technical optimizations you need can be difficult to determine. Even good SEOs aren’t necessarily technical specialists, so it can be very confusing for someone with less SEO experience.
The best way to determine if you’ll need technical help is to use Ahrefs’ Site Audit. When the tool has finished crawling your site, you will be given a top-level view of your website’s on-page and technical SEO issues with an overall Health Score out of 100.
If the score is low, like in the example below, there are likely some issues you will need assistance with.

To get a better idea of what needs your attention, head to the All Issues tab in the left-hand menu and look at the problems.
If most of your issues fall under “Content,” these are on-page problems that you can most likely fix yourself with a little time. However, if most issues fall under “Indexability,” “Localization,” “Performance,” or “Sitemaps,” you may need technical assistance.
Technical SEO can make or break your website. Although you may be able to rectify a couple of unruly 404 pages easily, the technical stuff should only ever be dealt with by professionals.

Can I do it myself?
Improper implementation of aspects like hreflang tags, schema, and canonical tags can completely break your site. Plus, you can accidentally prevent your entire site from being indexed with the touch of a button, so it’s best left to the pros.

Local SEO services
Local SEO is optimizing your online presence to get more business from local searches. It should be your priority if your business serves a local area.
Do I need it?
Determining whether you need local SEO is pretty simple. Do you appear in the search results for your primary keywords and location? Do you have a Google Business Profile? If not, then you will need local SEO.

Can I do it myself?
Yes, you can do the basics yourself. For example, setting up a Google Business Profile, which can be done in as little as 30 minutes. You can also easily build local citations. By using Ahrefs’ Link Intersect tool, you can see which directories your competitors are listed on.

However, beyond that, you will want a specialist to help you.
Now that you have figured out which services you need and that you are probably going to need some help implementing them, it’s time to look for a service provider within your budget.
Both agencies and freelancers usually offer three different options for pricing, including:
- Hourly rates.
- Monthly retainers.
- One-off project with agreed-on fees.
Which one you go with will depend on your budget, the service you need, and your chosen provider.
I’d like to add a quick note on what makes a service provider affordable. It is important to remember that the price of a service doesn’t always indicate the quality of work. For the most part, how a service is priced will heavily depend on where the provider is based.
Our studies have shown that the average hourly rate of an SEO freelancer in India is under $30 per hour. At the same time, those based in the U.K. and U.S. charge $75 per hour on average.

There are some unavoidable base costs in SEO, such as professional tools, that every agency and freelancer will need to cover. But beyond that, a higher price may simply be due to the location rather than the fact the work is actually better.
Just remember that while it’s possible to get quality work at a lower cost (depending on the provider’s location), if something seems too good to be true, it likely is. If you’re quoted $30 for 100 links, this is probably one to avoid.
Let’s look at what you should look for in a quality provider.
Good communication
If an agency’s or freelancer’s communication sucks to begin with, keep looking. It’s likely to get worse over time, and no one wants to spend their time chasing people for updates.
Transparency
No SEO service provider is going to give away their “secret sauce” in a discovery call, but they should at least be willing to give you a high-level view of what they’ll do for you.
If they just say they will “build links” and refuse to tell you their strategies or approach, run a mile.
Quality of service
You need a provider who has expertise in the field and can provide you with reliable results.
Many SEO agencies will list brands and companies they have previously worked with on their websites. This can give you an idea of the quality of their clientele. After all, well-known companies aren’t going to work with anyone producing subpar results.

Reputation and expertise
Don’t be afraid to check out references from previous clients when evaluating an agency or freelancer. This will also help you understand the quality of work the provider does, as well as whether they have a good reputation.
You can also look for additional indicators of their experience on their website, such as awards and case studies.

Realistic goals and timelines
The last thing you want is to be sold on the promise of quick results that can’t be delivered. Any professional should be able to give you an expected time frame they think is needed for your project and whether they foresee any potential issues that could arise along the way.
Choosing a provider who will keep you updated with regular reports on the progress is important so you can track how well the project is going.

Final thoughts
Quality SEO services aren’t cheap. But you can keep them budget-friendly by identifying what areas your website actually needs help with, doing the work you can yourself, and choosing an affordable provider for everything else.
Got questions? Ping me on Twitter.
SEO
Is AI Going To E-E-A-T Your Experience For Breakfast? The LinkedIn Example

Are LinkedIn’s collaborative articles part of SEO strategies nowadays?
More to the point, should they be?
The search landscape has changed dramatically in recent years, blurring the lines between search engines and where searches occur.
Following the explosive adoption of AI in content marketing and the most recent Google HCU, core, and spam updates, we’re looking at a very different picture now in search versus 12 months ago.
User-generated and community-led content seems to be met with renewed favourability by the algorithm (theoretically, mirroring what people reward, too).
LinkedIn’s freshly launched “collaborative articles” seem to be a perfect sign of our times: content that combines authority (thanks to LinkedIn’s authority), AI-generated content, and user-generated content.
What could go wrong?
In this article, we’ll cover:
- What are “collaborative articles” on LinkedIn?
- Why am I discussing them in the context of SEO?
- The main issues with collaborative articles.
- How is Google treating them?
- How they can impact your organic performance.
What Are LinkedIn Collaborative Articles?
First launched in March 2023, LinkedIn says about collaborative articles:
“These articles begin as AI-powered conversation starters, developed with our editorial team, but they aren’t complete without insights from our members. A select group of experts have been invited to contribute their own ideas, examples and experiences within the articles.“
Essentially, each of these articles starts as a collection of AI-generated answers to FAQs/prompts around any given topic. Under each of these sections, community members can add their own perspectives, insights, and advice.
What’s in it for contributors? To earn, ultimately, a “Top Voice” badge on their profile.
The articles are indexable and are all placed under the same folder (https://www.linkedin.com/advice/).
They look like this:

On the left-hand side, there are always FAQs relevant to the topic answered by AI.
On the right-hand side is where the contributions by community members get posted. Users can react to each contribution in the same way as to any LinkedIn post on their feed.
How Easy Is It To Contribute And Earn A Badge For Your Insights?
Pretty easy.
I first got invited to contribute on September 19, 2023 – though I had already found a way to contribute a few weeks before this.


My notifications included updates from connections who had contributed to an article.
By clicking on these, I was transferred to the article and was able to contribute to it, too (as well as additional articles, linked at the bottom).
I wanted to test how hard it was to earn a Top SEO Voice badge. Eight article contributions later (around three to four hours of my time), I had earned three.


How? Apparently, simply by earning likes for my contributions.
A Mix Of Brilliance, Fuzzy Editorial Rules, And Weird Uncle Bob
Collaborative articles sound great in principle – a win-win for both sides.
- LinkedIn struck a bullseye: creating and scaling content (theoretically) oozing with E-E-A-T, with minimal investment.
- Users benefit from building their personal brand (and their company’s) for a fragment of the effort and cost this usually takes. The smartest ones complement their on-site content strategy with this off-site golden ticket.
What isn’t clear from LinkedIn’s Help Center is what this editorial mix of AI and human input looks like.
Things like:
- How much involvement do the editors have before the topic is put to the community?
- Are they only determining and refining the prompts?
- Are they editing the AI-generated responses?
- More importantly, what involvement (if any) do they have after they unleash the original AI-generated piece into the world?
- And more.
I think of this content like weird Uncle Bob, always joining the family gatherings with his usual, unoriginal conversation starters. Only, this time, he’s come bearing gifts.
Do you engage? Or do you proceed to consume as many canapés as possible, pretending you haven’t seen him yet?
Why Am I Talking About LinkedIn Articles And SEO?
When I first posted about LinkedIn’s articles, it was the end of September. Semrush showed clear evidence of their impact and potential in Search. (Disclosure: I work for Semrush.)
Only six months after their launch, LinkedIn articles were on a visible, consistent upward trend.
- They were already driving 792.5K organic visits a month. (This was a 75% jump in August.)
- They ranked for 811,700 keywords.
- Their pages were ranking in the top 10 for 78,000 of them.
- For 123,700 of them, they appeared in a SERP feature, such as People Also Ask and Featured Snippets.
- Almost 72% of the keywords had informational intent, followed by commercial keywords (22%).
Here’s a screenshot with some of the top keywords for which these pages ranked at the top:


Now, take the page that held the Featured Snippet for competitive queries like “how to enter bios” (monthly search volume of 5,400 and keyword difficulty of 84, based on Semrush data).
It came in ahead of pages on Tom’s Hardware, Hewlett-Packard, or Reddit.


See anything weird? Even at the time of writing this post, this collaborative article had precisely zero (0) contributions.
This means a page with 100% AI-generated content (and unclear interference of human editors) was rewarded with the Featured Snippet against highly authoritative and relevant domains and pages.
A Sea Of Opportunity Or A Storm Ready To Break Out?
Let’s consider these articles in the context of Google’s guidelines for creating helpful, reliable, people-first content and its Search Quality Rater Guidelines.
Of particular importance here, I believe, is the most recently added “E” in “E-E-A-T,” which takes experience into account, alongside expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
For so many of these articles to have been ranking so well must mean that they were meeting the guidelines and proving helpful and reliable for content consumers.
After all, they rely on “a select group of experts to contribute their own ideas, examples and experiences within the articles,” so they must be worthy of strong organic performances, right?
Possibly. (I’ve yet to see such an example, but I want to believe somewhere in the thousands of pages these do exist).
But, based on what I’ve seen, there are too many examples of poor-quality content to justify such big rewards in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
The common issues I’ve spotted:
1. Misinformation
I can’t tell how much vetting or editing there is going on behind the scenes, but the amount of misinformation in some collaborative articles is alarming. This goes for AI-generated content and community contributions alike.
I don’t really envy the task of fact-checking what LinkedIn describes as “thousands of collaborative articles on 2,500+ skills.” Still, if it’s quality and helpfulness we’re concerned with here, I’d start brewing my coffee a little stronger if I were LinkedIn.
At the moment, it feels a little too much like a free-for-all.
Here are some examples of topics like SEO or content marketing.


2. Thin Content
To a degree, some contributions seem to do nothing more than mirror the points made in the original AI-generated piece.
For example, are these contributions enough to warrant a high level of “experience” in these articles?


The irony to think that some of these contributions may have also been generated by AI…
3. Missing Information
While many examples don’t provide new or unique perspectives, some articles simply don’t provide…any perspectives at all.
This piece about analytical reasoning ranked in the top 10 for 128 keywords when I first looked into it last September (down to 80 in October).


It even held the Featured Snippet for competitive keywords like “inductive reasoning examples” for a while (5.4K monthly searches in the US), although it had no contributions on this subsection.
Most of its sections remain empty, so we’re talking about mainly AI-generated content.
Does this mean that Google really doesn’t care whether your content comes from humans or AI?
I’m not convinced.
How Have The Recent Google Updates Impacted This Content?
After August and October 2023 Google core updates (at the time of writing, the November 2023 Google core update is rolling out), the September 2023 helpful content update, and the October 2023 spam update, the performance of this section seems to be declining.
According to Semrush data:


- Organic traffic to these pages was down to 453,000 (a 43% drop from September, bringing their performance close to August levels).
- They ranked for 465,100 keywords (down by 43% MoM).
- Keywords in the Top 10 dropped by 33% (51,900 vs 78,000 in September).
- Keywords in the top 10 accounted for 161,800 visits (vs 287,200 in September, down by 44% MoM).
The LinkedIn domain doesn’t seem to have been impacted negatively overall.


Is this a sign that Google has already picked up the weaknesses in this content and has started balancing actual usefulness versus the overall domain authority that might have propelled it originally?
Will we see it declining further in the coming months? Or are there better things to come for this feature?
Should You Already Be On The Bandwagon If You’re In SEO?
I was on the side of caution before the Google algorithm updates of the past couple of months.
Now, I’d be even more hesitant to invest a substantial part of my resources towards baking this content into my strategy.
As with any other new, third-party feature (or platform – does anyone remember Threads?), it’s always a case of balancing being an early adopter with avoiding over-investment. At least while being unclear on the benefits.
Collaborative articles are a relatively fresh, experimental, external feature you have minimal control over as part of your SEO strategy.
Now, we also have signs from Google that this content may not be as “cool” as we initially thought.
This Is What I’d Do
That’s not to say it’s not worth trying some small-scale experiments.
Or, maybe, use it as part of promoting your own personal brand (but I’ve yet to see any data around the impact of the “Top Voice” badges on perceived value).
Treat this content as you would any other owned content.
- Follow Google’s guidelines.
- Add genuine value for your audience.
- Add your own unique perspective.
- Highlight gaps and misinformation.
Experience shows us that when tactics get abused, and the user experience suffers, Google eventually steps in (from guest blogging to parasite SEO, most recently).
It might make algorithmic tweaks when launching updates, launch a new system, or hand out manual actions – the point is that you don’t know how things will progress. Only LinkedIn and Google have control over that.
As things stand, I can easily see any of the below potential outcomes:
- This content becomes the AI equivalent of the content farms of the pre-Panda age, leading to Google clamping down on its search performance.
- LinkedIn’s editors stepping in more for quality control (provided LinkedIn deems the investment worthwhile).
- LinkedIn starts pushing its initiative much more to encourage participation and engagement. (This could be what makes the difference between a dead content farm and Reddit-like value.)
Anything could happen. I believe the next few months will give us a clearer picture.
What’s Next For AI And Its Role In SEO And Social Media?
When it comes to content creation, I think it’s safe to say that AI isn’t quite ready to E-E-A-T your experience for breakfast. Yet.
We can probably expect more of these kinds of movements from social media platforms and forums in the coming months, moving more toward mixing AI with human experience.
What do you think is next for LinkedIn’s collaborative articles? Let me know on LinkedIn!
More resources:
Featured Image: BestForBest/Shutterstock
SEO
What It Really Is & How to Build One

Building a personal brand is undeniably hard work, but it isn’t as tricky as you might think.
I spoke with two influencers—Wes Kao and Matt Diggity—for their best tips on establishing a name for yourself online.
A personal brand is how people perceive you and what you’re known for. It’s the skills, experience, and values that give you an edge over others.
Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman is one example. He helms and hosts the science/health podcast Huberman Lab, lectures at Stanford Medicine, and has earned media mentions from the likes of BBC, TIME, and more.
Andrew’s personal brand is built on his credibility and areas of expertise. Many of his posts attract thousands of likes and hundreds of comments on X and LinkedIn.
If we want to dig deeper, Maven and altMBA co-founder Wes Kao has a somewhat alternative take on the definition:
In my opinion, it’s better to reframe ‘personal branding’ into ‘personal credibility.’ Personal branding has a superficial undertone. It assumes you have your work, then you tack on an artificial layer of ‘branding’ to shape perceptions.
She suggests that personal credibility is about substance: Showing people what you do, how you think, and how you can contribute. Wes adds:
In this way, you build deeper connections with people who believe in your work—which means stronger relationships, more control, and more opportunities.
In this podcast interview snippet with Nick Bennett, SparkToro’s Amanda Natividad echoes Wes’ sentiment:
People generally don’t like the term [personal brand] because it sounds disingenuous and icky. Acknowledging the existence of your personal brand is admitting that you care what others think about you, and that you find ways to manage those expectations at scale.
Wild as it sounds, building a solid personal brand gives you more control over your life.
A strong following could:
- Expand your realm of influence, particularly in your area of expertise (i.e., be viewed as a subject matter expert).
- Boost your credibility, in turn allowing you to promote your company/product better.
- Build a loyal following independent of the company you’re working for (or if you own that company, create more positive sentiment towards it).
- Open doors to job, networking, and investment opportunities.
Chiangmai SEO conference founder Matt Diggity shares some excellent points in his Facebook post on the topic, too.


There’s no linear path to building your personal brand.
As a precursor to the below steps, let’s first talk about finding your “voice.”
Wes and Matt both emphasize the importance of staying true to yourself. That means not crafting an online persona of who you think you should be.
I try to write like how I sound in person. Talking and writing are different media, so you shouldn’t try to match the two in a literal sense, but you want to capture your overall spirit. For example, I have a hint of snark in my writing because that’s how I sound in person.
Matt echoes this sentiment:
How I talk on the internet is how I talk IRL. If I’m not having a f**king blast on my YouTube videos, I won’t do them. It has to be fun.
Keep this idea in mind as you go through the steps below.
Step 1: Position yourself
Think of yourself as a product: What are your strengths, obsessions, and areas of expertise?
If you’re well-versed in technical SEO or a seasoned entrepreneur, these might be your unique selling points.
From there, double down on something you would be excited to think, write, and talk about for years—because “it will likely take years to get to where you want to go,” says Wes.
As an (optional) next step, consider solidifying your position with a spiky POV—a term coined by Wes, and which she cautions should be used with care.
A spiky POV is not about a contrarian hot take for the sake of it. In 2023, social platforms are flooded with hot takes and generic advice. I think about respecting the intelligence of my audience and teaching them something they don’t already know. A true spiky POV is rooted in deep expertise, including recognizing the limitations and counterpoints of your idea. This builds your reputation as someone who is rigorous and worth the time to engage with.
Here’s a LinkedIn post by Wes that combines all of the above: a unique perspective backed by her personal experiences, with a takeaway for the audience too. In other words—a spiky, worthy POV.
Step 2: Start sharing publicly
You already knew this, but social media platforms are one of the best ways to get growth and build your name. It’s your chance to build your reputation in a public arena.
Wes, Amanda, and Matt each utilized a combination of online channels to promote their voice and content. It’s one of the first things you should do—because your content is really only as good as its reach.
This is the first thing I did to build a personal brand and authority in the SEO industry, and I still do it to this day…
Take an hour a week, go to SEO social media hangouts (SEO Facebook groups, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc) and go from top-to-bottom answering people’s questions.…
— Matt Diggity (@mattdiggityseo) September 27, 2023
This doesn’t mean cross-posting your content across more platforms than you can manage, of course.
Study where your target audience spends most of their time, then hone in on those platforms (ideally, stick to no more than 2-3).
In Matt’s case, his followers are primarily on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube—and that’s where his SEO-led content thrives.


If creating whole posts from scratch seems daunting, start by commenting thoughtfully in relevant online communities. Obviously, do it with heart:
This is the first thing I did to build a personal brand and authority in the SEO industry, and I still do it to this day…
Take an hour a week, go to SEO social media hangouts (SEO Facebook groups, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc) and go from top-to-bottom answering people’s questions.…
— Matt Diggity (@mattdiggityseo) September 27, 2023
Here are some simple ways to start.
LinkedIn: Contribute to a collaborative article
You might have seen these articles floating around LinkedIn—perhaps even been invited to add your insights to them.
These blog posts are similar to Wikipedia pages: LinkedIn users build on each AI-generated article with their perspectives, and readers can choose to react to these additions or engage with the content.


Here’s an example of what a contribution looks like:


Reddit: Weigh in on discussions
- Go to a relevant subreddit, e.g. r/bigSEO
- Sort by “Top” and “This Week”
- Browse the questions or discussions and offer your two cents where relevant.


Ride on trending topics
Found an interesting insight on X or someplace else? Turn it into a poll, question, or post. (Be sure to also tag and credit the author!)
Bring it all together
If some of your responses or posts get traction, repurpose those answers into new content: a blog post, video, or series of social posts.
(PSST: Learn more about my process behind curating and repurposing content for Ahrefs’ X account.)
This segues into our next and final step:
Step 3: Double down on what works
By now, you should have an idea of which topics you’re most comfortable discussing at length—and what resonates most with your target audience.
You can further maximize your reach by doubling down on the things that have brought you success. Or, more specifically, by repurposing popular content in other formats and creating more content about similar things.
For instance, we turned this popular video on how to use ChatGPT for SEO into a Twitter thread and LinkedIn post—and later, a blog post.




Wes has also done this plenty with her “eaten the bear” analogy over the years. She first wrote about it in this 2019 blog post, rewrote it in 2023, and shares variations of the analogy on LinkedIn and X every few months.


Each time, these posts garner hundreds or thousands of likes
Too much backstory is one of the biggest killers of good stories.
Backstory scope creep is real. We’ve all been there: Long-winded, stream of conscious explanations—all in the name of “giving context.“
I’ve been guilty of it myself.
The solution?
Minimum viable backstory pic.twitter.com/XFe2wAJysg
— Wes Kao 🏛 (@wes_kao) October 3, 2023
Don’t let your success die there, though. You can find more content ideas that will resonate with your audience by doing some keyword research around your topic. Here’s how:
- Plug your target topic into Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer
- Go to the Matching terms report
For example, if we enter “chatgpt seo,” we see that people are searching for ChatGPT prompts for SEO and ChatGPT SEO extensions:


Given how our audience is interested in ChatGPT and SEO, these would be great topics to create content about—whether that be social media posts, videos, blog posts, or something else.
If you don’t have a paid account with us, you can plug your topic into our free keyword generator tool to view related phrases/questions.
Extra tips to build your personal brand
We mentioned some of these in some shape or form earlier, but they’re worth expanding on.
Maintain human connections
Who are you without the people who consume your content? Engage consistently with your followers and others’ content. Human connections are worth their weight in gold when you’re trying to get your personal brand off the ground.
Maintain consistency across your social media profiles
This means using the same profile picture across all platforms, and a standardized bio so others can quickly get a sense of who you are and what you often post about.
Jack Appleby is a great example. The creator/consultant is behind Future Social, an independent social strategy newsletter with 56,000+ subscribers.
Notice how he maintains consistency on X and LinkedIn:




Ahrefs’ Tim Soulo further explains the importance of your profile picture in personal branding here:
Your profile pic is your “personal branding” tool. (duh!)
My journey so far:
2009 – “I have no idea what I’m doing;“
2014 – I want to stand out & be memorable;
2018 – I want to look provocative;
2020 – I want to look professional.I can expand this into a thread if you want 😉 pic.twitter.com/W7FtZTcYGO
— Tim Soulo 🇺🇦 (@timsoulo) September 14, 2020
Be yourself
Remember how Wes and Matt shared the importance of staying true to yourself? We couldn’t emphasize that enough.
Final thoughts
These steps aren’t exhaustive, obviously. To truly stand out online, Wes suggests having a combination of these things: social proof, good design sense, strong writing, interesting insights, and a track record of contribution.
As she puts it:
All these things will make people think, ‘This person knows their craft.’
Have a thought about this blog post? Ping me on X.
SEO
SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research]
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research]](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.jpg)
Editor’s note
Here are the top takeaways:
- The median annual salary for SEOs we polled was $49,211
- The highest annual salary we polled was $229,652
- To earn the higher salaries in SEO you need be a technical SEO expert—Heads of SEO, SEO Directors and SEO Leads all said that their main specialization was technical SEO
- Only 5.4% of respondents learned SEO through a course—most learned on the job (52.3%) or by themselves (42.3%)
- 36.9% described themselves as content specialists, 30.6% described themselves as technical specialists, 6.3% described themselves as specializing in link-building
- 49.5% of respondents worked in SEO agencies, 42.3% in-house and 8.2% were self-employed
- Most respondents (28.8%) worked in companies that had 11-50 people
- The average SEO experience of our respondents was 6.9 years
- Self-employed SEOs earned the most on average ($60,232k)—the median annual salary for in-house roles was slightly lower at $56,789, and agency SEOs had the lowest median annual salary at $44,169
There were also a few surprises:
- Few SEOs in our survey said that they specialized in link building compared to technical and content. This is despite the fact that links are still one of the most important Google ranking factors.
- The average level of experience between SEO Directors and Head of SEO is not that different—10.4 years for a SEO Director and 10.6 years for a Head of SEO—but the salary difference between the roles was ~$11,552—quite substantial.
Overview
Role | Median annual salary ($USD) | Average experience (years) | Main specialization | Main work location |
---|---|---|---|---|
Head of SEO | $92,988 | 10.6 | Technical SEO | Agency and in-house |
SEO Director | $81,436 | 10.4 | Technical SEO | Agency and in-house |
SEO Lead | $38,289 | 7.4 | Technical SEO | Agency |
SEO Specialist | $49,229 | 5.8 | Content | In-house |
SEO Account Manager | $43,850 | 4.2 | Content | Agency |
SEO Consultant | $49,240 | 6 | All-rounder | Agency |
SEO Executive | $31,956 | 3 | All-rounder | Agency |
SEO Analyst | $56,393 | 5 | All-rounder | In-house |
Here’s how annual salaries broke down across our respondents:
According to the SEOs we polled, most of them learned SEO on the job or were self-taught.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Chart displaying how individuals learned SEO.](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_87_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Chart displaying how individuals learned SEO.](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_87_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Most of our respondents had a couple of years of experience under their belts. The amount of experience Head of SEOs had versus SEO Directors was not that different, at around 10 years.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Average level of experience by role](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_647_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Average level of experience by role](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_647_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
- Across all respondents, the average experience was 6.9 years
- For Head of SEO, the average experience was 10.6 years
- For SEO Director, the average experience was 10.4 years
- For SEO Lead, the average experience was 7.4 years
- For SEO Account Manager, the average experience was 4.2 years
- For SEO Consultant, the average experience was 6 years
- For SEO Executive, the average experience was 3 years
- For SEO Analyst, the average experience was 5 years
Technical and Content were the two top skills that SEOs we surveyed specialized in.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Areas of SEO specialization](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_745_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Areas of SEO specialization](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_745_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
The proportion of SEOs that said they specialized in links was much lower despite links being a major ranking factor.
Our survey showed an almost 50/50 split between the UK and Europe. 48.6% of respondents were from the UK—perhaps not surprising given that BrightonSEO is based in the UK.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Chart of countries SEOs are from](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_949_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Chart of countries SEOs are from](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_949_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Most of the respondents we spoke to worked in agencies or in-house. It does mean, however, that our salary data was mainly focused on these two employment types.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Chart listing where SEOs work](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_779_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Chart listing where SEOs work](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_779_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Across all respondents, the most common company size was 11-50. A large proportion of SEOs also worked for substantially larger companies that had over 1000 employees.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Number of people in the company](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_772_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Number of people in the company](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_772_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Here’s the full breakdown of each role.
Head of SEO salary
It’s probably not too much of a surprise that the Head of SEO role was our highest-paying SEO role surveyed. What’s more of a surprise was the variation in salary—our survey showed that a Head of SEO can earn anything from ~$25k to ~$229k.
Average experience
According to our survey, a Head of SEO has ~10.6 years of experience.
Type of company
46.7% of respondents worked for an agency, and 46.7% worked in-house. 6.7% were self-employed.
Education
66.7% of respondents said they were self-taught, 26.7% said they’d learned on the job, and 6.7% said that they had learned SEO from a course.
Specialization
40% said that they specialized in technical SEO, 33.3% in Content, and 13.3% said they were a generalist. The remaining 13.4% said they focused on people management.
This is surprising, as it implies that 73.3% of people in Head of SEO roles are actively providing SEO services for their clients rather than focusing on managing a team.
Company size
There were two company sizes that were most popular for Head of SEOs to work in. 40% of respondents said they worked in companies with 11-50 people, and 20% said they worked in companies with over 1001 people.
Location
40% of respondents were from the UK, 13.3% were from the Netherlands, and the remainder were from mainland Europe.
SEO Director salary
The salary variation wasn’t quite as extreme for SEO Directors, but salaries ranged from ~$42k to ~$121k—still quite a difference.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Director salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_970_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Director salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_970_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Directors in our survey had 10.4 years of experience on average.
Type of company
There was a 50/50 split between SEO Directors’ backgrounds, with 50% from agency and 50% from in-house
Education
62.5% of SEO Directors described themselves as self-taught, and 37.5% said that they learned SEO on the job.
Specialization
75% of them specialized in technical SEO, whilst 25% described themselves as generalists or Other.
Company size
According to our survey, SEO Directors typically work in medium to large companies. 25% said that they worked in companies that had over 1000 people, and 25% said they worked in companies that had 51-100 employees.
Location
Most SEO Directors we surveyed were from the UK (62.5%). The rest were equal splits between India, the U.S., and Germany (12.5%).
SEO Lead salary
SEO Leads typically have a lot of experience, but our survey shows that they only earn slightly more on average than SEO Specialists.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Lead salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_68_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Lead salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_68_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Leads in our survey had 7.4 years of experience on average.
Type of company
50% of SEO Leads came from an agency background, 41.7% came from in-house, and 8.3% were self-employed.
Education
69.2% learned on the job, 23.1% were self-taught, and 7.7% learned SEO through a course.
Specialization
30.8% of SEO Leads specialized in technical SEO, 23% specialized in content, and 23.1% specialized in links. 15.4% described themselves as generalists. The remaining 7.7% described themselves as specializing in SEO strategy.
Company size
46.2% worked in companies that had 1001+ people, and the remaining 53.8% worked in smaller companies.
Location
23.1% of SEO Leads came from the UK, with the remainder coming from the Netherlands, Italy, and Sweden (15.4% each) and 30.7% from other European countries.
SEO Specialist salary
SEO Specialists we surveyed had around 5-6 years of experience, but they typically got paid better than SEO Leads. Based on my experience, this may be due to in-house roles paying better than agency roles in the UK.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Specialist salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_734_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Specialist salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_734_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Specialists in our survey had an average of 5.8 years of experience.
Type of company
41.2% of SEO Specialists came from an agency background, while 58.8% said that they were from an in-house background.
Education
58.8% of SEO Specialists said that they had learned SEO on the job, 35.3% said that they were self-taught, and 5.9% said that they had learned SEO through a course.
Specialization
52.9% of SEO Specialists specialized in content, 29.4% focused on technical, 11.8% described themselves as all-rounders, and 5.9% described specialized in links.
Company size
41.2% of SEO Specialists said that they worked in companies that had 11-50 people. Only 17.6% of respondents said that they worked in companies that had 1001+ people. 23.6% said they worked in companies between 51-500 people. The remaining 17.6% worked in smaller companies with less than 10 people.
Location
23.5% of SEO Specialists said that they were from the UK, with the remainder from Europe.
SEO Account Manager salary
SEO Account Managers in our survey were one of the most consistent salary bands earning between ~$40k and ~$55k.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Account Manager salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_314_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Account Manager salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_314_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Account managers in our survey had 4.2 years of experience on average.
Type of company
85.7% of respondents worked for an agency, and 14.3% worked in-house.
Education
71.4% of respondents said they learned SEO on the job, and 28.6% said they were self-taught.
Specialization
42.9% said that they specialized in content, 28.6% described themselves as an all-rounder, 14.3% said they were technical SEO, and the remaining 14.2% said they specialized in links.
Company size
42.9% of respondents said they worked in companies with 11-50 people, and 28.6% said they worked in companies with over 1001 people. The remaining 28.6% was split equally between people who worked in companies with between 2-11 people or 51-100 people.
Location
85.7% of respondents were from the UK, and 14.3% of the remainder were from Europe.
SEO Consultant salary
SEO Consultants we surveyed earned up to ~$87k, which was lower than I was expecting—because our SEO pricing post suggested that SEO consultants charge between $100-150 per hour.
But as the data is UK-focused, the likely reason for this is the £85k VAT tax threshold.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Consultant salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_411_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Consultant salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_411_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Consultants in our survey had 6 years of experience on average.
Type of company
63.3% of respondents worked for an agency, and 36.7% worked in-house.
Education
45.5% of respondents said they were self-taught, 36.4% said they’d learned on the job, and 9.1% said that they had learned SEO from a course. The remaining 9% said they’d learned from other ways.
Specialization
27.3% said that they specialized in technical SEO, 27.3% in content, and 27.3% said they were a generalist. The remaining 18.1% said they focused on management and strategy.
Company size
SEO Consultants typically worked on their own or in smaller agencies according to our survey — 36.4% of respondents said they worked on their own, and 27.3% said they worked in companies with 51-100 people. The remaining 36.3% said they worked in companies with between 2-50 people.
Location
36.4% of respondents were from the UK, 27.3% were from the Netherlands, and the remaining 36.3% were from Europe.
SEO Executive salary
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Executive salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_756_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Executive salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_756_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Executives in our survey had 3 years of experience on average.
Type of company
80% of respondents worked for an agency, and 20% worked in-house.
Education
80% of respondents said they were self-taught, and 20% said they’d learned SEO from a course.
Specialization
40% said that they specialized in technical SEO, 20% in Content, and 40% said they were a generalist.
Company size
80% of respondents said they worked in companies with 11-50 people, and 20% said they worked in companies with 1001 or more people.
Location
80% of respondents were from the UK, and 20% were from Belgium.
SEO Analyst salary
SEO Analysts typically had a few more years of experience than SEO Executives, but it looks like they earned roughly the same as them.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Analyst salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_108_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Analyst salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_108_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Analysts in our survey had 5 years of experience on average.
Type of company
33.3% of respondents worked for an agency, and 66.7% worked In-house.
Education
33.3% of respondents said they were self-taught, and 66.7% said they’d learned on the job.
Specialization
33.3% said that they specialized in technical SEO, 33.3% in Content, and 33.3% said they specialized in News SEO.
Company size
33.3% of respondents said they worked in companies with 101-200 people, and 66.7% said they worked in companies with over 201 people.
Location
SEO Analysts came from a range of locations 33% of respondents were from Portugal, 33.3% were from Brazil, and the remainder were from Serbia.
Sidenote.
We didn’t get many respondents for the SEO Analyst role—so take these results with a pinch of salt.
Final thoughts
SEO salaries aren’t often discussed in detail within the industry, so getting a snapshot of their current state from one of the biggest SEO conferences in the UK was insightful.
For our next salary survey, we’ll be opening it up to all SEOs. If you’d like to take part—you can enter here.
Got questions? Ping me on X (formerly known as Twitter)
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