How much does it cost to hire an SEM specialist?

SEM specialists enhance a website's ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs), increasing its visibility and driving more traffic. Their role involves optimising the website, executing SEM marketing campaigns, and conducting relevant keyword research. They also track and report on SEM performance metrics, such as click-through rate (CTR) and pay-per-click (PPC), to ensure the effectiveness of their strategies.

Experienced SEM specialists, with their in-depth understanding of search engine algorithms and website optimisation, can potentially save a company money and significantly increase its online visibility. While the average salary for an SEM specialist is $60,000 annually, the value they bring can far exceed this cost. For instance, freelance SEM specialists, depending on their skill and experience, can charge anywhere from $25 to $150 per hour, making them a cost-effective option for businesses.

Experience and expertise

Your SEM specialist's experience and expertise will affect your project's overall cost. Depending on the service you are looking for, from in-house SEM management and technical SEO to a one-time hire for a marketing specialist to set up local SEO campaigns, you will see a massive variance in cost. You could save money by hiring a less experienced freelancer for simple on-page search engine optimisation. But you might not reach the conversion rates you were looking for. If you need ongoing help or someone to manage an entire digital marketing campaign, it's worth paying for a more experienced specialist.

Location

Outsourcing your SEO marketing services will save you money. Overseas specialists offer online marketing services and charge significantly less than those with duplicate job titles within the U.S. However, be prepared for language barriers and time zone differences if you want to outsource.

Project scope

A clear and specific project scope is crucial in managing the costs of your SEO strategy. For instance, a vague goal like 'increasing website traffic' can lead to a wide range of digital marketing strategies, making it difficult to predict and budget. However, if you provide your SEO team with a detailed guide on achieving your goals through specific SEM campaigns or link building, the scope becomes more manageable and the costs more predictable.

Timeline

The timeline of your project will affect its cost. A good SEM specialist will tell you that organic search takes time and that search marketing is a long-term marketing campaign. This is true, as SEM changes take a while to show their results in Google Analytics or Bing. Be prepared to pay for a multiple-month project, but short-term projects like simple landing pages or Google Ads are quick and easy tasks for freelancers to do quickly and for a lower rate.

Widespread SEM Specialists' costs & examples

SEM specialists are hired for a lot of different projects. Their skills can range from link building to ad campaigns, but an SEM specialist's most popular projects include:

Content marketing:

While SEM Specialists don't directly create content, they play a massive role in developing the strategy. Using their skills, SEM specialists can perform keyword research to help content creators know what topics will be the most popular and generate the most traffic. They can also help create a content distribution strategy to ensure it reaches the right target audience. Depending on their involvement, keyword research can be either an hourly fee or a paid retainer fee.

Paid search (PPC):

Paid search is a type of digital marketing in which companies pay to have their ads appear in search results. SEM specialists can help companies create and manage paid search campaigns and track and report their ads' performance. Depending on their involvement, PPC can be either an hourly fee or a paid retainer fee.

Social media marketing:

SEM specialists support social marketing campaigns through research, planning, and execution. They use their knowledge of search engines to ensure that a company's social media content is visible to potential customers. This can be either an hourly fee or a paid retainer fee.

Find talent at the world's work marketplace.

From experience and expertise to the scope of work and timeline, finding an SEM specialist for your next project is not impossible. Rayness Analytica gives you access to the world's top talent to get the quality work you need without breaking the bank.