The majority of local SEO professionals appear to be happy in their jobs, according to BrightLocal’s 2020 Local Search Industry Survey. That’s the clear implication of a finding that 78% intend to remain in their current positions.
The survey featured responses from 475 “local marketers,” including agencies, in-house marketers, freelancers and local businesses. The top for categories of survey respondents were as follows:
- Local/regional agency — 40%
- National/international agency – 20%
- Freelancer/marketing consultant –11%
- Local business –10%
![](https://therawragency.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Local-SEO-salaries-in-agency-and-freelance-800x480-1.png)
Most local SEOs have been around for awhile. Half of those responding to the survey said they have been working in the industry for more than a decade and 11% have been working in local SEO for 20 years or more. Average annual revenues were $1.28 million (brands and SMBs excluded).
The vast majority (81%) of agencies and organizations in the survey had fewer than five SEO employees; 38% had just one. Most respondents (76%) had between 2 and 20 clients.
The survey found that 65% of local SEOs earned more than $60,000 and 29% were making more than $100,000. Only 4% were looking to move out of local, while others were interested in changing jobs within the industry or staying put in their current jobs, as indicated.
![](https://therawragency.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Common-services-offered-by-local-marketing-agencies-and-freelancers-800x467-1.png)
Monthly retailers the most common business model. SEOs are most likely to charge their clients on a monthly retainer basis (65%); a minority charged on a project or hourly/daily basis. The most common monthly retainer range was between $100 to $500, according to the survey. However, the size of the client/customer dramatically impacted monthly charges.
The most common services (chart above) offered by local SEO professionals are: GMB optimization, SEO audits, on-site optimization, analytics, citation management, web design and content creation/optimization. And how do local SEOs stay on top of new developments? Industry blogs were the most common answer according to the survey.
![](https://therawragency.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Local-SEO-learning-800x495-1.png)
Why we care. While it’s not clear whether the survey is representative of the industry as a whole, it’s probably directionally accurate and offers some good benchmarks for local SEO professionals. Local SEO is a critical if not entirely understood sub-discipline of SEO, which has become increasingly important as Google has placed more emphasis on localized and proximity-based mobile search results. Indeed, a 2019 study by Moz found that 73% of 1.2 million SERPs crawled contained some localized feature.
The post Most local SEOs making at least $60,000 appeared first on Search Engine Land.
Source: IAB