Free · FY27 edition · 26-page PDF

Australian SEO Salary Guide FY27: know what to pay, or what to ask for

The Australian SEO Salary Guide: real pay bands from 123 SEO professionals, every level from Coordinator to Head of SEO.

  • The median base band for every level, Coordinator to Head of SEO
  • What actually moves pay, and what doesn’t
  • How far ahead of job ads the talent already is on AI search
  • A one-page cheat sheet for hiring managers and candidates

Built from 123 SEO professionals and 245 SEO job ads. Research by Wylan Ho, Kindred Talent.

Cover of The Australian SEO Salary Guide, FY27 edition
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SEO salaries in Australia, by level

LevelYears in SEOMedian base
Coordinator / Executive0 to 2$60,000 to $79,999
Specialist / Analyst2 to 4$80,000 to $99,999
Senior Specialist4 to 6$100,000 to $119,999
Manager / Lead6 to 9$100,000 to $119,999
Head of / Director9+$140,000 to $159,999

Median base salary band, excluding super. 123 SEO professionals, May to July 2026. The full detail is in the guide.

Take a look inside

Five chapters of real numbers, not opinions

01Who answered02What the market pays03A market on the move04The work is changing05Over to you
Chapter 01 opening pagePage 5: years in SEO against job titles
Chapter 01 · pages 3 to 6

Who answered

123 SEO professionals took our survey between May and July 2026: a senior, engaged slice of the Australian market.

  • 1.1 The sample
  • 1.2 Where they work
  • 1.3 Years vs titles
  • 1.4 The craft mix

2 years

The median holder of every title has been in SEO about two years longer than the title’s bracket.

Get all five chapters →
Chapter 02 opening pagePage 9: base salary by level
Chapter 02 · pages 7 to 12

What the market pays

The salary ladder level by level, what actually drives pay, and the one premium that survived the statistics.

  • 2.1 The distribution
  • 2.2 The ladder
  • 2.3 What drives pay
  • 2.4 Beyond base
  • 2.5 Learning by stage

7 in 10

sit between $80,000 and $139,999. Fewer than one in five clears $140,000.

Get all five chapters →
Chapter 03 opening pagePage 16: the drift from agency to in-house
Chapter 03 · pages 13 to 18

A market on the move

Most of the market is open to a conversation, but almost nobody is applying. And the traffic between agency and in-house runs one way.

  • 3.1 Openness
  • 3.2 What the years change
  • 3.3 The drift
  • 3.4 Ambition
  • 3.5 What money changes

23 vs 2

Of 70 agency-siders, 23 want to move in-house. Of 50 in-house, just 2 want to go the other way.

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Chapter 04 opening pagePage 20: the AI shift
Chapter 04 · pages 19 to 21

The work is changing

AI search is already inside the job description, and the profession is reskilling mid-flight, not waiting to be told.

  • 4.1 The AI shift
  • 4.2 Rarely advertised

14%

of 245 SEO job ads ask for AEO or GEO. 78% of respondents already practise it.

Get all five chapters →
Chapter 05 opening pagePage 25: the 90-second cheat sheet
Chapter 05 · pages 22 to 25

Over to you

What the professionals behind the numbers actually said, and what to do with all of it, from both sides of the table.

  • 5.1 Voices
  • 5.2 What to do with this
  • 5.3 The cheat sheet

8 voices

Verbatim from the survey, plus a one-page cheat sheet for both sides of the table.

Get all five chapters →

Built for both sides of the table

If you're hiring SEO talent

  • What to pay at every level, and where titles mislead
  • Why job ads only reach the 17% who are actively looking
  • The seven things candidates want but rarely see advertised
Get the hiring numbers

If you work in SEO

  • Benchmark your band against 123 peers
  • See where the decisive pay jump sits
  • Which rare crafts separate senior pay
Check my band
Straight from the survey

What SEO professionals told us

“Agencies need to pay way more.”
SEO Specialist, agency
“I moved from agency to in-house: a step down in salary but a step up in remote and hybrid flexibility, which I prioritised.”
SEO Specialist, in-house
“As an SEO lead I was earning $95,000 including super. At the same time, I was offered a US lead role, for SEO and GEO, paying $185k USD.”
Senior SEO Consultant, freelance

Questions

Is it really free?

Yes. Fill in the form and we email you the PDF. That is the only email the form sends.

Who is it for?

Anyone hiring SEO talent in Australia, and SEO professionals who want to benchmark their own pay.

Where does the data come from?

An anonymous survey of 123 SEO professionals across Australia, May to July 2026, plus 245 SEO job ads tracked from April to June 2026.

Why bands and not averages?

Salaries were collected in bands, so we report them in bands. No averages, no invented midpoints.

Who is behind it?

Research, analysis and words by Wylan Ho, founder of Kindred Talent, a referral network for Australia’s paid media, SEO and digital talent.

A median base of $80,000 to $99,999 at 2 to 4 years in SEO. Senior Specialists, at 4 to 6 years, sit at $100,000 to $119,999. Related: live SEO salary survey and permanent hiring.

A median base of $100,000 to $119,999 for Managers and Leads, the same band as Senior Specialists. Related: hiring SEO talent and permanent hiring.

A median base of $140,000 to $159,999 for Heads of SEO and SEO Directors, usually with 9+ years in SEO. Related: hiring SEO talent and permanent hiring.

A median base of $60,000 to $79,999 for Coordinators and Executives in their first 2 years. Junior cohorts are small, so treat it as directional. Related: live SEO salary survey.

The median across all levels is $100,000 to $119,999. A good salary is the band for your level and years, so start there. Related: digital marketing salary guide.

No. NSW, VIC and QLD share the same median band. Moving levels moves pay; moving states doesn’t. Related: digital marketing salary guide.

Not in our data. Working arrangement doesn’t independently move pay, and 74% of respondents work hybrid. Related: live SEO salary survey.

Seniority and years in SEO explain about half the difference in pay. Mid-career, in-house roles sit about one band above agency. Related: live SEO salary survey.

The survey can’t benchmark rates yet: only three freelancers responded. Kindred’s market estimate is $600 to $1,500 a day. Related: hiring a freelance SEO specialist and contract and freelance.

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