Is the SEO Job Market Shifting?

The search marketing industry appears to be going through a significant period of change. Recent anecdotal accounts, along with findings from an SEO jobs study, suggest that the shifts extend beyond just the skills employers are now looking for.

Hiring practices themselves seem to be evolving, which could be making it harder for seasoned SEO professionals to land roles they’re clearly qualified for. These developments point to a wider transformation in how the industry operates and recruits talent.

Short History Of SEO Jobs

Around 25 years ago, breaking into the world of SEO and making a decent living from it was relatively straightforward. Back then, large companies across a range of industries regularly brought in freelancers and agencies to provide expert SEO support.

It’s likely that many marketing teams didn’t yet see SEO as part of their core marketing function, and often had no in-house SEO personnel at all. Over time, however, this began to shift. More businesses started to employ their own SEO specialists, while still occasionally relying on external providers for more niche or advanced SEO work.

What’s Going On With SEO Jobs?

A recent report from SEOJobs.com has shed light on the current state of SEO jobs in 2024, offering valuable insight into how the industry is changing.

The findings suggest that SEO roles continue to evolve in several key ways. Job openings in the SEO field have seen a decline this year, with median salaries also experiencing a drop. Additionally, 65% of available SEO positions are now based in-house, while the number of remote roles has decreased.

Job titles linked to content strategy and writing have dropped by 28%, and SEO Analyst roles have declined by 12%. Technical SEO positions have also seen a slight decrease. On the other hand, more senior roles – such as manager, director, and vice president – have shown the strongest growth.

Interestingly, while the report notes a small dip in Technical SEO roles – from 5.8% to 5.4% of all SEO jobs between the first and fourth quarters of 2024 – the demand for technical SEO skills remains high.

In fact, demand for this particular skill set increased at the fastest pace during the fourth quarter, climbing to 75%, up from 71% in the previous quarter.

Experienced SEOs Having Trouble Getting Hired… By AI?

Keith Goode recently shared his thoughts on the state of SEO hiring, after reading the report mentioned earlier. He believes that many experienced SEO professionals are struggling to secure roles due to poor implementation of AI in the recruitment process.

In a LinkedIn post, he expressed concern over how AI is currently being used in hiring. According to Keith, many skilled candidates are being overlooked or rejected outright, sometimes due to claims of lacking experience – even when that clearly isn’t the case.

He described scenarios where applicants are put through multiple stages of interviews and test tasks, only to be ghosted by recruiters in the end. Keith suggests that although AI is being blamed, the real issue is how companies are relying too heavily on a still-developing technology for tasks it may not yet be suitable for.

He acknowledges that recruitment teams are under pressure, receiving thousands of CVs per job listing. But he argues that AI, rather than helping, is often doing more harm than good in filtering candidates.

Keith shared one anecdote about a hiring manager who applied for their own job listing, only to be rejected by the company’s AI-powered applicant tracking system. That manager reportedly responded by dismissing their hiring team.

He was clear in stating that he isn’t against AI itself, but rather against the way some businesses are using it without proper judgement, calling out what he sees as “foolishness” in their approach.

Experienced SEOs Are Getting Ghosted

There’s growing concern that seasoned SEO professionals are being unfairly filtered out of job opportunities due to ineffective AI-driven recruitment processes. One notable example comes from Brian Harnish, a long-standing SEO expert with decades of hands-on experience.

Brian recently shared his frustrations on both LinkedIn and Facebook, highlighting how difficult the current job market has become—even for those with a strong track record.

He explained that no matter how early he applies for a job, how many times he revises his CV, or how carefully he tailors it to suit automated tracking systems, the results are always the same. Despite using professional tools like ResumeWorded and rewriting his CV over and over again, nothing seems to make a difference.

Brian also spoke about following all the so-called best practices—sending timely thank-you notes after interviews, accepting proposed salary ranges even when they meant a pay cut, and experimenting with different CV formats. Still, the outcome never changed.

He detailed how he’s gone above and beyond by writing custom LinkedIn profiles, reaching out through networks, and connecting his past achievements clearly on his CV. Even after having interviews he felt were his best yet, the feedback was either generic or non-existent.

What he finds particularly disheartening is receiving the same standard rejection message time and again, or worse, being completely ghosted. Despite his sincere efforts and willingness to adapt, securing a role has become a real challenge.

Brian’s experience is a stark reflection of how the job market—especially within SEO—has shifted. Where he once received job offers almost immediately, he now finds himself met with silence, regardless of how well-qualified or proactive he is.

What The Heck Is Going On?

I’m aware of several other SEO professionals, many of whom have decades of experience spanning all areas of search engine optimisation, who have faced similar difficulties in today’s job market.

These are individuals who, not long ago, would have smoothly transitioned into new roles within days—especially given their impressive backgrounds. We’re talking about former SEO directors who have worked with some of the world’s most well-known Fortune 500 companies.

Yet despite their qualifications and high-level experience, many of them spent months searching for their next opportunity.