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Sometimes I am amused by the algorithms of social networks that throw up unusual publications. One evening I was scrolling through short videos on YouTube. And I came across a video that was very popular in its format “How much should a man earn?” Here it is:
There are a lot of similar videos, and people respond to them in different ways. In my case, the girls’ answers ranged from one to ten million rubles a month. Is this too much? For some - yes, for others - no.
This video prompted me to write an article on the topic “How much you can earn in SEO.” To avoid missing future posts, subscribe to my channel.
There is also a popular figure in the SEO community - a million rubles, which many strive for. This goal refers to various materials and studies discussing such income. The expected amount sometimes turns out to be the very bar that specialists strive for in their careers.
The question “How much money do I need?” remains open to everyone. It has changed over time because there is always something missing. The more you earn, the faster your needs grow, sometimes by multiples. And the higher the requirements, the more attention such goals require. With age, I began to slow down this process, because attention needs to be paid to other important aspects of life. However, I am gradually adjusting to new achievements at a comfortable pace for myself. But for now, let’s leave the topic “Why do I need money and in what amounts do I need it” for the next publication. It is worth noting that this amount varies for different stages of life, and each has its own level. So let’s figure out whether it’s really possible to make a million in SEO.
Earning money from SEO can be divided into several criteria.
By type of employment:
By type of service:
By specialization:
By geography:
By level of competence:
Thus, you can combine different criteria to determine your SEO niche. For example, “owner (pro) of a client services agency on the Russian market” or “private freelancer (middle) with projects for foreign clients.” These are the combinations that often occur.
Let's estimate in practice how much you can earn in different segments.
Salaries in this field can vary greatly. It depends on many factors. Here's a real life example.
Let's assume that the agency has 2-3 partners. Given equal shares, the agency's profit could be about 2.5 million rubles. With a profitability of 20%, the agency generates revenue of about 11-12 million. The average customer bill is 40-80 thousand, let’s take 60 thousand. This means that the agency serves approximately 200 projects. Plus, in the process you need to take into account all the features of doing business. So agency owners don't always make millions, despite their best efforts. Creating and developing a business requires many years of investment and work.
Now let's look at the salaries of SEO specialists. There is data according to which in Russia the salary of an SEO specialist is approximately 50 thousand rubles per month, in Moscow - about 70 thousand. There are vacancies with salaries of 95 thousand and above, but they are rare. Such positions usually involve experience or work in large in-house companies.
My experience shows the following: a beginner specialist can count on 20-60 thousand rubles, a specialist with experience - 40-150 thousand, and a specialist with 5+ years of experience - 80-250 thousand. If we are talking about a leadership position, you can earn 150-400 thousand rubles. The influence of the region after the pandemic and the transition to remote work has become much less. SEO salaries can now be viewed in an industry context rather than just by region.
Although sometimes you can find vacancies with large salaries, to do this you need to be a highly qualified specialist and work with serious clients and tasks. In general, hiring earnings rarely reach a million rubles.
Earnings from freelancing can vary significantly depending on the level of the specialist, the number of projects and the complexity of the work. Checks for freelancers can start from 15 thousand rubles per project, but in some cases the income can be much higher.
I've come across freelancers making millions. In one case, it was 10-15 projects with a check of 70-80 thousand rubles, with the help of a team (jun and webmaster). In another case, there was a 2 million project related to special services, for example, “black hat” SEO in a specific niche. However, such examples are rather the exception.
In practice, freelancers usually manage about 10 projects with an average bill of 30 thousand. I have seen such examples more often.
I'm very familiar with client-side SEO and most of my examples are related to it. However, I also worked a little with monetization of my own projects.
Making money on your own projects turned out to be more difficult and time-consuming. I myself tried to create and sell websites, used YAN/Adsense, worked on lidgen and a little links. But monetization through other channels, such as push notifications and non-standard methods, was not to my liking. I came to the conclusion that it is difficult to make millions on such projects alone, although exceptions are possible. However, you can develop a project with a team, which will allow you to achieve better results.
However, in “gray” and “black” niches, for example, through doorway vendors or arbitrage, you can really earn large sums. In such niches, income can amount to millions, but beginners and mid-level specialists have nothing to do there.
As for SaaS projects, such services can generate income, but are often limited to lower amounts. Only a small proportion of such projects can achieve high levels of income.
About the courses. In recent years, many “infogypsy” courses have appeared. There are better examples that can also bring in significant amounts. However, for this, the author must be quite authoritative in his industry.
Often salaries are considered for generalist specialists. For example, general SEO specialists. In Russian-language SEO, niche specializations such as link builders are not so in demand. However, they are quite popular in international SEO. It is worth noting that in foreign SEO, salaries are historically higher, but the competition is also greater. Sometimes it’s easier to find a client in the Russian-speaking segment than to spend a lot
