Analyzing search engine marketing performance — paid and organic — across keywords, ad copy, landing pages, and conversion paths. The work is heavy on Google Ads, Search Console, and analytics platforms, with reports that drive decisions on bids, budgets, and content strategy.
Performance data, keyword analysis, and actionable reporting make up the core of the work. You're pulling from Google Ads, GA4, Search Console, and possibly third-party platforms to understand where the program is working and where it's leaking. The reports you produce aren't just dashboards — they need to answer "what should we change?" not just "here's what happened."
The paid and organic blend matters more than it used to. Paid search and SEO compete for the same queries, and a strong analyst understands both well enough to recommend budget shifts or content investments based on combined data. When you can see that a query converts at a high rate in paid but has no organic presence, that's an actionable finding — one that requires understanding both channels.
Stakeholders have varying data literacy, which means the same analysis gets packaged differently for different audiences. A marketing manager wants the headline and the recommendation. A CFO wants cost-per-acquisition against target. The search team wants the keyword-level detail. Learning to communicate findings at the right altitude — without dumbing it down or burying the point in data — is what makes an analyst influence decisions rather than just produce reports.
An honest look at who tends to thrive in this role — and who might find it challenging.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Analyzing search engine marketing performance — paid and organic — across keywords, ad copy, landing pages, and conversion paths. The work is heavy on Google Ads, Search Console, and analytics platforms, with reports that drive decisions on bids, budgets, and content strategy.
Median pay for a Search Engine Marketing Analyst is about $77K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $42K to $145K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Complex Problem Solving, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Active Learning.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 6.7% through 2034, with roughly 861,140 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Junior Search Engine Marketing Analyst, Senior Search Engine Marketing Analyst, and Marketing Director.
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