• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, November 8, 2013

Top salaries for search engine marketing have fallen across the board. The average salary fell from $75,543 in 2011 to $68,600 in 2013, according to The 2013 SEMPO Salary Survey.

The Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization, with support from ClickZ and Conductor, found that the majority of respondents with one to three years of experience earn between $30,001 and $50,000. In the group with five to seven years of experience, about 55% make more than $70,000 annually. Marketers holding VP titles in 2013 brought home annually between $100,000 and $120,000 -- down from $120,000 and $140,000 in 2010, and $140,000 and $160,000 in 2007.

More importantly, the findings show that more marketers are taking on multiple responsibilities such as organic and paid search. In fact, marketers supporting a combination of organic with paid search grew 11%. Some combine that with email and other online media. Some 64% of respondents report up through the Marketing Department rather than to a Search or IT department, which shows that the marketing organizational chart continues to change.

The findings also show a 10% growth in entry-level employees, with 27% of respondents reporting they have been in search between zero and three years. The majority of the salaries ranged between zero and $30,000, with some as high as $60,000 annually.

Marketers that support a combination of organic with paid search grew 11%. Some combine that with email and other online media. Some 64% of respondents report up through the Marketing Department rather than to a Search or IT department, which shows that the marketing organizational chart continues to change.

Search marketing budgets rose across the board for those spending under $150,000 per month, but the budgets of those typically spending more either remained static or fell. A majority of the respondents -- 35% -- said budgets varied between zero and $25,000. The report points to an increase in the number of entry-level respondents to the survey as a possible reason for the decline.

About 50.4% of the respondents from the survey conducted in January 2013 reside in the U.S., followed by 4.4% in Canada; 4.1% in the United Kingdom; 3.5% in India; and 1.6% in Australia. Some 63% of the 2,180 respondents focus on B2C marketing, and the remainder in B2B.

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