How to hire a search engine marketing manager

How to hire a search engine marketing manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step search engine marketing manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a search engine marketing manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new search engine marketing manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a search engine marketing manager do?

Post a search engine marketing manager job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a search engine marketing manager, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a search engine marketing manager to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a search engine marketing manager that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of search engine marketing managers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Search Engine Marketing Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Search Engine Marketing Manager	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$30-54
   Brand Manager	A brand manager is a professional responsible for adapting a brand strategy that targets the potential market for a company's product while maintaining its integrity. Brand managers assist in developing products while managing budgets for the advertising and promotion of their new products... Show more	$34-62
   Marketing Strategist	The marketing strategist is an executive who works with the members of the marketing team to ensure the implementation of high-quality marketing strategies within a given time frame. Marketing strategists examine data to find out the best way to administer resources to increase revenue and profits... Show more	$25-57

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Digital Marketing
   • Google Analytics
   • Paid Search
   • Keyword Research
   • Search Engine Marketing
   • Search Engine Optimization
   • Google Adwords
   • Organic Search
   • Campaign Performance
   • HTML
   • Semrush
   • WordPress
   • Marketing Campaigns
   • B Testing

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage lead generation PPC campaigns on AdWords and Facebook.
   • Manage all vendor relationships pertaining to the e-commerce site.
   • Project manage new CMS platform design changes to meet strategic business objectives.
   • Manage, maintain and present data analysis of campaign performance in alignment with company KPIs.
   • Manage paid and unpaid SEO, SEM and PPC efforts, and oversee group online presence and strategy across multiple brands.
   • Develop tracking strategy to attribute leads in Salesforce to appropriate campaigns.

   More search engine marketing manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the search engine marketing manager job description is a good way to get more applicants. A search engine marketing manager salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a search engine marketing manager in Wyoming may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level search engine marketing manager. Additionally, a search engine marketing manager with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average search engine marketing manager salary

   $85,323yearly

   $41.02 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level search engine marketing manager salary

   $63,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average search engine marketing manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$105,583	$51
   2	Michigan	$95,443	$46
   3	Pennsylvania	$92,836	$45
   4	Connecticut	$90,718	$44
   5	New York	$90,351	$43
   6	Nevada	$87,763	$42
   7	Delaware	$86,729	$42
   8	Illinois	$85,324	$41
   9	Missouri	$83,855	$40
   10	Minnesota	$83,349	$40
   11	Ohio	$82,851	$40
   12	Massachusetts	$82,492	$40
   13	Kentucky	$81,162	$39
   14	District of Columbia	$80,602	$39
   15	West Virginia	$79,991	$38
   16	Alaska	$79,223	$38
   17	Indiana	$79,081	$38
   18	Mississippi	$78,563	$38
   19	Texas	$78,527	$38
   20	Oklahoma	$77,060	$37

   Average search engine marketing manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$143,890	$69.18	703
   2	First Republic Bank	$113,354	$54.50
   3	Neiman Marcus Group	$112,050	$53.87	1
   4	Twilio	$111,453	$53.58	3
   5	Shutterstock	$105,286	$50.62
   6	The Walt Disney Company	$104,607	$50.29	55
   7	ViacomCBS	$104,533	$50.26
   8	Arrow Electronics	$98,392	$47.30	115
   9	The Home Depot	$94,949	$45.65	32
   10	Imaginuity	$94,035	$45.21
   11	Spark Foundry	$89,300	$42.93	3
   12	Carat	$89,156	$42.86
   13	Bitcoin.com	$86,848	$41.75
   14	LegalZoom	$86,443	$41.56	8
   15	Condé Nast	$85,473	$41.09	3
   16	All Web Leads	$85,023	$40.88	1
   17	Crunchyroll	$84,854	$40.80	6
   18	Party City	$83,891	$40.33
   19	Bio-Techne	$83,484	$40.14	7
   20	Digitas	$83,284	$40.04

4. Writing a search engine marketing manager job description

   A good search engine marketing manager job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a search engine marketing manager job description:

   Search engine marketing manager job description example

   Every day, Global Payments makes it possible for millions of people to move money between buyers and sellers using our payments solutions for credit, debit, prepaid and merchant services. Our worldwide team helps over 3 million companies, more than 1,300 financial institutions and over 600 million cardholders grow with confidence and achieve amazing results. We are driven by our passion for success and we are proud to deliver best-in-class payment technology and software solutions. Join our dynamic team and make your mark on the payments technology landscape of tomorrow.
   
   NetSpend Corporation is a leading provider of prepaid debit cards in the U.S. Prepaid debit cards are experiencing dramatic growth in consumer adoption. The company's prepaid cards enable anyone to make purchases, pay bills, secure reservations, and shop online without needing a traditional bank account, a credit history or access to a credit card.
   
   NetSpend Direct is an entrepreneurial business unit within NetSpend, with responsibility for growing the company's online and direct-to-consumer business line including all facets of customer acquisition and retention, servicing customers through web and mobile platforms, and strategic partnerships.
   
   We are looking for a digital marketing star to lead & grow our Direct and SEO Direct and SEO channels channel with a strong focus on performance and growth. You will be responsible for the company's Direct traffic and organic search vision, strategy, and execution, while also helping develop NetSpend's digital marketing stack through industry thought leadership.
   What You'll Do
   Search Engine Optimization - Responsible for strategy, creation, execution, and measurement of SEO programs for both NetSpend consumer/business and partner branded programs. Review daily, weekly, monthly performance trends and direct optimization activities. Oversee SEO budget and pacing working closely with our Paid Search channel manager to ensure volume goals are met while executing on a joint strategic roadmap.Direct Traffic Management - You will be responsible for the management of programs to ensure we are presenting the best possible experience for our millions of visitors that arrive at our digital properties every day.Full Funnel Management - Own the strategy and execution for the full marketing lifecycle from campaign ideation, creative execution, landing page optimization, and product order flow optimization Testing - Whether we are testing keyword targeting/copy, landing pages, or tactics, we are always looking for ways to improve performance and will call on this person to provide more bandwidth and rigor in this area.Optimization -Success in this role will require leveraging self-service management tools, analyzing campaign performance by integrating front and back end metrics, and identifying areas of opportunity and risk. The successful candidate will need to be able to translate these analyses into actionable tactics.Budgeting and forecasting - Live, breathe and own your numbers. Work with the Digital Team and Account Managers to provide Direct/SEO budgeting guidance along with forecasted KPIs including Order and Funding targets. Manage weekly updates to internal performance reporting documents and monthly updates to the marketing forecast. Strategic Roadmap - Aid in researching and discovering new marketing technologies and tools that will help us scale our digital marketing programs.Competitive Analysis - Leverage enterprise-class web tools to provide regular updates on the competitive landscape Executive Presentations - Develop and present channel summaries for leadership, identifying key areas of opportunity and risk. When appropriate develop and present investment business cases for areas of growth and innovation.
   
   What's Great About It
   
   You'll own your channel's marketing experiences across acquisition, and marketing analytics You'll get to focus on your passion for Search Engine Optimization, conversion optimization, and the digital channel which plays a critical role in driving our business forward.And of course, you will be joining an industry leader with a solid growth record and expansion opportunities.
   
   Experience We're Looking For
   
   Bachelor's Degree3+ years of experience focusing on SEO with a strong knowledge of search engine algorithms and ranking methods Demonstrated experience developing and implementing inbound content marketing and variable testing services Deadline-oriented with the ability to prioritize and accomplish multiple projects within tight timeframes Working knowledge of SEO tools, Google and Adobe Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Google Search ConsoleSpecific technical web experience, such as HTML and CSS is preferred Must have strong analytical and problem-solving skills Ability to collaborate with both web developers and content creators to accomplish SEO objectives Proficient in Google Drive applications (Docs, Sheets, Slides) Exceptional communication and presentation skills, strong interpersonal skills, and ability to work well in a team environment Creative eye and sensibility - while the quantitative skills are critical, so is the ability to know what kind of messaging and creative will deliver response and results Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic team environment, where resourcefulness and initiative are highly rewarded Love the craft of performance marketing, and wear that passion on your sleeve Familiarity with Adobe Experience Manager suite of products Familiarity with current trends in SEO and content marketing
   Global Payments Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.
   Global Payments provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, genetic information or any other basis protected by law. Those applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application and/or interview process should notify a representative of the Human Resources Department.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right search engine marketing manager for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   To find search engine marketing manager candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit search engine marketing managers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new search engine marketing manager

   Once you've found the search engine marketing manager candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new search engine marketing manager. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a search engine marketing manager?