Blog

Surviving the 2025 SEO & Paid Media Shakeup: What Employers and Talent Need to Know

Search For Hire

•

May 5, 2025

After a tough stretch of hiring freezes, layoffs and budget cuts through 2023 and into early 2024, SEO and paid media hiring is picking up again, cautiously, but decisively. Working with hundreds of agencies globally, from scrappy startups to scaled enterprise teams, gives us a unique window into what’s really happening behind the scenes in digital marketing hiring. Every year my team speak to thousands of marketers. We’re not guessing where the market’s headed, we’re deep in the trenches with the people building it. Right now, we’re seeing a shift. Depending on how you frame it, we’re either in the middle of a talent crisis or standing at the edge of one of the biggest hiring opportunities the industry’s ever seen. In this breakdown, I’ll walk you through what we’re seeing and how to stay ahead, whether you’re scaling an agency, leading a marketing team or trying to hire your next performance marketer.

2024’s Cooldown (and Why It Wasn’t All Bad)

In 2024, SEO job listings dropped by over 30% across the US, UK, and Australia. Content-focused SEO roles were hit particularly hard, down ~28% year-over-year. Paid media hiring slowed too, especially after late-2023 budget tightening. It was a tough year for us. We saw our clients pause on a lot of hires. We saw a lot of uncertainty with fear within the industry. But it’s not a simple story of decline — it’s a recalibration of priorities. We saw our clients ditch the generalist roles and get heart eyes for the specialists.

“Specialists who blend deep SEO/technical expertise with creative, data-driven storytelling, and who can wield AI as an accelerant will crush in the industry. Doubly so for those who can communicate directly with clients. Generic “content churners” and all-purpose generalists who refuse to adapt to automation will fade out” — Harry Sanders, Founder, StudioHawk

While mid-level content roles slowed, technical, strategic, and leadership-level positions grew. In late 2024:

VP of SEO job listings surged by 50%+
SEO Manager roles jumped nearly 60%

Key takeaway: The market is rewarding deep specialists, not generalists.

Strategic Thinking Will Be the #1 Skill by 2030

I asked Andrew Holland for his take on this. If you don’t know Andy he’s one of the best marketers out there: “Which roles or skillsets do you believe will be most critical in digital marketing by 2030, and which ones are at risk of becoming obsolete?”

“The future of digital marketing hinges on one crucial factor: effectiveness, not output. In a world where anyone can create anything almost instantly and at scale, it’s not how much you do, but how effective your output is at achieving its goal. The most critical skillset will be strategic thinking, and the Rule of Two is going to become bigger than ever. What’s the Rule of Two? If you know Star Wars, you’ll recognise the bad guys known as the Sith. In their doctrine, there are always only 2 Sith: the master and the apprentice. This dynamic is where digital marketing is heading. We’re moving toward a structure of high-level strategic marketers and apprentices who learn from their thinking and execute strategies, leveraging AI. I see this relationship developing at every level in all organisations. There are a few reasons for this. AI will make people vastly more productive. So, where you might have a team of 6, you’ll have a team of 2 or 3. This creates a narrow pod structure. The reason it has to stay narrow is down to mental accounting and human memory. Humans can increase productivity, but there is a limit to the number of accounts or things that anyone can think about. It might be tempting for an agency to think that it can take on more clients with fewer staff, but this isn’t exactly true. While productivity will increase in volume of clients, the main increase will be in the value that an agency can deliver. That value might be in terms of more effective work or an increase in the volume of work. All of this requires strategic thinking to maximise. This pits a flat traditional pod structure against a narrow, taller, and leaner one. Tall and lean will win this battle.”

I love Andrew’s ‘Rule of Two’ concept. It reflects what I’m advising clients on right now: hire a strategic lead who can think across disciplines, and pair them with an AI-fluent executor who’s hungry to grow. That duo, when structured right, can outperform a bloated team of five or six. Expect marketing structures to evolve from flat, broad teams to narrow, tall pods — a lean team of strategic leads and skilled apprentices, amplified by AI. I believe we’re going to see companies hit crazy revenue figures with extremely lean teams. One strategic thinker who knows how to pair AI with smart thinking could replace the output of an entire content or performance team from five years ago. It’s like replacing a warehouse of assembly line workers with one machine operator who understands how the entire system fits together. We’ve placed strategic hires who now manage what used to be three full-time roles, because they understand workflows, they delegate to AI, and they make decisions faster.

2025 Hiring Outlook:

Recovery Mode (But Smarter)

I don’t think recovery is the right word to use here. It’s a reset. We’re currently deep in the midst of an evolution in how agencies and brands hire. After a cautious couple of years, marketing leaders are hiring again — but they’re doing it smarter. Instead of bloated teams and “just-in-case” hires, they’re building lean, strategic pods designed for outcomes, not outputs. 68% of US marketing managers say they plan to hire. SEO and paid media continue to rank among the most in demand specialisms. Growth areas include:

SEO Managers are expected to do more than optimise pages. They’re now product thinkers, CRO collaborators and client educators.

Performance Marketing Leads need to be as comfortable in GA4 and Meta Ads Manager as they are building creative & workflow automations?

Paid Search Strategists are expected to pair automation with human insight, bringing an edge that AI bidding strategies alone can’t deliver.
Technical SEO Specialists are in demand because site performance, indexation, and structured data are now business-critical, not “nice to haves.”

“Look for an endlessly curious “wholesome nerd” who pairs deep domain mastery with rapid learning, AI fluency, and client communication skills. Someone adaptable enough and imaginative enough to turn data into ideas will keep the team ahead of whatever 2030 throws at it.” — Harry Sanders, Founder of Studiohawk

“What I’m seeing daily in paid media recruitment is a dramatic shift in priorities. The most sought-after candidates aren’t just platform optimizers – they’re specialists who leverage AI tools to create efficient workflows. Clients specifically want people who are actively looking to streamline routine tasks so they can focus on higher-leverage wins. The premium is now on paid media talent who understand both technical possibilities and consumer psychology – marketers who actively seek out (or build) new tools and translate insights into business impact.” — Dmitrii Anikin, CEO at Paid Media Jobs

Here’s what I’m advising our clients to follow when it comes to hiring. We call it The 4C Hiring Formula: The top marketing hires in 2025 will be judged on four critical factors:

Clarity: Can they turn complexity into insights clients and stakeholders can act on? How understandable is their strategy?
Curiosity: Are they always learning, testing, improving – especially with AI tools?
Commerciality: Do they understand how their work moves revenue, not just rankings or clicks?
Communication: Can they tell the story, rally the team, and build trust with clients? What’s their ability to translate data into ideas?Andrew’s take is very aligned with ours.

“There are three core competencies that all marketers will need in the future:

Strategic thinking

AI literacy

Effectiveness

These competencies are essential because, in theory, AI allows unlimited output. However, the key differentiator isn’t that you created 100 blog articles this month—it’s whether those 100 blog posts deliver growth. This isn’t a priority list but a requirement list. And it’s going to underpin every agency and marketing role in the future. The level of noise out there is going to increase. It’s how you cut through it that matters.”

Here’s Peter Tams, Co founder at Clever Marketing Digital, breakdown,

“We’re still early in fully leveraging AI, but it’s already shifting how we think about output and structure. Right now, we’ve embedded AI into the creative and copy process, and we’ve normalized tools like ChatGPT across the team for problem-solving and ideation. It’s less about replacing work, and more about accelerating it — tightening workflows & processes, testing faster and at larger volumes. The bigger impact is on how we define success. Gross margin expectations are increasing. That’s a direct result of AI enabling fewer people to do more. As that adoption increases, so will our standards. When I’m hiring now, I listen carefully to how candidates talk about AI. Have they used it to build better systems? Do they see it as a co-pilot or a shortcut? Their mindset tells me a lot about how they’ll perform in a modern marketing team. I believe AI is essential for all teams – but certainly most important for paid media.“

I’m seeing the job marketing heat up. But this time it’s for the smart, strategic and AI literate marketers who are in high demand. Let’s break down the job market below.

Regional Breakdown: US, UK & Australia

This data was researched through our own internal efforts as well using data the articles linked.

United States

SEO Director: Average base salary ranges between $105,183 and $113,333 annually, depending on the source and specific role definitions.

SEO Manager: Average base salary is approximately $105,394 per year.

SEO Specialist: Average base salary is around $71,718 annually.

PPC Manager: While specific figures for 2025 are limited, previous data suggests average salaries between $75,000 and $90,000.

Paid Media Director: Average base salary is approximately $122,545 per year.

Paid Media Strategist: Average base salary is around $80,000 annually.
Job Market Insight: The SEO job market remains robust, with SEO Specialist roles experiencing a 28% year-over-year salary increase. Talent.com Talent.com

United Kingdom

SEO Director: Average base salary is approximately £54,747 per year.
Head of SEO: Average base salary is around £55,768 annually.
SEO Manager: Average base salary is about £37,531 per year.
SEO Specialist: Average base salary is approximately £32,640 annually.
Paid Media Director: Average base salary is approximately £83,055 per year.
Paid Media Strategist: Average base salary is around £45,000 annually.
Job Market Insight: While hiring experienced a slowdown, a rebound is anticipated. Hybrid roles are increasing, whereas fully remote positions have seen a decline. Salary.com

Australia

SEO Manager: Average base salary is around A$97,302 per year.
SEO Specialist: Average base salary is approximately A$86,026 annually.
PPC Manager: Average base salary is about A$79,000 per year.
Paid Media Director: Average base salary is approximately A$129,987 per year.
Paid Media Strategist: Average base salary is around A$105,000 annually.
Job Market Insight: The market showed strength in early 2024, with a slight cooling observed later. Optimism remains highest in Sydney and Melbourne markets.

Hot (and Not) Skills for 2025

The biggest shift: AI fluency is no longer optional. By Q4 2024:

56% of top SEO job listings mentioned AI skills.
75% of SEO roles required technical SEO expertise.

Top skills in demand:

Technical SEO & schema markup
First-party data strategies
Analytics & attribution modeling
AI-driven content workflows
Cross-channel campaign management

“AI is offloading grunt work (audits, first-pass content, reporting), letting a leaner group of high-skill strategists own projects end-to-end. New hires must be comfortable co-piloting with AI, while bringing uniquely human creativity, judgment, and strong communication skills.” — Harry Sanders

Here’s what Andrew said :

“The Rule of Two transformation is already happening across marketing hierarchies. A marketing manager will use AI to deliver the work of 3 people until they reach their output capacity. At that point, they’ll seek their ‘apprentice’, taking over their output, allowing the marketing manager to conduct higher-level thinking/ output. This doesn’t mean the apprentice will be a low-skilled worker, I’d argue the opposite. The future is in senior skilled hires. To give you an analogy, have you seen the way people have built houses in London? As the value increases the only way to build is up and down. Yes, you have the original house. But to increase the value of the house, you might add 1 or 2 floors above and also dig out to build one or 2 levels below. Similarly, marketing teams will build vertically, with strategic thinkers at the top supported by specialised talent both above and below. Each level requires high competency, but with different focus areas. The traditional horizontal structure of having many specialists at the same level will give way to these vertical pods. This creates a more efficient system where AI amplifies the capabilities of each team member while maintaining clear lines of expertise and authority. OK, so that’s a lot of theory, but how would it look in practice? A single marketing manager might come in and set up your social content, thought leadership flywheel and effective social ads. This remains their core role and output. Once maxed out and growth is happening, they would seek an apprentice to take over the output under their guidance (and improve this together), the marketing manager might focus on the next level, such as international speaking, white paper development and podcast development. This is how growth increases.”

I asked Peter Tams, who has been very bullish on hiring in 2025 :

“It depends on the industry and business model, but across the board, the most valuable marketers will be those who can go deep on a single platform while operating full stack within it. At our company, we don’t believe in hybrid Search/Social roles anymore — the level of depth required in each is too high. I can’t have both a high and unrealistic expectation. If someone owns Meta, I expect them to write copy, launch ads, analyze performance, and iterate — start to finish — and now, with AI in the mix, that expectation only increases. The bar is higher, not lower. What’s at risk are the fragmented, siloed roles — people who just “optimize” or “ideate” but don’t connect their work to outcomes. Those functions will either consolidate or be automated.”

What this means for employers: Don’t just look for marketers who “know AI.” Look for those who integrate AI into daily workflows to increase speed, accuracy and strategic output. The best hires will be those who can toggle between automation and human insight without skipping a beat. What this means for talent: If you’re not upskilling in AI tools now — from ChatGPT to programmatic SEO automations — you’re not keeping pace. But remember: AI isn’t enough. Your edge will come from pairing AI fluency with domain expertise, creativity, and client-facing confidence. And if you think you’re late to the party, I promise you there’s still time. Start now. Key Takeaway : Hiring managers need to prioritize adaptability over pedigree, and talent needs to blend depth with range. Deep in their craft, but adaptable enough to work across tools, teams and evolving strategies.

In-House vs Agency vs Freelance

In-house teams are prioritizing senior hires because they want tighter control over strategy, data, and brand. Brands are investing in senior talent who can own performance end-to-end and integrate with product, dev and analytics teams. Agencies continue to attract early- and mid-career talent, largely due to the variety of projects and accelerated learning. But we’re seeing increased demand for hybrid work, better compensation, and career progression, retention is becoming a growing challenge. Freelance and contract work is booming, particularly at the top end. Why? Freedom, flexibility and control. Senior marketers are realizing they can earn agency-level retainers while working with fewer clients, on their terms. We’re seeing seasoned pros package themselves as fractional Heads of SEO or Paid Leads — earning $100–$200/hour and picking projects strategically. The hybrid career is here to stay. Increasingly, we’re seeing professionals combine freelance gigs with part-time or contract roles — building what some call a “portfolio career.” And a lot of our clients actually prefer this. These marketers value autonomy but still want the stimulation of team collaboration and long-term impact. For agencies and brands, this opens up an opportunity: You can now access senior talent on flexible terms, but you’ll need to compete on more than just salary — think autonomy, learning progression and values alignment. If you’re building in-house: Focus on leadership hires who can think across channels, mentor others and integrate with other departments (especially data and dev). These are not plug-and-play roles. They need space to lead and evolve the strategy. If you’re scaling an agency: You need to be brutally clear on the value proposition for talent. Is it fast progression? Remote first culture? World leading brand clients? Otherwise, you risk losing talent to freelance or in-house options within 12–18 months. This is why we work with great clients like Searchtides, Searchbloom, Rankings who have got 90+ % in staff retention. If you’re working with freelancers: Treat them as partners, not vendors. The best ones will fire you if you micromanage them or don’t respect their time. They want to work on meaty problems with teams who value outcomes, not admin.

What This Means for Agencies Hiring in 2025

Here’s my prediction : talents getting denser. Hiring’s getting more expensive. Fewer people, higher standards. AI fluency will not be a “nice to have”, it’ll be a necessity. The ones who leverage it will be the ones who win. So if you’re scaling an SEO or paid media agency in 2025, you’re not just competing for talent — you’re competing for strategic minds who want leverage, not just a payslip. Here’s how to win:

Refine your offer: Salary gets them interested. Culture and career progression close the deal. Build an environment where AI isn’t feared — it’s embraced.

Upskill by design: The best talent wants a steep learning curve. Bake growth, experimentation and innovation into your day-to-day — not just your onboarding.

Move fast, or lose out: The best candidates move quickly. Your hiring process should reflect the urgency and clarity of your agency’s values.

In 2025, talent chooses companies the same way clients choose agencies: based on clarity, speed, and the promise of impact. Peter says you need to find people like this :

“Look for critical thinking and a bias toward numbers. With all the tools, automations, and AI systems, the edge now isn’t who can press the buttons… it’s who knows which levers to pull, and why. I’m looking for marketers who can interpret performance, understand what the numbers are telling them, and then take decisive action. That’s the only way to stay ahead in a landscape that changes every quarter (every month at the rate I’m seeing). The second thing is drive. Passion beats raw intellect every time. I want marketers on the team who care deeply about winning — people who treat client performance like their own scoreboard. That level of ownership is hard to teach, but when you find it, it’s unbeatable”

Hire like you build campaigns — strategically, creatively, and with the future in mind. We’re entering a new era. One where smaller, sharper teams with the right mindset will outperform entire departments. It’s no longer about having more people — it’s about having the right people, with the tools and freedom to move fast. We’ve built over 100 high-performing SEO and Paid Media teams for some of the world’s leading brands, from global startups to Fortune 500s. If you’re navigating the AI-powered hiring landscape and want help building a smarter, leaner team, drop me or my team a message. We’ll point you in the right direction.