Well, it’s taken a LOT of months of effort, and a LOT of feedback from folks, but we’re finally ready!
SEMPO’s In-House SEM Salary Survey
For those who may not know it, I’m a co-chair for the SEMPO In-House SEM Committee. Our reason for being is to act as a gathering point for in-house SEMs and offer useful information to the larger group of in-house SEMs scattered around the globe.
So, back in April, the idea occurred to me that we had no real data on salaries and compensation packages for in-house SEMs. Sure, there were discussions in forums, such as this older one at SEW, but everything seemed to be anecdotal - nothing solid that you could, oh, I don’t know - take to HR and say, “Hey, people with my skills are being paid $10,000 (on average) more than I am. What, if anything, can we do about this?”
Now, if your HR Manager is anything like mine, she’d start the discussion by laughing in your face. Then say thanks for the info, she’ll see what she can do. In all seriousness, when I spoke to my HR Manager back it the Spring, she was interested in this data, as it would help her directly understand the value of this skilled, niche position within our company. Finding data on comp packages for Sales Managers, product Managers and Marketing Managers is relatively straight-forward. Finding real data on jobs like Search Managers, PPC Analysts and Directors of Search Marketing, well, that’s still very cloudy.
Regardless, I wanted to know the data - so the survey was born.
Now, lest you get the idea that “Duane this on his own”, I’ll tell you immediately that if it were not for the help and feedback offered by the entire In-House SEM Committee, and the BoD members at SEMPO, this would never have seen the light.
Now, who can use this data?
Well, any in-house SEM can use it. They can use it as a gauge to measure their own value in the industry. Trust me - you are all, everyone, a winner. 
But those with 6+ years of experience and those with 2 years of experience should occupy very different positions within a given organization.
The businesses themselves will also be able to use this information as a way to judge if they are compensating vital personnel adequately, or if they are in jeopardy of losing them. It’ll also help businesses looking to grow their in-house teams understand the landscape a bit better.
Despite accidentally deleting the survey, and having the awesome and quick-witted staff at www.SurveyMonkey.com save my a$$ by restoring things hours before going live, it’s been mostly boring slogging through details and hundreds of e-mails to pull together what we hope are a relevant list of questions. I’ll tell you, hitting the wrong button and suddenly wondering where everything went is a sure-fire way to raise your heart rate.
So, if you’re in-house, and you see this, please do the following:
1 - fill in the survey (and be honest )
2 - forward the link to anyone you know who are in-house as well
In the end, the info will benefit everyone, so it’s worth participating.
