Replay: The SEO gender gap and how to close it

In this episode, we discussed the gender gap in SEO. We talked about new research, experiences of women in SEO and solutions for improving female representation and pay equity in the search industry.

Our panelists included:

• Nicole DeLeon, Founder and Lead Strategist of North Star Inbound.
• Aleyda Solis, International SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti.
• Amanda Jordan, Director, Local Search, Locomotive Agency.

New research from DeLeon and North Star Inbound shows that women account for roughly 30% of SEOs globally — a stat that hasn’t budged in five years. Across the board, whether by retainer, project or the hour, women are charging and making less than their male counterparts, according to the survey data. This echoes a BrightLocal survey of local SEOs that found a pay gap of roughly 14% between men and women.

In addition to talking about their own experiences as women in the industry, we discussed DeLeon’s research on (the lack of) representation and pay equity, the importance of intentionality in affecting change, why men should be part of the conversation, the benefits of building a network of female and male allies and resources

RELATED: Nominations now open: Search Engine Land Award for Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Search Marketing

Watch the full episode above or skip to topics via the timestamps below.

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 3:16 – Amanda Jordan and her move to a female-majority agency
• 5:13 – Aleyda Solis on her career and gender gap perceptions in South America
• 8:00 – Nicole DeLeon on starting her agency and facing discrimination from VCs
• 11:49 – Survey data on the persistent gender gap in SEO
• 15:49 – Ways to close the compensation gap
• 21:32 – How lack of representation affects equitable pay, events
• 27:00 – Why intentionality is crucial for progress
• 29:13 – Leaning in isn’t enough to overcome entrenched biases
• 31:23 – What it means to be a good ally in the SEO industry
• 37:44 – Thoughts on identifying your own value and getting others to recognize it as well
• 43:35 – Lessons and advice for women overcoming career roadblocks

BIPOC and LGBTQ+ survey. To better understand the experiences of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ SEOs, North Star Inbound is currently fielding a diversity and inclusion survey. Take the survey here.

Watch our recent session on diversity, equity and inclusion in the marketing and advertising industry:

We at Search Engine Land hope this series of live discussions, presentations, tutorials and meetups will help marketers stay sharp and up to date on tactics and best practices. If you have an idea for a session or would like to join a panel, email kbushman@thirddoormedia.com or fill out the pitch form here.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Ginny Marvin

Ginny Marvin was Third Door Media’s former Editor-in-Chief (October 2018 to December 2020), running the day to day editorial operations across all publications and overseeing paid media coverage. Ginny Marvin writes about paid digital advertising and analytics news and trends for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and MarTech Today. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.