Despite the claims that SEO is dead due to the rise of AI and changes in Google’s algorithms, the market is alive and well, displaying positive growth each year.
Several factors contribute to this growth, including advancements in technology, surging mobile internet usage, and global digitalization.
As a result, businesses are investing more in SEO to increase their online visibility and reach.
Below, we’ll explore these in detail and examine the statistics driving the SEO industry’s growth.
SEO Market Size Highlights
- The global search engine optimization (SEO) market is valued at $74 billion.
- The SEO space is set to surpass $129 billion by 2030.
- The United States represents $22.3 billion or 30.1% of the global SEO market.
- Content creation is the largest SEO sector at $28.73 billion.
- The link-building market is projected to reach $36.28 billion by 2030.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Market Size
According to the latest reported data, the global search engine optimization (SEO) market is worth $74 billion.
SEO is rapidly expanding as businesses increasingly recognize the importance of digital visibility. Companies are investing more in SEO to enhance their online presence, reach broader audiences, and stay competitive in the digital age.
According to a Sagefrog survey, SEO is the most used marketing strategy among B2B marketers, with 49% of respondents claiming to use this tactic. The same survey revealed that B2B organizations allocate 15% of total marketing spend toward SEO initiatives.
In fact, the SEO market grew from an estimated $68.27 billion in 2022 to $74 billion by the end of 2023. That’s an increase of 8.39% in one year.
And the growth is expected to continue. The global SEO market is projected to reach $129.6 billion by 2030, continuing to grow at a CAGR of approximately 8.3%.
Based on the industry’s projected CAGR, here’s a look at how the SEO market is expected to grow until 2030.
| Year | Estimated SEO Market Valuation |
| 2022 | $68.3B |
| 2023 | $74.0B |
| 2024 | $80.1B |
| 2025 | $86.8B |
| 2026 | $94.0B |
| 2027 | $101.8B |
| 2028 | $110.2B |
| 2029 | $119.4B |
| 2030 | $129.6B |
Source: Research and Markets, Emergen Research
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Market Size By Service/Sector
Search engine optimization is a broad market with various service sectors, such as content creation, link building, and technical SEO. Below, we look at focus areas in 2024 according to SEO professionals and the market size and growth rates for these sectors.
According to a survey by Statista, 13.5% of SEO professionals stated that content strategy and production will be their number one focus area in 2024.
| Focus Area | Number of SEO Professionals |
| Content strategy and production | 13.5% |
| Data analysis | 9.6% |
| Better understanding of the audience | 8.8% |
| Building a subscriber list | 8.7% |
| Search intent for pages | 8.4% |
| User experience | 7.6% |
| Social media | 6.9% |
| Improving attribution | 6.5% |
| Lead generation | 5.9% |
| Link building | 5.0% |
| PR & influencer | 4.9% |
| Paid search | 4.1% |
| User journey | 3.9% |
| On-page factors | 3.5% |
| Workflows and processes | 2.6% |
The next highest focus areas were data analysis (9.6%), gaining a better understanding of their audience (8.8%), and building a subscriber email list (8.7%).
We decided to analyze three notable SEO sectors in more detail: content creation, link building, and technical SEO. Below is what we learned about each market.
Content Creation
The content creation market is a big part of the SEO industry. The global digital content creation market is worth $28.73 billion.
This sector is also growing faster than the overall SEO market. It’s projected to reach $69.79 billion by 2030, growing at a 13.5% CAGR. Here’s a look at how the industry is growing each year:
| Year | Estimated Content Creation Market Size |
| 2022 | $25.7B |
| 2023 | $28.7B |
| 2024 | $32.3B |
| 2025 | $36.4B |
| 2026 | $41.2B |
| 2027 | $46.7B |
| 2028 | $53.2B |
| 2029 | $60.9B |
| 2030 | $69.8B |
Content creation tools are a significant driver in this market, accounting for $21.09 billion (73.4%) in market size in 2023.
Link Building
SEO professionals are well aware of the importance of link-building in generating SEO success. In fact, 79.7% of SEOs believe link building is critical to their SEO strategy.
Today, 28% of SEO budgets are allocated to link building. This would mean the global link building market size is valued at $20.72 billion.
Below is a look at the estimated link-building market size between 2022-2030:
| Year | Estimated Link Building Market Size |
| 2022 | $19.1B |
| 2023 | $20.7B |
| 2024 | $22.4B |
| 2025 | $24.3B |
| 2026 | $26.3B |
| 2027 | $28.5B |
| 2028 | $30.9B |
| 2029 | $33.4B |
| 2030 | $36.3B |
It’s estimated that 46% of SEOs spend $10,000 or more annually on link-building efforts. Smaller teams also invest in link building. 22% report spending between $1,000 and $2,500 each year.
According to an Authority Hacker survey, 74.3% of link builders pay for links. The same survey reported that the average cost of a paid link is $83.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO professionals are essential to the marketing team, especially when fixing website issues, optimizing for mobile, improving site speed, and auditing existing sites.
Today, SEO managers allocate approximately 25% of their budget to technical SEO. That means the technical SEO market is currently valued at $18.5 billion.
Below, you can find the calculated market size for technical SEO from 2022 to 2030:
| Year | Estimated SEO Market Valuation |
| 2022 | $17.1B |
| 2023 | $18.5B |
| 2024 | $20.0B |
| 2025 | $21.7B |
| 2026 | $23.5B |
| 2027 | $25.5B |
| 2028 | $27.6B |
| 2029 | $29.8B |
| 2030 | $32.4B |
By 2030, the technical SEO market will reach $32.40 billion.
Source: Statista, Aira, Authority Hacker, Grand View Research, FatJoe
Growth Drivers in the SEO Space
Over the last two years, the SEO space has experienced some dramatic shifts due to AI content creation tools and extreme changes in Google’s algorithms, which directly impact SERP rankings.
Despite the changes, space is booming. And there are a few factors behind this upward trajectory within the SEO market, including:
- Mobile-First Indexing
- AI and Machine Learning
- Content Relevance and User Experience
Mobile-First Indexing
While this has been in place for a while, Google announced in July 2024 that it will exclusively crawl and index all sites using its mobile Googlebot.
This shift has caused businesses to prioritize mobile optimization to improve search rankings, increasing demand for SEO services focusing on mobile compatibility.
AI and Machine Learning
AI is rapidly changing SEO by improving search accuracy and content optimization. AI-driven tools also offer predictive analytics and personalized recommendations to help develop more effective SEO strategies.
According to a seoClarity survey, 83% of enterprise companies reported SEO performance improvements since incorporating AI into their strategies.
Content Relevance and User Experience
High-quality content and user experience are key drivers behind SEO success. Google’s Core Web Vitals emphasize UX factors such as loading speed and interactivity, which directly impact search rankings.
Studies show that 88% of users are less likely to return to a site after a poor experience, highlighting the importance of UX in SEO.
Source: Emergen Research, Google, Amazon AWS, seoClarity
Key Players in the SEO Market
- Alphabet Inc. (US)
- Microsoft Corporation (US)
- Baidu, Inc. (China)
- HubSpot Inc. (US)
- Semrush Holdings, Inc. (US)
- Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)
- Moz Inc. (US)
- WebFX (US)
- BrightEdge Technologies, Inc. (US)
- Conductor (US)
- Screaming Frog Ltd (UK)
- SEOMoz, Inc. (US)
- OuterBox (US)
- Rank Ranger, LLC (US)
- Next Net Media (US)
Source: Emergen Research
SEO Market Breakdown by Region
The United States has the largest share of the global SEO market, accounting for $22.3 billion of the industry’s $74 billion valuation, or 30.1% of the entire market.
Despite Google being banned in mainland China, the country’s SEO market remains one of the fastest growing. With local search engines like Baidu dominating the space, the market is projected to grow to $22 billion by 2030 at a 7.6% CAGR.
Industry professionals can determine the best countries for SEO based on Google’s market share. Below are the top five countries based on total monthly visits and traffic share percentage.
| Country | Monthly Visits to Google | Market Share (% of Traffic) |
| 1. United States | 24.9B | 18.8% |
| 2. India | 10.6B | 8.0% |
| 3. Japan | 6.9B | 5.3% |
| 4. Brazil | 6.3B | 4.8% |
| 5. United Kingdom | 3.9B | 2.9% |
The United States leads in Google usage, with 24.9 billion monthly visits. This represents 18.84% of global Google traffic.
India ranks second with 10.63 billion monthly visits. Notably, India generates about 94% of its desktop search traffic through Google, the highest percentage among all countries.
Source: Research and Markets, World Population Review,
Conclusion
Despite some turbulence in recent months due to the industry’s heavy reliance on Google, the SEO market is still displaying strength and positive growth.
Increasing adoption of AI tools, a shift to mobile-first experiences, and growing service sectors combine to indicate a bright future for the industry.
Max Roslyakov
Founder, Xamsor