Nobody posts marketing and content comp data as consistently as SWE data gets posted. Let me change that a little.
I'm 5 years in, content/SEO, currently at a Series C SaaS. Just got an offer I'm deciding on. Ran a full market benchmarking exercise for the first time and it was eye-opening.
What I found for content/SEO roles, mid-senior, 2026: Content Manager / SEO Manager (3-5 YOE): $80-105k base, roughly. Remote or mid-market office. Big-tech content roles pay more but the title is different (Technical Writer, Content Strategist, Developer Relations). Senior Content Strategist / Head of Content (5-8 YOE): $110-145k base. At Series C+ or public companies. Add 10-15% for NYC/SF. VP of Content / Content Director: $150-200k, but you're managing a team and probably a budget. Smaller at early-stage, higher at public company.
PMM (product marketing) runs $15-25k higher at each band because demand is tighter and the comp anchor is closer to product management. If you're debating whether to push toward PMM, the comp gap alone is a legitimate reason to consider it.
What nobody tells you: content and SEO comp has not kept pace with demand. The same SEO skill set that used to have one viable path (content manager, senior content manager) now also feeds into growth marketing, demand gen, and technical SEO for dev tools. Those adjacent roles often pay 20-30% more than straight content. If you're hitting a ceiling in content comp, it might be worth positioning into one of those.
The offer I'm looking at: $118k base at a company that's growing, for a Head of Content role. Market says that's at the lower end of the range but not crazy. I'm pushing back for $125k and a signing bonus. We'll see.
Would love other content/marketing people to drop their data points below.