Marketing & Creative · Content strategy
The most valuable call a content strategist makes is often what not to publish, now that Google's spam policies treat many AI-generated pages with no added value as scaled content abuse. Careerscape finds content strategists anywhere in the U.S. through remote recruiters who specialize in marketing and creative roles.
Three kinds
The title means different things in a marketing team, a product team and a newsroom-style content team. Each calls for a different portfolio and a different interviewer.
Plans topics from search demand, writes briefs, merges or retires pages that compete with each other, and reports organic traffic and conversions. Expect fluency in Google Search Console and a keyword research tool. If the job is mostly technical fixes, you need an SEO specialist instead.
Owns the words inside an app or website: labels, error messages, onboarding and help content. Works in Figma alongside designers, maintains terminology and voice guidelines, and measures task completion rather than traffic.
Runs the content calendar and distribution across the blog, email, social and sales materials, sets voice and standards, and often manages writers. Pairs well with a staff or contract copywriter.
Designs CMS structure, taxonomy, workflow and governance, including the team's rules for AI drafting tools. Common in larger organizations with many contributors and a content backlog to clean up.
Copy and edit
Written for an SEO or editorial strategist. For a product role, swap the traffic goals for task and support metrics.
[Company] is looking for a content strategist to decide what we publish, why and for whom across [website / product / channels]. You will audit what exists, build a plan tied to [business goal], brief writers and subject experts, and report what worked. You will report to [title] and work with [SEO, design, product or sales].
Where they work
BLS counts most content strategists in a large group of marketing specialists and market research analysts, so local figures describe that whole group, not strategists alone. Estimates are for May 2025.
| Market | Jobs | Median pay · vs. U.S. | Concentration |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City | 79,290 | $100,520+28% | 1.44 |
| Los Angeles | 39,390 | $82,990+5% | 1.09 |
| Boston | 32,310 | $102,390+30% | 2.07 |
| Chicago | 30,970 | $80,400+2% | 1.19 |
| San Francisco | 24,120 | $123,250+56% | 1.76 |
| Washington, DC | 21,090 | $87,160+11% | 1.16 |
| Dallas | 20,900 | $75,240−4% | 0.89 |
| Atlanta | 19,920 | $79,030±0% | 1.19 |
| Seattle | 18,030 | $102,170+30% | 1.49 |
| Philadelphia | 17,600 | $79,420+1% | 1.05 |
| Denver | 17,000 | $99,040+26% | 1.83 |
| Minneapolis | 16,760 | $97,910+24% | 1.48 |
| Houston | 14,480 | $67,370−14% | 0.76 |
| Phoenix | 12,220 | $74,590−5% | 0.89 |
| Detroit | 11,710 | $77,100−2% | 1.06 |
| Charlotte | 9,500 | $82,930+5% | 1.21 |
| Tampa | 8,420 | $75,210−5% | 1.01 |
| Austin | 8,270 | $80,460+2% | 1.11 |
| Portland | 8,130 | $85,350+8% | 1.16 |
| Raleigh-Durham | 6,470 | $78,980±0% | 1.50 |
| Baltimore | 5,920 | $74,620−5% | 0.75 |
| Nashville | 5,510 | $77,240−2% | 0.87 |
| Pittsburgh | 4,940 | $63,190−20% | 0.77 |
| Providence | 4,080 | $83,960+7% | 0.99 |
| Hartford | 3,080 | $78,220−1% | 0.89 |
| Buffalo | 2,520 | $75,990−4% | 0.81 |
| Albany | 2,160 | $76,140−3% | 0.83 |
| Miami | — | $78,990±0% | — |
| San Diego | — | $79,440+1% | — |
Boston has the highest concentration in our set at 2.07, with 32,310 jobs, and Denver is next at 1.83 with a median of $99,040, about 26% above the U.S. figure. San Francisco pays the most by a wide margin ($123,250, roughly 56% above), while New York has the most people at 79,290. Raleigh-Durham (1.50) offers a deep pool at close to the national median ($78,980). Houston is thin (0.76) and pays about 14% below the nation, and Pittsburgh has the lowest median here at $63,190. Content strategy is often done remotely, so a strong candidate in a lower-cost metro may fit a role anywhere. BLS did not publish job counts for Miami or San Diego. Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists, by metro area, sorted by jobs. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; U.S. median $78,760. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: above 1.0 means the job is a bigger share of local employment than nationally.
What changed
Google's spam policies define scaled content abuse as generating many pages mainly to manipulate rankings rather than help users, and they apply no matter how the pages are made. The policy names using generative AI to produce many pages without adding value as one example. The page was last updated on August 28, 2026.
Google's separate guidance on generative AI content, updated October 1, 2026, allows AI-assisted pages that meet its quality standards. It also says every AI draft should be fact-checked by a person, including titles, meta descriptions and image alt text, and that ecommerce product data written by AI must be labeled as AI-generated under Google Merchant Center policies.
Ownership is the other change. In a report released January 29, 2025, the U.S. Copyright Office concluded that material generated purely from prompts is not copyrightable, because prompts alone do not give enough human control. Human selection, arrangement and editing can still be protected. A content program built on unedited AI output may produce pages you cannot fully own.
For hiring, this moves the screen away from volume. Ask candidates how they decide a page should not exist, how they review AI drafts, and what they cut on their last audit.
National pay
BLS counts content strategists mostly as marketing specialists. The national figures below cover that broader group of 952,700 jobs, which also includes market research analysts.
Middle half of all workers (25th to 75th percentile)
A strategist who plans and writes briefs but does not manage anyone fits around the median ($78,760). One who owns content for a product line or business unit, leads writers and reports to senior leadership belongs near the 75th percentile ($108,310) or above, and a head of content may pass the 90th ($155,480). Our Salary Guide has no separate content strategist page; the closest benchmark is digital marketing specialist. Annual pay, all U.S. employers, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), occupation: Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists. BLS does not publish this title separately; the figures are for market research analysts and marketing specialists, the closest BLS occupation, which can include other job titles. Closest Salary Guide page: Digital Marketing Specialist.
Portfolio review
Published articles show writing. Strategy shows up in the documents around them, so ask for those.
A good brief names the reader, the question being answered, the sources and the next step. If a candidate has never written one, they have likely been a writer, not a strategist.
Strong audits retire or merge pages. Ask how many pages the last audit removed and what happened to traffic and conversions afterward.
"Traffic doubled" means little without the starting point, the time frame and what else changed. Look for results tied to a business number, such as leads, signups or support tickets avoided.
Ask which steps use AI tools, who fact-checks, and how they handle claims a model invented. Vague answers are a risk under Google's guidance and for copyright ownership.
Style guides, terminology lists, taxonomy maps and review workflows show whether the person can make a team consistent, not just one page.
If most examples are keyword lists and technical fixes, the candidate may be an SEO specialist. Both are valuable, but the interview and the pay differ.
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FAQ
A content strategist decides what an organization publishes, for whom and why, then makes sure it gets done well. In practice that means content audits, audience and search research, plans, briefs, editing, style and governance rules, and measuring results. O*NET lists content strategist as a job title within market research analysts and marketing specialists. Product-focused strategists also write and organize the text inside apps and websites.
An SEO specialist focuses on how search engines find, crawl and rank a site: technical fixes, keyword research and links. A content strategist focuses on what the site says and whether it serves readers and the business. An SEO content strategist sits between the two and plans content from search demand. Our SEO specialist guide covers that role.
None is required. The American Marketing Association offers a voluntary PCM in Content Marketing, taught with Content Marketing Institute training. The exam has 100 multiple-choice questions, takes two hours and needs 80% to pass. The certification lasts three years and is renewed with 30 continuing education units. A portfolio with audits, briefs and results tells you more than any credential.
Yes, and it often suits a defined job such as a site migration, a content audit or a launch. A contract strategist can set up the plan, style guide and workflow for your team to run. If you expect to keep the role, contract-to-hire lets both sides test the fit first. See how contract staffing works with Careerscape.
BLS does not report content strategists separately. The marketing specialist group they belong to had a national median of $78,760 in May 2025, with the middle half between $58,350 and $108,310. Metro medians in our set range from $63,190 in Pittsburgh to $123,250 in San Francisco. Senior and lead roles tend to sit at the top of these ranges.
A contract content strategist can lead it while you decide on a permanent role. Our recruiters handle contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire searches, and job seekers can browse open roles.
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