If you’ve spend time looking for home and remote work ideas, you’ve probably seen the job title of search engine evaluator pop up from time to time.
You often see companies recruiting for the job, or mentions of it in list articles about the kind of jobs you can do from home. But what is a search engine evaluator, anyway? Below we’ll cover what the job entails, how to find the jobs and how much you could be likely to earn from this work from home opportunity.
What is a Search Engine Evaluator?
Search engine evaluators are paid to look at search engine results for certain terms and determine if they are relevant. This is how search engines make sure that what’s popping up is useful. It’s essentially a human eye to double check the algorithm.
Technically, this means you get paid to use a search engine. Sounds like a pretty sweet gig, right?
But this job IS fairly technical. Being a search engine evaluator isn’t just about checking a couple of boxes to make sure certain search terms return relevant results. There’s a whole host of criteria to evaluate and lots of special terms to learn. The companies that hire you will want you to be a proper expert on how the terms are displayed with each search. And each company has its own detailed guidelines.
Search Engine Evaluator Training
Most places have a lengthy search engine evaluator exam process you must get through before you can earn money from this job.
Companies tend to provide the training materials to study beforehand, so that counts as your search engine evaluator training. However, there are also plenty of resources and discussion forums out there to help you get through.
Once you’ve make the effort to learn all the guidelines, the work itself becomes a lot easier. The work can be repetitive, but this is an undoubtedly solid work-from-home job that’s a nice fit for anyone who enjoys routine tasks and analysis.
How Much Does a Search Engine Evaluator Earn?
Many people who work as search engine evaluators have to sign a non-disclosure agreement (or NDA), so specific pay information can be limited. However, word on the internet is that a typical search engine evaluator salary is around $14 per hour. That’s not bad for a routine job from home checking out search terms.
However, since the work is usually “by project,” you might end up taking a project that lasts only a couple of hours per day. Or you could end up with a workload that’s full-time, or close to it. You could also find there’s a waiting period between projects. A current job ad at Appen states that work can be up to 20 hours per week and can include one to four hours of work per day.
So, the job can be highly flexible; Many search engine evaluator job ads state that you can work on your own schedule. However, the inconsistency of hours probably means this is not the type of career you should count on as a full replacement for your day job.
You will also most likely be an independent contractor. This means no benefits, and being responsible for your own taxes. Plus, you will need to keep track of your time and invoice the company. (You can find an article on benefits and healthcare for freelancers here).
Where Can You Find a Search Engine Evaluator Job?
One good thing about this opportunity is that it tends to be advertised all over the mainstream job boards. There’s no portfolio building or client hunting, as there is with most freelance roles. You fill out an application, more like applying for a standard job. These jobs tend to automatically be remote positions, so you don’t have to search specifically for remote roles as much as other jobs.
You can literally type “search engine evaluator jobs” or “search engine evaluator jobs uk” into Google, and a whole host of job ads will pop up on Google’s own job listing page, which pulls jobs from employers and career sites. You can also check the big career sites directly, like Indeed, Monster or ZipRecruiter. Freelance platforms like Upwork will also occasionally list these jobs.
A very similar job is called an “ads quality rater” or an “ads evaluator.” This is where you analyse how ads are appearing in the search results.
As always, it’s crucial to be aware of potential scams when looking for these roles. There are some tips for doing your own research on the companies you find online here.
You might also want to check the career pages of the major companies that hire for these roles. Some of the companies that have hired for these positions in the past include Appen/Leapforce, Lionbridge and iSoftStone. UHRS (available via ClickWorker) sometimes offers tasks related to online search also.
What It’s Like to Work as a Search Engine Evaluator?
Employee reviews on Indeed for Leapforce search engine evaluator roles state that this type of work is generally good as a side income. Hours tend to be inconsistent, as mentioned above.
As far as the work duties themselves, some people rate them as being interesting and some people state they are tedious. Most people consider rating search results to be fairly easy work, once you get the hang of it. Your mileage will vary based on how you feel about analyzing what pops up in a search result. Either you’ll like that sort of work, or you’ll loathe every second of it due to the routine and repetition.
Many companies also have a feedback and rating system based on your work. Some people have no problems with that system, others have stated problems with getting overly negative or vague feedback that can restrict how much work they can take on.
However, search engine evaluator work itself is a more low-key option than a lot of other remote work. With a computer and good internet connection, you can complete the work on your own schedule. Plus, many from-home jobs tend to include phone work in some capacity. This is a good option for earning online if you don’t like phone work. It’s just you, your laptop and the work itself.
If you’re the type of person who enjoys analysis and playing around on the internet, working as a search engine evaluator could be a good opportunity to look into. If you’ve done this kind of work before, please share your experiences in the comments.
Michelle Lovrine Honeyager is a freelance writer who has written features for a number of consumer and industry print magazines, as well as stories for niche websites, digital lifestyle magazines and general news sites.
