We live in a time when one only has to type into a search bar on Google (or Bing) and you’ll get almost exactly what you’re looking for, almost 100% of the time. Aside from the search engine algorithms, keeping these search results relevant is a job for a search engine evaluator.
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If you’re looking for a work-from-home or a flexible job that requires basic research skills and minimum training, being a search engine evaluator might be a good fit for you!
Today, you can learn all about working as a search engine evaluator: what it involves and where to find jobs.
What Does a Search Engine Evaluator Do?
About 90% of online activities begin with a search engine query, and Google processes over 8.5 billion search queries every single day.
Search engines work with advanced algorithms and crawlers, but these can still have occasional bugs and glitches and may not always work as expected.
Search engines hire contractors as QA analysts because bots cannot detect such errors on their own.
Search engine evaluators are responsible for searching various terms (sometimes given by the company or sometimes based on your own search history) and judging the quality of results obtained.
Other companies may also require you to check the format, relevance, and quality of online ads displayed for specific search terms.
Whatever the main task assigned, your job of checking the relevancy and usefulness of searches aims to improve user experience.
The job requires the evaluator to provide feedback with details about spam, accuracy, relevancy, and timeliness, among other factors.
Google is the leading company that offers this kind of job. But in some cases, Google hires third-party companies to perform search engine assessments.
This job is seasonal, but since it is usually a remote position, you can apply as a search engine evaluator whenever slots open up. Depending on the company hiring, this position may be called internet judge, internet assessor, ads quality rater, or other variations.
How to Become a Search Engine Evaluator
Anyone interested in this position must have a working desktop or laptop and a stable high-speed internet connection. Most positions allow you to be a work-at-home search engine evaluator.
A college degree is preferred, but often not required.
Requirements for this job may vary, but for local-based openings, the job may require you to speak the local language and be familiar with local culture to be able to assess local search inquiries properly. This is often indicated in the job listing, so take note.
Some companies require you to take a search engine agent exam or go through unpaid training before getting started.
The perfect candidate for this job is someone who has exceptional research skills, is a member of the top social media networks, and is familiar with both foreign and local events and pop culture.
Of course, you should be very familiar with how search engines work, especially Google.
Do note that most companies only allow one job per IP address, so two people from the same household may not be able to apply for the same job.
Once you pass the exam or training, you have to commit to at least 10 hours weekly until the project expires. For jobs that require you to use your own search history, you shouldn’t have privacy issues.
Payments are normally done through PayPal or Payoneer, so make sure to set these up before you apply to these jobs.
12 Places to Find Search Engine Evaluator Jobs
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As of this writing, there are over 90 openings for search engine evaluator on FlexJobs. Join now so you can start applying for these jobs.
1. Appen
Appen Butler Hill, known simply as Appen, is an NSW Australia-based company that’s heavily invested in crowdsourcing, search technology, social media engagement, and language technology.
They offer localized positions for search engine evaluators that require 10 to 15 hours of weekday commitment.
The application period can take 1 to 3 weeks and involves a three-step set of exams (search engine test, English test, and technical skills test). Pay depends on where you live, but all are sent via PayPal.
Look out for projects called Project Yukon, Project Arrow, and Project Shasta.
2. AI Community by TELUS International (formerly Lionbridge AI)
Lionbridge has sold its AI division to TELUS International in 2021 and has since become TELUS International AI Data Solutions.
The AI Community is a group of remote workers who provide services to customers of TELUS International AI Data Solutions.
Currently, there are open positions for search engine evaluators, raters, and personalized ads evaluators.
Occasionally, there are openings for internet analysts, social media search assessors, online map quality analysts, and other related jobs that are advertised, so bookmark the page and check back.
3. KarmaHub
KarmaHub is a service provider that partners with companies that need to collect and analyze data. They provide solutions involving artificial intelligence, cloud-first development and deployment, and the Internet of things. They count Microsoft, Pfizer, Novartis, and AIG as some of their clients.
They periodically offer internet analyst positions on their job portal. Pay rates are vague, but external sites and forums seem to indicate a starting wage of $10 to $11 per hour, which might go up to $27 per hour for internet analyst positions that require speaking another language.
If there are no openings for internet analysts on the site, you can email your details to leads[at]mykarmahub[dot]com and they’ll be in touch with you.
4. mTurk
Amazon Mechanical Turk, or mTurk as it’s more commonly called, is different from the others in this list in that it’s more of a database of microjobs from many different companies.
Most of these jobs take only seconds to complete, and when you get good at choosing quick jobs that pay well, it’s possible to earn $15 an hour by accomplishing a variety of these small jobs.
There are hundreds of search evaluator tasks available at a given time.
The bonus is that if you ever get tired of search evaluation, or if the available jobs run out, there are thousands of other tasks you can choose to do.
5. Google
Google usually outsources their search engine evaluators from other companies, but they do hire directly, albeit rarely.
They periodically have openings for search quality raters. This position rarely opens (and it’s one of the company’s few work-at-home positions available), but if you’re lucky, you can apply for either an English-only or localized job.
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Search quality raters evaluate websites and webpages that are displayed on search results pages and determine if they are relevant to the search query.
The most common task is to give an overall rating for Page Quality, which is determined by many factors, including the purpose of the page, content quality, the EAT (expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) of the creator of the main content, and many other factors.
Bookmark the Google Careers page and check back for openings.
6. Teemwork.ai (formerly Isoftstone)
Teemwork.ai is an IT jobs company offering crowdsourced tasks.
Related positions available include Search Engine Evaluator, Online Search Evaluator, and Online Ad Evaluator for various languages. Other positions include Information Researcher and Localization Researcherl for many different languages.
7. OneForma
Pactera EDGE’s online platform, OneForma, is a community of freelancers from all over the world that provides services in AI and digital technologies.
They’re currently recruiting participants for Project Milky Way, a search engine evaluation project aiming to produce more accurate maps for applications.
You might also find search or ad evaluation microtasks under the Internet Judging category.
8. Welocalize
Welocalize helps companies scale up globally by transforming content and data across different languages, platforms, and delivery channels through translation and AI training.
Current job openings include Ads Quality Rater (various languages), Maps Quality Rater (US-based only), and Search Quality Rater (US- or India-based only).
9. Rater Labs
Rater Labs used to be a separate company, but was bought by Appen a few years back. It still performs projects under the Rater Labs banner to this day, but it is owned by Appen.
As such, if you’re already working for Appen, you can’t apply to Rater Labs anymore.
Also, you need to be eligible to work in the United States to join the program. You also need to commit at least 15 hours per week, and a maximum of 26 hours a week.
Payment for search engine evaluators at Rater Labs range from $11 to $13 per hour. Earnings are paid once a month though.
10. Yahoo!
Yahoo! was one of the OG search engines in the world, so it’s only fitting to include the company on this list.
Sure, Google is more popular, but Yahoo! still holds about 3% of the industry market share.
When you work as an evaluator at Yahoo!, you receive a competitive benefit package. The downside though is that search engine evaluation jobs are pretty in-demand and you rarely see it being published on Yahoo!’s career page.
11. Bing
Bing, owned by Microsoft, is a great place to work as search engine evaluator.
You know why? Because Microsoft is just as serious with its AI technology of its search engine.
Search engine evaluators at Bing are paid $75,000 per year. Senior-level evaluators earn over $100,000 a year.
Note that you can’t work with other companies once you begin work with Bing. You’ll have to sign a non-compete and non-disclosure agreement with the company.
12. BONUS: SwagBucks
Bonus cash!
Swagbucks is less of a job, but a fun way to pick up spare money doing stuff you already do online. They pay you to use their search engine and since you’re going to be doing a lot of searches anyway, this is a nice way to make extra money.
It’s quick, easy, and free to join. One of the best. And they will give you $5.00 just for signing up.
How Much Do Search Engine Evaluator Jobs Pay?
Remote search engine evaluators earn between $3 and $20 per hour, depending on the company, country, and work hours of the position you landed.
This position falls under seasonal or part-time jobs, so you can expect at least 10 hours to 30 hours a week of work on average.
If you’re accepted into any of the search engine giants (Google, Yahoo! or Bing), you’ll be joining the company as a full-time employee complete with awesome benefits and a competitive pay.
Is Hunting for Search Engine Evaluator Jobs Worth it?
Search engine evaluation is a work-at-home opportunity that can be a great way to earn money, especially since the offer is better than the minimum wage in most countries.
However, openings can be unpredictable, so you may need to apply to two or more companies at a time.
Pay rates also don’t reflect the actual work hours you spend on the task at hand. Instead, your hourly rate depends on the hours a company expects you to finish the task, so it’s likely your final pay-per-hour could be less than the number of hours you’ve spent working.
If you’re efficient with your time and have the right skills for the job, being a search engine evaluator may just be the career you’re looking for.
Other work-from-home opportunities to try
Being a search engine evaluator is not for everyone. If this isn’t your cup of tea but you’d still like to work from home, here are some suggested articles for you:
