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Also, one other thing to keep in mind - advocating for a really substantial raise would have transparently been much easier last year than doing so right now with the coming headwinds dealers are preparing for. Timing in life is everything.

And unfortunately, an SEO-only in-house position tends to be the first to get cut when times get tough. It's easier to cut what's viewed as an "overhead admin" type role vs a revenue-generating role.

So my 2 suggestions would be a) diversify your skillset / responsibilities if they aren't already and b) demonstrate how your activities indirectly generate revenue (and save expense) in both the near and long term.

Put yourself in your dealer's shoes and sell it in a way that will make it easier for them to say yes. Instead of "I deserve a really substantial raise because company X pays more." Say in the past 3 years, our organic traffic has grown X% YoY and generated X leads which translates into X sales and $X gross profit. To replace this free traffic, we would have had to spend X in paid search and X in management fees. Over the next year, here are my plans to continue to grow traffic and keep our expenses low...

The good news is you and your dealer group are indeed a rare breed. Not many dealers have the wherewithal to bring SEO in-house, it's a long-term commitment that tends to have delayed gratification in an industry that craves immediate results.