Digital Marketing Salaries Rise: Are You Getting Paid Enough?

Great news: digital marketing salaries have risen for the first time in several years according to a 2014 Salary Survey conducted by Prosperity. The leading digital recruiter have attributed the rise to a growing confidence in the job market along with the ever-increasing fight for talent. Your talent.

With so many digital positions to fill and so few professionals to fill them, 2014 has quickly become ‘the year of the counter-offer’. Businesses are recognizing the finite pool of digital candidates available. And as they struggle to fill certain positions they’re willing to pay more.

It’s not just big companies with healthy hiring budgets who are upping their pay packages. Local Irish business are starting to compete with IDA-backed dotcom businesses, creating a huge amount of opportunities and choice for digital professionals in the right fields.

Before you accept that next position, take a peek at the key findings below. Staying informed is the best way to negotiate a new salary and a happier start. Good luck.

1. Digital Salary Increase

The survey was broken down into six core sectors – Portals/Publishers, Ecommerce, Agency, Gaming, Blue Chip and Retail/FMCG. Certain salaries across all sectors increased significantly making 2014 a truly exciting time for digital professionals.

Ellie Doyle, Prosperity’s Talent Acquisition Specialist for the Digital and Ecommerce Sector confirmed the positive growth:

“UX professionals (especially seniors) are in unbelievable demand, that’s where we are seeing the biggest jump in salary due to the ratio of supply and demand. And a close second (in regards escalating demand) are Product Managers from Mobile and Tablet products – a good one can ebay themselves to the highest bidder.”

But it’s not just UX professionals and Product Managers who are enjoying a salary surge. Other notable salary increases in the digital marketing sector include entry-level PPC positions. For example, PPC Specialist starting salaries have jumped from €25,000 in 2013 to €28,000 in 2014. In addition, PPC salaries have risen across all levels of experience from the newbies to the more experienced practitioners.

2014 SEO Specialist agency salaries:

2013 SEO Specialist agency salaries:

Prosperity say, “Certain skillsets are commanding a higher than market average as companies compete for the same talent.” It’s certainly an exciting time for digital professionals who can enjoy the perks of negotiating a higher salary. Want to test your own digital skills before you schedule in that salary review? Try our free digital diagnostic tool.

According to Prosperity’s report digital employees have encountered counter-offers more frequently in 2014 than in the last 5 years. The battle for digital talent is certainly heating up and it’s the digital professionals who are benefiting.

Want to know if your salary has jumped? Simply compare last year’s salary results to this year’s results.

2. How Dublin Salaries Compare Internationally

Thinking about emigrating in the hope of attaining a better position and higher salary? You might want to consider this first: Dublin’s digital pay rates remain quite competitive across the international board. For example, the average salary for a Digital Marketing Manager in Dublin was €68,000. The Manchester equivalent was €60,000, Israel came in at €52,000 and our Singapore friends netted €52,000 (an incredible €16,000 less than their Dublin counterparts).

Dublin’s Digital Marketing Manager Salary Tops International Digital Hubs:

Check out how your salary compares to your international colleagues.

3. Ireland’s Digital Economy: Positives & Challenges

The good news is that Dublin still holds its title as a leading digital hub, playing home to the top five software companies and nine out of ten global ICT companies. The ICT sector is among the top three Irish growth industries and is one of the main contributors to the Irish economy.

What’s more, Ireland’s digital economy is growing at a staggering 16% per year – that’s 10 times the growth rate of the entire economy.

The challenge? Finding Irish talent to fill the growing number of digital positions available. Prosperity say that it’s vital to improve the standard of education in Ireland across all levels of the education system, including subjects like Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. As a solution to fill the digital skills gap they also discuss the importance of attracting and retaining talent from abroad.

According to the ‘IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, 2013’, here’s what we’re great at in Ireland:

• 1st Flexibility and adaptability of workforce
• 1st Investment incentives for foreign investors
• 1st Attitudes towards globalization

According to Prosperity here’s what Ireland needs to work on to attract and retain talent from abroad:

• General visas and employment permits
• Points-based system of immigration
• Specific high-skilled IT visa for international students
• Labour shortage list/Labour market test
• Work experience programme/graduate visa
• Tax incentives

So there you have it. Instead of going abroad it might be worth staying and fighting for your digital position. And don’t forget how valuable you are as a digital marketing professional. Counter-offer anyone?

Want to know how to capitalize on the opportunity and get yourself a job in digital? Come along to our last digital career’s evening of the autumn taking place in Dublin this Wednesday, 10th September – it’s a free session but places are limited so RSVP now.