Digital and social media specialist’s pay soars by almost 70% in three years

Digital and social media specialist’s pay soars by almost 70% in three years

Pay per click (PPC) and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) staff in high demand

Senior digital and social media specialists have seen their pay soar by almost 70% over the last three years, according to ReThink Recruitment (ReThink), the business and technology staffing company.

According to ReThink, “Head of Search” jobs are now offering average base salaries of approximately £75,000 per year, up from an average of £45,000 three years ago.

Head of Search will manage a company’s Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) strategies. 

ReThink adds that search staff at a more junior “manager” level have also had bumper pay rises and now earn on average £45,000 per year, up from an average of £30,000 three years ago.

Mark Geraghty, Head of ReThink Executive, explains: “As businesses put ever bigger budgets into their online marketing efforts this role has gone from being a relatively junior to a high status role – in some web and digital media companies this is a director’s job.”

“If you are spending several million pounds a year just on pay per click then it makes perfect sense to invest in someone senior to manage that process and ensure you are getting the best return on investment.”

“Whilst there are quite a few people with knowledge and experience of SEO, PPC and other channels the number of individuals with five plus years’ experience is much lower.”

At present demand is particularly strong amongst financial services companies that want to cut costs by delivering more of their sales through the internet.

ReThink adds that digital and social media specialists have enjoyed pay rises at every level, but that percentage increases at the more senior level have been steepest.

Adds Mark Geraghty: “Web based companies and corporates are having to compete for the talent with the digital marketing agencies – who want to hire those individuals out as consultants.”

“That is all driving up their price. But when you consider the amount they can earn in consultancy fees and the budgets that they are now dealing with the increase in basic pay over the last few years is not unreasonable.”

ReThink adds that retail – and in particular fashion retail – have also seen a huge surge in demand for digital marketing and eCommerce experts, with leading retailers stepping up their e-commerce activity and looking at bigger investments in social media campaigns to drive traffic their way.