Digital marketing managers in the UK have some of the lowest salaries worldwide – around half that of their counterparts in Japan.

The average salary for digital marketing managers in the UK is £32,820, according to a study by UK-based digital marketing agency, Reboot, while workers in the same role in Japan get paid an average of £58,443.

Reboot conducted the study by searching through the job listings of 15 different countries around the world.

The highest-paying countries following Japan were China (£56,949) and the US (£55,873). The highest-paying country in Europe was Denmark, with an average digital marketing manager’s salary of £55,384.

The lowest earners after the UK were in Spain, with an average salary of £34,947, and France (£37,820).

Among the highest earning jobs were web developer, e-commerce manager and PR manager, all earning more than £44,000 on average. The lowest earners were inbound marketing managers, social media managers and content managers, earning between £31,000 and £33,500.

A digital marketer’s salary could increase by approximately £30,000 depending on experience. For an entry-level manager with less than one year of experience, the average salary calculated was £25,408. This increased by around £8,000 for managers with up to four years of experience.

On the other end of the scale, the average salary for managers with between four and nine years of experience could earn almost £43,000, and managers with more than 10 years of experience could earn up to £51,913.

Abby Chinnery, MD at Reboot, said the skill it takes to “get a foot in the door” of the digital marketing industry are often underestimated. 

“It takes a lot more than a degree in marketing,” said Chinnery. “You need to have a thick skin, creativity and a flair for writing in order to be able to represent a brand online.”