If you work in (or hire for) digital marketing in the UK, salary benchmarks move fast. Pay varies by specialism (SEO, paid media, CRM, content, social, analytics), by company type (agency vs. in-house), by sector (e-commerce, SaaS, financial services, charities), and of course by location (London typically pays more than the regions).
Below is an up-to-date, UK-specific guide to average salaries and typical ranges for the main digital marketing job titles in 2025, plus context on what pushes a role up or down the pay bands.
Salary snapshot (UK, 2025)
| Job Title | Typical UK Average (Base) | Common UK Range (Base) |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing Assistant | ~£24.8k | £27–29k in London; high-20s typical nationally |
| Digital Marketing Executive | ~£28.7k | £30–45k; London often £35–55k |
| SEO Specialist | ~£33–34k | £26–45k (London often £30–50k+) |
| SEO Manager | ~£40–48k | £35–60k (Heads of SEO can run much higher) |
| PPC / Paid Search Manager | ~£38–45k | £40–70k, with experienced hires at £50–70k |
| Paid Social Manager | ~£39k | £34–52k (London £40–65k) |
| Content Manager | ~£41–47k | £40–57k (Heads of Content £75–100k) |
| Social Media Manager | ~£33–37k | £30–45k (London £37–65k depending on brand/scale) |
| Email Marketing Manager | ~£33–55k in London | £33–55k (combined CRM/Email roles often £42–65k) |
| Marketing Automation Manager | ~£45–52k | £42–62k+ |
| CRM Manager | ~£46–49k | £45–75k (London) |
| Marketing Operations Manager | ~£49–53k | £41–70k+ (London medians mid-50s) |
| Digital Marketing Manager | ~£40–48k | £45–70k (London often £50–70k) |
| Performance Marketing Manager | ~£51k | £44–66k (London ~£52–60k) |
| Digital / Marketing Analyst | ~£41k | £29–60k; senior analysts £48–55k median |
| CRO / Conversion Rate Optimisation Specialist | ~£42–55k | £31–56k (London medians around mid-50s) |
| Head of Marketing | ~£105k (average) | ~£70–125k (UK), sometimes higher in scale-ups |
| Head of Digital / Digital Marketing Director | — | Directors commonly £100–130k (London) |
| Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) | ~£110–122k | Wide range by size/sector; six-figure base typical |
Role-by-role breakdown
Marketing Assistant
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Average base (UK): ~£24,800.
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What pushes pay up? Proficiency with tools like Canva, Mailchimp, and social schedulers, plus strong admin reliability.
Digital Marketing Executive
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Average base (UK): ~£28,700.
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Range: £30–45k nationwide, £35–55k in London.
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What pushes pay up? Owning campaigns across multiple channels and showing measurable impact.
SEO Specialist
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Average base (UK): ~£33,500.
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Range: £26–45k, with London often £30–50k+.
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What pushes pay up? Technical SEO expertise, multi-locale projects, and proven traffic growth.
SEO Manager
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Average base (UK): £41–48k.
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Range: £35–60k.
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What pushes pay up? Leading SEO strategy for large, content-rich sites and managing cross-functional teams.
PPC / Paid Search Manager
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Average base (UK): £38–45k.
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Range: £40–70k, with senior managers reaching £50–70k.
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What pushes pay up? Large budgets, multi-geo campaigns, and advanced testing.
Paid Social Manager
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Average base (UK): ~£39k.
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Range: £34–52k, with London salaries often £40–65k.
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What pushes pay up? Strong creative testing, UGC/influencer integration, and revenue accountability.
Content Manager
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Average base (UK): ~£41–47k.
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Range: £40–57k, with Heads of Content £75–100k.
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What pushes pay up? Strategic editorial leadership and SEO-driven content systems.
Social Media Manager
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Average base (UK): ~£33–37k.
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Range: £30–45k, with London roles at £37–65k.
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What pushes pay up? Building communities, handling crisis comms, and scaling growth on TikTok, IG, or YouTube.
Email Marketing Manager
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Typical UK range: £33–55k; combined CRM/Email roles £42–65k.
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What pushes pay up? Automation workflows, deliverability expertise, and lifecycle campaign ownership.
Marketing Automation Manager
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Average base (UK): £45–52k.
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Range: £42–62k+.
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What pushes pay up? Expertise in Marketo, Braze, Salesforce, and advanced lead scoring/attribution.
CRM Manager
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Average base (UK): ~£46–49k.
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Range: £45–75k in London.
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What pushes pay up? Multi-channel lifecycle campaigns and advanced personalisation.
Marketing Operations Manager
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Average base (UK): £49–53k.
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Range: £41–70k+, with London medians around mid-50s.
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What pushes pay up? Mastery of tooling architecture and data-driven attribution.
Digital Marketing Manager
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Average base (UK): ~£40–48k.
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Range: £45–70k, with London often £50–70k.
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What pushes pay up? Owning multi-channel demand generation and managing significant budgets.
Performance Marketing Manager
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Average base (UK): ~£51k.
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Range: £44–66k, London £52–60k.
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What pushes pay up? Cross-channel acquisition skills and advanced incrementality testing.
Digital / Marketing Analyst
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Average base (UK): ~£41k.
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Range: £29–60k, with senior analysts ~£48–55k.
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What pushes pay up? SQL, Python, GA4, BigQuery expertise, and storytelling with data.
CRO / Conversion Rate Optimisation Specialist
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Average base (UK): £42–55k.
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Range: £31–56k, with London medians mid-50s.
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What pushes pay up? High test velocity, UX research skills, and expertise with CRO platforms.
Head of Marketing
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Average (UK): ~£105k.
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Range: £70–125k+, with higher packages in scale-ups.
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What pushes pay up? P&L ownership and proven growth track records.
Head of Digital / Digital Marketing Director
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Range: Directors commonly earn £100–130k in London.
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What pushes pay up? Large budgets, multi-channel teams, and digital transformation mandates.
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
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Average base (UK): £110–122k.
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Range: Widely variable; six-figure salaries are standard.
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What pushes pay up? Enterprise scope, international leadership, and strong revenue outcomes.
Agency vs. in-house, London vs. regions
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London premium: Salaries are typically 8–15% higher in the capital.
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Agency vs. in-house: Agencies may pay slightly less but offer faster progression and exposure to varied clients. In-house teams, especially in performance-driven sectors, often pay top of band.
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Specialisation pays: Expertise in marketing automation, CRM, performance marketing, and operations consistently earns higher salaries.
Key takeaways
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Specialists (SEO, PPC, Paid Social, Email/CRM, CRO) generally earn £33–55k, with London or high-impact roles reaching £55–70k.
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Managers of multi-channel programs sit around £40–60k nationally, and £50–70k in London.
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Senior leaders (Head, Director, CMO) are almost always in six-figure territory when responsible for both brand and performance.
