Digital Marketing Analyst: Job Description, Income & Salary, & How To Become

The marketing field has come a long way from the newspaper advertisements era.

So, we started seeing new roles, like the digital marketing analyst, pop into the picture.

After all, there’s a rising need to decipher the influx of data from the market and turn it all into actionable recommendations.

In this article, we’ll go over what this career path is all about and what it takes to make it in the field.

What is a Digital Marketing Analyst?

A digital marketing analyst makes sense of data, trends, and customer behavior.

The goal is to help craft campaigns that best serve the company.

A digital marketing analyst is also called a data analyst, digital marketer, or digital marketing strategist.

In smaller companies, you can expect more generic titles as you’ll be dealing with broader roles. Meanwhile, the titles and job roles would be more specific in larger organizations.

Digital Marketing Analyst Job Description

Digital marketing analysts use various analytics tools to gather data about market trends.

They also work with clients and sales teams to support them with data-based plans for different products.

Usually, a digital marketing analyst’s job description would cover roles like:

• Collecting and analyzing data about customers, product trends, and competitors’ strategies.
• Developing digital marketing campaigns.
• Testing marketing campaigns and identifying success metrics to increase performance.
• Deducing and communicating insights and recommendations to clients and sales teams.
• Analyzing social media for customer responses and marketing trends.

Work Opportunities in the Digital Marketing Analyst Industry

Some of the most common jobs in this field include:

• SEO Specialist
• Pay-per-click Specialist
• Marketing Operations Analyst

A digital marketing analyst can work in-house for a company that wants to market its own products.

Otherwise, they can work for an agency that provides marketing services to various clients.

It’s also possible to work independently from home as you can do most of the tasks online.

What It’s Like to be a Digital Marketing Analyst

The job isn’t particularly hard as long as you can deal with its multidisciplinary nature.

In addition to analyzing tons of data, you’ll have to work closely with other departments, like sales and product development.

Although a career in digital marketing offers great flexibility, it can get stressful at times.

Here are some stressors to watch out for:

• Measuring success by metrics
• Limited budgets
• Ongoing software updates

Common Digital Marketing Analyst Work Day

The typical workday in this field isn’t that typical at all.

Digital Marketing Analyst Tasks & Duties

This career’s roles are quite dynamic.

So, you’ve got to be ready to learn something new every day, but you can expect tasks like:

• Working with the marketing team to develop new marketing strategies for products.
• Planning for an event or PR strategy.
• Using software like SQL to analyze relevant data.
• Copywriting product and advertising content.
• Monitoring social media channels for customer engagement.

Digital Marketing Analyst Work Hours & Schedule

According to OpenColleges’ report, digital marketing analysts work 40.5 hours per week, on average.

Still, you can limit your work hours if you work independently.

Digital Marketing Analyst Dress Code

There’s no specific dress code for marketing roles.

However, it’s better to dress up in office casual attire for interviews or if you deal with clients.

Does This Career Field Embrace Work/Life Balance?

In the digital marketing field, many companies would allow you to choose where you want to work from.

Still, it can be challenging to set boundaries between work and life at home.

For one, you might have to answer some client calls or brainstorm ideas through dinner.

Digital Marketing Analyst Salary & Income

One thing that can make the dynamic environment worth the hassle for a digital marketing analyst is the good pay.

Yes, the career is lucrative, even in junior positions.

You might even double the starting salary when you reach managerial roles.

According to Glassdoor, most digital marketing analysts earn around $63,204 annually.

Additionally, Comparably states that top executives in the field can make $120 thousand per year.

For a start, you can expect around $47 thousand annually.

However, there’s a chance for additional pay worth over four thousand dollars.

Overview of the Digital Marketing Analyst Industry

All in all, the industry seems to have steady growth ahead.

We can divide the career paths here into two major categories; specialist roles and client-facing roles.

The first category includes jobs like SEO specialists and social media specialists.

On the other side, account executives belong to the client-facing category.

In a small agency, you’d likely have a combination of both career paths.

In all cases, it’s best to start as an intern in a reputable company.

Then, you’ll progress into either an account executive or a specialist role.

From there, you’ll move on to become a manager and then a digital director.

Is a Digital Marketing Analyst a Good Career?

The job is rewarding if you’re willing to keep up with its dynamic environment and demanding hours.

• Digital Marketing Analyst Job Outlook: We’re living the marketing 4.0 revolution with an increasing online presence for companies. So, it’s hard to see the digital marketing analyst role disappearing anytime soon.
• Demand for Digital Marketing Analysts: The unemployment rate in the field has dropped over the past years. This is a positive sign that your skills will only get more relevant with time.

Reports from Future Market Insights (FMI) point to some interesting facts in the digital marketing analysis industry:

• The industry held a value of $4.2 billion in 2021.
• By 2031, the industry could see an estimated growth to $27.2 billion.
• The industry takes up a whopping 30% of the global digital marketing market.

Jobs Related to Digital Marketing Analyst

Digital marketing analysts share some roles with the following careers.

• Marketing Manager: Deals with the marketing process from a big-picture perspective.
• Digital Marketing Executive: Replicates the marketing manager’s role but with more focus on digital marketing.
• Market Researcher: Uses more comprehensive research methods, like interviews, to help companies, charities, or governments.

Requirements, Skills, and Education Required for Digital Marketing Analysts

Let’s see what it takes to join the field!

If you’re a data fanatic, then you’ll do great in this career.

This is a good position for in-depth researchers who can be sociable when the situation calls for it.

However, I don’t see this career working for people who hate numbers or like looking at the big picture only.

If you can’t present and defend your ideas in front of a group of people, this job might become too stressful.

What Do I Need to Become a Digital Marketing Analyst?

It’s not hard to become a digital marketing analyst, but you need to build enough experience to convince someone to hire you.

So, try to get an internship to boost your odds.

This field has reasonable requirements compared to more technical roles, like IT and programming.

Requirements for Becoming a Digital Marketing Analyst

Digital marketing analysts can work from anywhere and at any age.

That’s as long as they can prove their competency and awareness of the rising trends.

An investigative attitude can also go a long way in getting accepted!

What Skills Does a Digital Marketing Analyst Need?

This field requires research, analysis, and strategic thinking skills.

Additionally, you’ll need strong presentation skills to explain your findings.

What Education Does a Digital Marketing Analyst Need?

Some companies would prefer a bachelor’s in marketing or relevant fields.

Can You Become a Digital Marketing Analyst Without a Degree?

Yes, you can become a digital marketing analyst without a degree as long as you have the skills for the job.

In fact, the OpenColleges’ report found that around 22.1% of digital marketing analysts have a Year 12 qualification or less.

What Experience Does a Digital Marketing Analyst Need?

Generally, you’ll need experience with analytical and reporting tools.

This can include Data Studio, Google Analytics, and Tableau.

For beginners, recruiters would appreciate any experience in marketing and analyzing your own blog or family business.  

Digital Marketing Analyst Education & Schooling

If you don’t have the necessary experience in digital marketing analysis, you can look into suitable courses.

In a digital marketing analysis course, you can expect to work with tools like Google analytics.

Plus, some educational programs give practical experience by analyzing data from real businesses.

So, you’ll learn to improve ROI for campaigns with your findings and insights.

Some programs also introduce the latest trends in the field, like machine learning and artificial intelligence.

You can expect digital marketing analyst courses to take less than a year.

One course by MIT takes around six weeks to finish and is self-paced.

Bachelor’s Degree

Most digital marketing analysts hold a bachelor’s degree, so a postgraduate degree isn’t necessary.

Your top options are marketing, business, and communication.

Master’s Degree

A master’s degree can mean higher pay, with an average of $70,707 annually, but it could take more effort.

Several universities offer a master’s degree in digital marketing analytics, including Montclair State University, the University of Liverpool, and the University of Kent.

Schools for Digital Marketing Analysts

Like the MIT course, there are various online programs, like Udemy.

Additionally, there are reputable universities offering degrees in digital marketing.

This includes the University of Central Florida, New York University, and Temple University.

Steps to Become a Digital Marketing Analyst

If you think this is the right field for you, get started with the simple steps first.

If you’re still in high school, you can start by practicing digital marketing analytics with your own blog or business.

Then, you can choose to join a university to major in marketing or any related field.

After that, you can apply for a master’s degree to increase your salary.

Alternatively, you can join an internship at a reputable company to kickstart your career.

Wrapping Up

I believe the digital marketing analyst role will soon become a major player in the field.

This career is already gaining traction, so it’s time to build your experience.

The best part is that you can start without qualifications, provided you’re passionate about data and marketing.

Still, a degree in marketing will likely boost your employment chances.

Altogether, this can be a rewarding career path for marketers who also happen to be data fanatics!