In 2024, having talents is just as important—if not more so—than having a degree in order to land a well-paying job. Digital marketing talents are expanding more quickly than anticipated among all the skills available.

Website advertising gave way to data analytics in the evolution of digital marketing. The fact that it is still changing is what makes it so interesting. With new trends in AI, technology, and content creation emerging daily, having expertise in digital marketing will undoubtedly land you a well-paying job in 2024.

When you first enter the world of digital marketing, you might be unsure of where to begin and what areas to specialize on. You don’t have to get a perfect 10 on every skill listed below, but if you demonstrate a desire to master them all while at work, I promise you will leave a lasting impression on your manager.

The demand for digital services will increase in 2024, and there will be an even greater need for qualified digital marketers. In order to close the gap and guarantee the success of their efforts, firms are prepared to employ digital marketing experts for specific platforms and niches.

For instance, every firm considering digital marketing employs social media and SEO executives who collaborate but manage each platform according to their areas of expertise. Therefore, you will always get paid more if you specialize in a certain area of digital marketing!

After learning the advantages of focusing on digital marketing expertise, let’s examine the top 10 highest-paying abilities in the field.

1. Analytics

Analytics is one of the main parts of a digital marketing team and one of the most technical digital marketing skills. We have tons of data available today and it is of no use if it is not analyzed and used to benefit your brand. 

Analytics lets us know whether the campaign was a success or a failure, what tweaks to make to your plan, and how to gain a larger audience for your business. Analytics helps you to optimize your sales funnel and spot any problems they face by streamlining it and helping them create solutions for it. 

The ability to analyze data and spot trends using various tools and turn them into an actionable step is very rare and an in-demand skill without which a modern business can not survive.

A data analyst can cash in approximately INR 4.4 LPA in India according to Ambition Box.

2. SEO

SEO or search engine optimization is said to be an evergreen skill in digital marketing. Ranking your website at the top of your search results increases the incoming traffic and its credibility. 

Search Engine Optimization is a technical and analytical field that requires someone with the know-how of the algorithms, the way a search engine runs, and a creative understanding of how a piece of content would link to a search result. Search Engine Optimization itself is an 80-billion-dollar industry. 75% of people do not even bother looking at the second page of search results.

The reason why search engine optimization is a relevant skill is that the trends in the SEO market are evolving at a fast pace as there are constant algorithm updates that change the optimization tactics of the website and thus they need to be re-optimized.

A Search Engine Optimization Specialist can start with around INR 2 LPA in India

3. Content Marketing Specialist

Customers today do not take any action unless they are impressed by the content a business has put out. Content marketers optimize the content the business puts out to be top quality and drive traffic to the various web pages of an organization. This is an unpaid form of promotion, unlike social media ads. 

A company has to stay relevant and edgy with its content on social media as the audience has become increasingly aware and wants to see quality content on social media or well-written blogs that promote content for the business. 

This is a very creative job and is also the driving force behind all content marketing plans and strategies. A content marketing specialist should be a people person as they deal with multiple team members to execute a strategy.

A content marketing specialist in India makes about INR 6 LPA 

4. Design Fundamentals

Even if you are not a designer, it always helps to know the basics of design. All the digital marketing skills you have will be rather futile if you have to constantly be dependent on a designer. 

To truly learn design, we recommend learning the basics of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. However, if you are in a time crunch and want to design something fast, Canva is a good place to start.

An entry-level graphic designer can earn up to INR 3 LPA

5. Marketing Automation

Marketing automation lies on the technical and software part which is the heavy side of the digital marketing spectrum. 

A marketing automation specialist uses and optimizes software to automate marketing activities. It identifies potential customers and leads and automates the process of converting them into sales. This is done via e-mail marketing, SMS marketing, website notifications, push notifications, and pop-ups. 

Marketing automation essentially boosts the entire sales funnel as it creates a large user base and also creates awareness about your brand. The consumer will not buy the first time they come to the website, marketing automation makes sure it keeps you relevant in the consumer’s head leading to sales eventually. 

The median salary for a marketing automation specialist is about 8 LPA in India

6. Social Media 

Social media is pervasive, making it an essential skill for marketers to acquire through any means necessary. Social media marketing involves promoting a product or service through social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and others.

Having a grasp of social media ads, analytics, and content marketing skills can help you identify the right channels for organizations and run campaigns that increase can ROI.

Read Also: 10 Highest Paying Digital Marketing Jobs in India

Social media marketing has become a highly sought-after career due to the increasing importance of social media in business marketing strategies. Social media marketers are responsible for creating and managing campaigns on social media, engaging with customers directly, and building brand awareness.

Looking at the salary insights, an entry-level social media marketer can earn up to 2.7 LPA in India

7. Copywriting

This digital marketing skill seems so easy when you’re not doing it. After all, it’s just writing a few words for a brand, right?

Wrong. Copywriting is so much more than that – it is the ability to fully capture a brand’s sentiment, the brand objective, and the brand USP in just a few sentences or sometimes even words. You become the voice of the brand, and you have to work closely with the designer to make sure the copy and design integrate seamlessly.

Copywriters are in heavy demand because they’re responsible for creating copies and jingles that best help people to resonate with the brands and remember them.

Do you wish to get better at copywriting? Dive deep into this Case study on Zomato and many such case studies of your favorite brands and analyze their copy. Also, analyze how they could have done better!

Looking at the salary insights, an entry-level copywriter can earn up to 4.2 LPA

8. Email-Marketing

Email is one form of marketing that all of us have been using for ages, and yet it still remains one of the most valuable marketing strategies out there. Statistics state that email marketing has a return on investment (ROI) of $42 for every $1 spent, which makes it a higher return than you can expect from any other form of marketing be it digital or otherwise.

The versatility of Email Marketing makes it one of the highest-paying digital marketing skills. It is used to engage inactive customers, convert leads, build customer loyalty, and more! You can send exclusive deals, information about upcoming events, article pieces for subscribing, and other useful content.

An average entry-level salary of an Email-Marketing Specialist according to Ambition Box is INR 2.7 LPA in India.

9. Video Production and Marketing

Video production and marketing have quickly become the central focus of every marketing strategy. Every business pushes video content they grab the attention of users quickly.

With the audience quickly moving to smartphones in today’s world, the youth of today engages with video content more than ever. It is not only a medium of entertainment anymore but a powerful tool for promotion and lead generation, especially on social media platforms. 

The introduction of applications like TikTok and features like Instagram reels has changed the way video content is perceived. A study from Hubspot shows that 50% of consumers want video content from their brands rather than any other content. Thus, video production and marketing have become one of the top digital marketing skills of the decade.

A video producer can earn INR 6 LPA in India

10. Paid Media Specialist

A paid media specialist is responsible for bringing in traffic to your web portals via online advertising on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc. As a paid media specialist, you need to have the best of both worlds – a mix of a creative and analytical mind. 

They need to be quick in identifying which platforms would be best for reaching their audience and creative with their media buying skills to get the best optimization of input for greater output.

The role of a social media marketing strategist includes planning, implementing, brainstorming ideas for brands, managing, and monitoring the company’s social media strategy to increase brand awareness which will ultimately increase the company’s sales. 

A paid media specialist earns around INR 8.8 LPA

Below are some other important highest paying digital marketing skills to acquire.

Website Development

As a web developer, you guessed it right, you need to be updated with the various coding languages used and have a flair to create a functional yet attractive website for the business. It is one of the most in-demand digital marketing skills to have in today’s excessively digital world.

Your job as a web developer would include the creation and maintenance of a website. Almost 50-60% of small businesses do not have a website even in the booming global digital scenario today. 

One in three people today look up a company online before buying any products. Thus, if coding appeals to you and you’re proficient in it, the market is looking for candidates just like you.

A beginner in web development can easily rake in 3 LPA in India

PPC (Pay-Per-click)/ Google Ads

Ranking your website on the first page for the organic result can bring advantages that will augment over time. However, pay-per-click advertising is an option for gaining relevant visibility instantly. 

Your brand or business is guaranteed to show in top results. Except, you have to pay for each click of your ad. Though bidding more doesn’t mean your ad will show up more, as ad relevance and quality score are the elements that decide if your ad should be shown on top results. How you leverage your quality score and ad relevance is what makes PPC a skill.

Also, you need a better understanding of how to create a unanimous experience for your target audience. PPC Advertising isn’t just applicable to search engines, it is also applicable to social media, mobile applications, websites, directories, and more, making it a very important digital marketing skill to learn.

A Pay-per-click Executive earns up to INR 3.1 LPA while starting out in India.

Retention Marketing 

Bringing customers back is the most important job of any company, making retention marketing one of the highest-paying skills in India. However, in today’s digital world, this is not as easy as you may think. Customers can easily find other options for your products or services.

A retention marketer’s job is to make sure customers purchase their products or services more frequently. They develop and implement many retention strategies to provide customers with a seamless purchasing experience. For this, a retention marketer should have a 360 knowledge of digital marketing. 

As per Ambition Box, a retention specialist can earn up to INR 5.3 LPA.

WhatsApp Marketing

WhatsApp marketing is one of the most recent additions to the world of digital and social media marketing. It brings customers and brands closer on a more personal level.

Today, WhatsApp users are extended across 180 countries worldwide, making it an opportunity for brands to market their products and services effectively. This is why WhatsApp marketing is becoming one of the most in-demand skills in the world. By learning WhatsApp marketing, you can also easily start your career as a social media marketing specialist. 

As per Ambition Box, a social media specialist can earn up to INR 4.5 LPA 

Which Skill is Best in Digital Marketing?

We can assist you if you want to change careers, become a digital marketing specialist, acquire a new job this year, or just want to advance in your existing position. You can also quit a desk job and work remotely in the field of digital marketing.

These are some crucial skills for digital marketing that will propel your profession forward and benefit your business.

1. Writing & Editing

This might be the most important skill set to have as a digital marketer: There’s one job in digital where you don’t have to write and edit. Because of the importance of content marketing, you’ll get very far in your digital marketing career if you know what makes a great blog post, how to source and write great content, and how to turn a bad piece of content into a good one. You should also know how to employ the help of copywriting tools like AP Styleguide.

2. Communication

As a marketer, you have multiple channels and tools to choose from when it comes to conveying your message to your target market. Before the rise of inbound marketing, communication in marketing was often one-sided. But today, people are swamped with content. It is no longer enough to reach out to and advertise to customers with one-off messaging. You must also know how to listen to them and deliver valuable content at every stage of the buyer’s journey.

As an inbound marketer, you need to consider the changing needs of your customers and feed this into your communication strategy.

3. Content Creation

Content is at the heart of good marketing. For every stage of the buyer journey, you should nurture your prospects with relevant content that caters to their needs and offers solutions to their problems. 

A great inbound marketer needs to be articulate and innovative when creating content. To become an expert content creator, be sure to research your target audience and their needs and stay on top of the trends and lifestyle changes that impact your prospects.

4. SEO

Organic search results are more likely to be clicked than paid search results, so it is IMPERATIVE to understand and utilize search engine optimization (SEO) in a digital marketing career. Today, “white hat” SEO tactics include content marketing, guest blogging, and link building through social marketing and high-quality content. But, you should also know technical SEO tactics such as updating title tags, H1, and H2 tags, and incorporating keywords.

Speaking of keywords, it’s essential as a digital marketer to know how to research keywords to include within website copy, blogs, and PPC to drive results for the brands you work for.

5. Research

Inbound marketers need to come up with messaging and content that resonates with the target audience’s reality, and this can only be possible with excellent research and data collection skills.

An excellent inbound marketer must be able to source and accurately analyze relevant information and use the collected data to understand the present needs of prospects whilst also predicting future trends. 

Beyond data collection and analysis, you should be able to identify subject matter experts when the need arises. Having internal specialists on your team involved in the process can improve the credibility, value, and trustworthiness of the content you put out for your target audience.

6. Design 

So much of digital marketing today is driven by visuals. Content on all of the social media platforms performs better when accompanied by great images. As a digital marketer, you need to know how to create and edit your own visuals.

If you can whip together a banner ad, email banner, logo, or social media image in Photoshop yourself, that’s one less person you have to go through, one less step to get your digital campaign launched – and one less person your client or employer has to hire. If Photoshop (or another Adobe program isn’t in your arsenal of skills, there are lots of tools like Canva available to help).

7. Social Paid Advertising

The days of social media being “free” are gone. The best way to reach people now on social media sites and ensure your content gets distributed is to use social paid advertising.

Understanding how to write copy — length, and variations — and follow image best practices on each site will be extremely helpful in your career. As well as understanding how to monitor and alter bids to optimize your ads or understand when to get help if you don’t have the time to spend on it every day.

You’ll be the prosperous digital marketer you’ve always desired if you can master all of these skills and combine them with the ideal balance of analytical and creative tactics.