Search Strategist

Search Strategist

A Senior Search Strategist has mastered the basics as it applies to Search, and from that, they’ve started to develop their own approach, style, and POV on tools, campaign structure, and on the landscape. A Senior Search Strategist is self-sufficient. They are well-versed and up to speed on best practices and product updates (& their impact). They can work independently to execute client’s campaigns from start to finish, and they’re an expert at analyzing and interpreting said campaigns' performance, and mapping the way forward.

Team Outcome:

Manage clients independently, capable of running a campaign with minimal support, and managing more than one direct or dotted line report.

Next Level Performance Summary and Success Criteria Highlights :

Reminder: “Next Level” work is work that goes beyond the job description or readily available metrics to proactively innovate, tie loose threads together, and contribute to the agency beyond the scope of your core function and client time

• Superior roadmap generation, iteration, and execution. Regularly creates and implements new, impactful, testing opportunities, including 5-10+ “Next Level” ideas
• Proactively identifies, proposes and implements new opportunities of multiple types (new audiences, new messaging, new platforms, etc)
• Raving client superfans who wholeheartedly trust opinions, recommendations, and problem-solving approach
• Innovates team processes, including inter and intra-team ways of working.
• Managed team drives superior account performance (10-20%+ improvements), due to measurable and rational optimizations and strategic approach)
• Regularly proposes incremental opportunities that are beneficial to client business. Has a track record of growing spend levels and GA revenue
• Superior time management, accountability, and follow through
• Excels at autonomous optimization, decision-making, and client communication
• Proactively solves problems by proposing and implementing scalable solutions that benefit the entire organization, not just one account.
• Team maintains a track record of error-free launches, optimizations, and QAs. Long history of excellent pharma compliance
• Confident team management. Proven ability to change course and improve ways of working to adapt to the individual needs of each direct report. Direct reports tracking towards next level performance
• Proactively shares POVs, news, and champions Search among the discipline and client teams, as well as the entire organization.

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Key Responsibilities:

Media Strategy, Plan Development & Innovation - 25%

• Lead research, strategy, planning, and presentation of Search ad campaigns with full execution to internal and client teams
  • Thoughtful rationale and platform agnostic approach
  • Building projections independently and accurately
  • Build Search slides for media plan decks, and be client facing lead ​​​​​​​
• Close partnership with the Account Management team to understand client needs and communicate insights and results back to the clients
• Develop, write, and execute superior creative testing plans (ad copy, image, CTA, etc.), analyze, and report results back to clients
• Manage submission s, accurately uploading the docs for legal review, and making changes based on the feedback
• Deep understanding of Search platforms & their ads tools, including but not limited to Google and Microsoft/Bing
• Understands client’s holistic media plan and understands how channel work together or influence one another
• Adept at building client-specific Search roadmaps and testing plans
• Works in partnership with client and agency partners to drive adoption of products and best practices (but also know when to second guess/test out)
• Proactively identifies partner opportunities that support client objectives, including betas.
• Champions Search among the client team and full agency. Presents achievements during the company meeting. Trains additional team members on how to replicate successes and innovations for their accounts
• Frequently leads writing comprehensive POVs, maintaining brand voice, and providing insights and implications around current events
• Keeps up to date on updates & news outside of the immediate paid Search realm, including organic strategy, as well as big tech industry news.

Technical Expertise, Campaign Management & Media Plan Execution - 25%

• Proficiently follows best practices for Search management such as campaign setup, trafficking, targeting, and creative
• Ensures accuracy and client safety with QA checklists and attention to detail
• Long history of excellent pharma compliance, including submission management
• Highly proficient in trafficking, pacing, budget shifts, and optimization
• Highly proficient at driving superior performance through constant optimization, resulting in client satisfaction. Can optimize using third-party measurement, analytics platforms, or data not readily available in Google Ads. Firm understanding of which level to pull for each given scenario.
• Deep knowledge of Search industry standards, new technologies (i.e. API partners, data providers, emerging platforms), trends, and the competitive landscape
• Uses all available research tools when building recommendations and has achieved proficiency in said tools, including (but not limited to) SEMRush, eMarketer, etc.

Reporting and Measurement - 25%

• Helps assistant or planner evaluate overall campaign effectiveness by writing mid-campaign and post-campaign performance reports (client-determined cadence), pulling data from various sources (i.e. Platforms, CRISP, Crossix)
• Is responsible for final QA for reporting comments and slide decks. Drives measurable improvement in the planners/assistants ability to turn around these deliverables in a timely and quality manner.
• Coordinates with the channels (i.e. programmatic, social , media) to identify key high-level insights and supporting details
• Deep understanding of how to build stories, driving the effect of paid Search back to real-world impact
• Can expertly describe in lay-terms how the algorithms work, how the media runs and why or why not an ad is showing at any given moment
• Capable of presenting reports and slides to clients, fluently interpreting the data and answering questions succinctly and clearly
• Developed visual storytelling acuity and personal sense of slide aesthetics

Team Management and Mentorship - 25%

• Is adept at managing multiple direct reports or direct and dotted line reports. Managed reports track towards “next level” performance
• Understands that each team member is different and is fluent at adapting style to correspond with their colleagues work style
• Create Assistant onboarding plan & track progress with guidance from Supervisor and ASD. Keeps onboarding plans focused on outcomes, key results, and measurable success
• Train Assistants on campaign execution/management workflows inclusive of planning, trafficking, pacing, accounting, and reporting
• QAs their direct reports’ work to achieve 100% accuracy, and understand they are responsible for the output
• Train Assistants on GA proprietary and 3rd party platforms/tools
• Regularly meets with Assistants to check up on work progress and professional development (is training on-track, additional support needs)

General Skills and Qualifications:

• Exceptional management skills and ability to manage deadlines
• Organized with exceptional attention to detail
• Fluency with numbers and use of basic and advanced Excel formulas
• Strong communication skills for internal and client partnerships
• Thrives in a fast-paced environment and manages multiple campaigns and tight deadlines
• Problem-solving and analytical excellence ​​​​​​​

Desired Skills and Experience

• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail analytics abilities
• Familiarity with Google Ads and Google Analytics
• Some familiarity with Search Ads360, Bing and YouTube
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for cross functional collaboration and client facing report building
• Analytical skillset with a keen interest in interpreting data trends to identify trends, measure effectiveness of campaign performance
• Basic knowledge on AI trends and digital marketing
• Problem solving and critical thinking skills that allow them to work well with others and develop effective working solutions