Title: Freelance SEM Specialist
Spark Growth is seeking a Freelance Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Specialist to work with our fast-growing agency in Toronto.
The ideal candidate is analytical with hands-on experience in developing and managing paid search campaigns primarily through Google AdWords, and will have strong communication skills and results-orientation.
About Us:
At Spark Growth, we’re a social media and content marketing firm that helps growing brands. We are looking to complement our in-house Paid Media team with freelance experts in particular complementary areas. We are passionate about helping clients create meaningful, human connections that inspire action. Our company has 6 core values that we look for in all our team members and partners:
Strategic - go beyond checking the boxes
Fired Up - do what we do with passion
Resourceful - find the possibilities, not the problems
Inclusive - be who you are
Straightforward - say what you feel
Results-driven - set aggressive goals, then measure and achieve them
Your Mission:
To deliver real business impact aligned to client business objectives through efficient SEM programs.
Role Competencies:
- Strategic in your approach to SEM (aligning tactics to a strategy that delivers on client goals)
- Strong analytics capability and ability to present key insights and data to clients
- Resourceful and creative in developing strategies for clients with limited resources (budgets are not necessarily small, but there is still a need to prioritize and optimize the spend, given the multitude of possibilities)
- A self-starter who can develop an effective SEM strategy with minimal guidance
- Collaborative with other team members (e.g., Social Media, Analytics, Design team), working towards the best solutions and campaigns for our clients
- Deep understanding of search engine marketing and trends
- Strong attention to detail, organized and deadline-oriented
- Business-impact focused, ensuring we are constantly driving strong results
- Ability to accurately estimate scope and effort required to meet client SEM objectives
Core Responsibilities:
- Responsible for developing, executing and measuring successful SEM strategies for clients across a variety of industries. This includes:
- Developing and articulating SEM strategies to achieve the client’s objectives
- Helping clients set goals, KPIs, and budgets that optimize available SEM budget
- Optimizing SEM campaigns on an ongoing basis
- Creating/overseeing all analytics and insights reporting for SEM showing its’ real business impact
- Ability to communicate key insights and business impacting results to clients
Core Qualifications:
- Client-facing SEM management experience (agency background preferred)
- Experience managing $100k-1M+ ad spend budgets (per campaign)
- 3+ years experience creating and managing paid search (Google and/or Bing) campaigns that exceed client expectations
- 3+ years experience with Google Analytics
- Experienced in developing an A/B testing plan for paid campaigns
- Experienced in managing and optimizing campaigns directly using Google AdWords, from strategy development to conversion tracking setup to day-to-day execution to deriving insight from the data
- Experienced in using Excel and Powerpoint to present SEM strategies and campaign reports for clients and sharing with clients in a results-focused, compelling way
- Exceptional time management skills and ability to handle competing priorities
- Experienced in working with a cross-functional team to develop strong client campaigns and strategies
Nice-to-Have Qualifications:
- Experience with Google Tag Manager
- Mobile paid experience
- Experience with paid search tools such as wordstream, Kenshoo, SEM Rush
- Experience with broader analytics, including social listening, through platforms like Sysomos or Crimson Hexagon
- Basic SEO on-page optimization knowledge
- Basic HTML knowledge