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