Paid Search Strategist

Be essential at Cars Commerce

At Cars Commerce, we’re fanatical about simplifying everything about car buying and selling. We do right by our customers and consumers to better connect the industry with simplified and tierless technology to enhance, measure and drive local automotive retail. Whether through our No.1 most recognized marketplace, Cars.com, our industry-leading digital experience, Dealer Inspire, our trade and appraisal technology, AccuTrade, or our new Cars Commerce Media Network, Cars Commerce is essential for success in the automotive industry.  

No one ever travels alone here: at its core, Cars Commerce is collaboration. In fact, it’s built into the very fabric of our shared values. We like to say we Rise Together – putting people at the center of what we do, from consumer to customer to community. Life at Cars Commerce makes it easy when we share the ethos to be Open to All, encouraging open-minded communication because we know diverse thinking yields better outcomes. But critical to our success is Caring to Challenge and Taking Ownership, fueling a competitive spirit in a respectful environment where we think about tomorrow but act today. At our foundation, we have integrity, Doing the Right Thing, even when it’s hard. It’s our shared commitment to these values that makes Cars Commerce a place where growth becomes not only possible, but downright unavoidable.

But don’t take our word for it. As a U.S. News & World Report Best Company to Work For in 2024, we're obsessive about the employee experience. We are among the top 20% being declared “Best” of our industry based on six critical factors that are important to employee wellbeing, like quality of pay, benefits, work life balance and more.

We are looking for a passionate, collaborative, and forward-thinking Paid Search Strategist to join us as we grow and thrive in a dynamic and exciting industry.

The Paid Search Strategist is responsible for managing, optimizing, and reporting on paid search campaigns. This role is primarily focused on providing high level strategy and direction for search and shopping campaigns to our SEM agency who then executes the provided strategy. 

This position needs to have a deep understanding of the technical parts of paid search, tagging and analytics tracking, managing creative, and conversion rate optimization. The Paid Search Strategist will spend 50% of their time on strategy, budget allocation, and optimization, 25% on tagging, landing page testing, and testing new initiatives, and 25% on reporting, creative, and hands on SEM account management. 

This role touches on all aspects of the search marketing roadmap including keyword management, campaign messaging testing, and analytics.  The ideal candidate must possess a keen understanding of the online space with B2C experience and a strong background in paid search, strong analytical skills with an inherent ability to find trends by analyzing large data sets, and excellent communication skills. This role is part of the CARS Corporate Marketing team and reports to the Senior Manager of Corporate Marketing.

Responsibilities include:

• Manage the day-to-day search marketing strategy across multiple search engines including campaign planning, budget allocation, performance review, and optimization of paid search campaigns

• Identify and report on key performance indicators and opportunities for improvement on a regular basis

• Troubleshoot campaign tracking and tagging issues

• Work with in-house and internal teams to improve conversion rates and test new landing page experiences

• Stay current with new advances in search engine marketing/optimization and the competitive landscape

• Explore and recommend innovative SEM solutions and tests

• Demonstrate expert product and platform knowledge in Google Ads and Microsoft Ads

Required Skills

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to drive meaningful actions from large data sets

• Exceptional communication, copywriting and editorial skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office - especially Excel/Google Sheets (vlookups and pivot tables are a must) to analyze data and produce insights

• Fundamental knowledge and experience with web analytical tools and interfaces (i.e. Adobe Analytics and Google Analytics) is preferred

• SEO, display advertising, social/native, email marketing experience a plus

• Ability to multi-task and prioritize in a fast-paced and dynamic work environment

• An organized individual with great attention to detail and focus on quality of results

• A self-motivated individual who can work independently and as part of a team

• Demonstrates grasp of leveraging KPIs to interpret results and make data-based decisions

• Experience with Tableau

• Google Ads SEM certification preferred

Required Experience

• Recent agency or in-house experience preferred

• Bachelor's Degree in related field required

• 3-6+ years of relevant experience managing paid search programs for well-established online websites

• Experience in driving leads/sales for websites with large inventory/listings

• Hands-on knowledge of best practices in SEM and a proven track-record of delivering qualified traffic from both an acquisition and conversion standpoint

• Strong technical skills highly desired

#LI-MK1

Our Comprehensive Benefits Package includes:

• Medical, Dental & Vision Healthcare Plans
• New Hire Stipend for Home Office Set-Up
• Generous PTO
• Refuel - a service based recognition program where employees receive additional paid time away to learn grow and reset
• Paid Holidays, Floating Holiday, Volunteer Day, Recharge Day

Learn more about our Benefits, Perks, & Culture on our LinkedIn Life Pages!

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. California Applicants: Click here to review our California Privacy Policy for Applicants. For current employees, please click here to review our California Privacy Policy for Employees.