Paid Search
Paid search is a form of digital marketing that enables companies to pay search engines to place their ads higher on relevant search engine results pages (SERPs) in order to increase web traffic on their site.
Paid Search Roles
Paid search jobs are typically found in Media or Digital Agencies, within Brands and DTC Vendors, as well as Media Owners and publishers.
There are different types of paid search jobs you could work in, including
- Pay per click (PPC)
- Search engine marketing (SEM)
- Search engine advertising
Using PPC means that companies don’t pay until their ad has been clicked on, making this method more affordable, ensuring that your ad reaches the target audience that it is intended for, and who is actively searching for your company.
Paid search manager job or paid search specialist careers will lead marketing campaigns, leading and optimising the strategy, before analysing and reporting on the campaign. Day-to-day tasks may include updating bids, analysing and refreshing keywords and monitoring the profitability of campaigns.
Landing a paid search role typically requires a relevant bachelor’s degree, such as business, communications, or marketing. Google Ad Certification will be expected, with some companies also expecting Bing Ad Certifications.
Key skills required for working in paid search include:
- Communication
- Data analysis
- SEO and SEM knowledge
Salaries in paid search begin around £22,000 and can reach up to £130,000+ for those with 10+ years of experience in paid search.
Pay Per Click (PPC)
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is the most commonly use method of paid search and is used to drive traffic to websites. If and where your ad is placed on a search engine depends on a few factors:
Ad Extensions
Phone numbers or website links that will take consumers to relevant pages on their website. How well these perform will help determine your ad placement
Bidding
Businesses can bid for a slot on SERPs. Rather than being the highest amount of money, keywords and relevant phrases are taken into consideration when determining your ad placement (see Biddable Media for more information)
Keywords
A highly optimised ad with frequent use of keywords will determine the ranking on SERPs
Quality of ads and landing pages
All ads and landing pages are assigned a quality score by Google, based on how useful and relevant your material is, this again will determine where you rank on SERPs
Meet our industry experts
Looking for your next Paid Search role? Our specialist team can help.
Send us your CV
Upload CV
Register a vacancy
Need support with hiring?
2023 Digital Salary & Benefits Report
We’re back with our Digital Salary & Benefits Report which takes an in-depth look at the salaries, benefits and job search preferences of talent working across digital media, marketing, tech and creative sectors.