Paid Search Specialist Ascend Digital Agency Buffalo, NY Job Details Full-time $60,000 - $90,000 a year 20 hours ago Benefits Health insurance Dental insurance Paid time off 401(k) matching Qualifications Google Ads Certification Managing budgets in a search marketing role Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising Google Ads Paid search marketing Paid search advertising campaigns Full Job Description Job Description We are seeking an experienced SEM Specialist to manage a portfolio of home services Google Ads accounts. This person has 3+ years of hands-on paid search experience, has run campaigns for contractors or local lead generation, and is ready to take on a full book of accounts with real budgets and real accountability for results. If you're ambitious, you'll find room here to grow — but this role starts and lives in the accounts. About Us We impact the lives of people by driving growth for home service businesses. We work with owners across the U.S. who have real ambition to grow — roofers, exterior contractors, and home service brands who want more than a monthly report and a shrug.

Three things make us different:

we build assets our clients actually own, we're transparent about what we're doing and why, and we operate as a true strategic partner instead of a vendor. Our process is the same every time — Consult, Onboard, Launch, Execute, Iterate. Role Overview You'll own the performance of a portfolio of Google Ads accounts — build, manage, optimize, report, and defend the results. These are real budgets belonging to owners who can tell you exactly what a booked job is worth, and they'll ask you why cost per lead moved. You need to have the answer. This is a hands-in-the-account role with a clear path up. We'd rather promote the person who earned it than post a senior req in eighteen months. If you want to be running strategy for our largest accounts or leading the department, that path exists and it's short — but you have to earn it in the accounts first. What You'll Do Own a portfolio of home services Google Ads accounts end to end — performance, pacing, and client outcomes Build and launch campaigns: keyword research, account structure, ad copy, extensions, conversion actions, geo-targeting, and budget allocation across services Run continuous search term analysis and negative keyword management to protect budget from waste Manage bids, budgets, and pacing to hit cost-per-lead and spend targets month after month Diagnose underperforming accounts — is it the market, the offer, the landing page, the tracking, or the call handling? — and drive the fix, even when it's outside your lane Write and test ad copy, RSAs, and landing page messaging with our content and web teams Own conversion tracking accuracy: call tracking, forms, offline conversion imports, and lead quality feedback loops Review lead quality and call recordings with account managers so we're driving booked jobs, not junk form fills Build Looker Studio reporting and present performance directly to clients — what happened, why, what's next Lead paid search discovery and strategy conversations during onboarding and QBRs Improve our SEM SOPs, QA checklists, and testing frameworks as you find better ways to work Bring new campaign types, tools, and AI-driven approaches to the team before we ask for them You're a Fit If You Have 3+ years of hands-on Google Ads experience managing live accounts and meaningful budgets Have definitively run paid search for home services or local lead generation — roofing, HVAC, plumbing, restoration, remodeling, or similar. This is not a nice-to-have. Lead-gen for contractors behaves differently than e-commerce or B2B, and we don't have time to teach the category. Can talk through specific accounts you've turned around, with real numbers, and explain what you changed and why it worked Are fluent in Search and Performance Max, and have an actual opinion about when PMax helps a contractor and when it hides waste Understand conversion tracking end to end — GA4, GTM, call tracking, offline conversions — and can tell when the data is lying to you Can sit across from a business owner, explain a bad month honestly, and keep their trust Do what you say you'll do, when you said you'd do it, across a full book of accounts Are ambitious about your own growth and want a seat where performance actually changes your comp and your scope Never the Bare Minimum This is one of our core values, and it's the one this role lives on. Good enough is not good enough. An account that's "fine" is an account with room you haven't found yet. Here's what that looks like day to day: You look at an account before the client emails you, not after You know the cost per booked job, not just the cost per lead — and you know why the difference matters When performance is flat, you have three tests queued You'll kill a campaign that was your own idea because the data said so You can defend every line item in the account to the person paying for it When a problem keeps coming back, you solve it once and for all instead of patching it every month You bring ideas to the table instead of waiting for the assignment Part of our interview process is walking through a live account together — come ready to think out loud. Bonus Points Experience with Local Services Ads and Google Business Profile Hands-on with call tracking platforms (WhatConverts, CallRail) and lead quality scoring Agency background managing 10+ concurrent client accounts Experience with CRM/lead pipeline data (AccuLynx, JobNimbus, Zoho, HubSpot) and closing the loop from click to contract Comfort with WordPress, landing page testing, and CRO fundamentals Google Ads certifications or Microsoft Advertising experience Exposure to paid social, OTT/CTV, or emerging AI ad placements — search is the job, but these opportunities open up over time How We Work — Our Core Values These aren't wall art. They're how we hire, coach, and promote. Be Reliable Consistency, every time. Do what you say. Show up for your team and your clients. Trust is built in the boring moments — the optimization that gets done on time, the report ready before the call, the follow-up that actually happens. Do the Right Thing Act with character even when no one is watching. Treat every account like it's your own money: if this was my business, would I spend it this way? Never the Bare Minimum Bring ideas, don't just take orders. Take pride in your work and hold it to the highest standard. Good enough is not good enough. Find a Way to Make a Difference Pick up a shovel. When you see something that needs doing, do it. Solutions, not excuses. And when a problem keeps coming back, solve it once and for all instead of patching it every month. Our Promise to You Real accounts, real budgets, real ownership from day one — not busywork and not a trial period doing someone else's cleanup. You'll have senior support when you want it and room to run when you don't. We put the same dedication into every campaign that's produced massive growth and raving fans for our clients, and we'll put that same dedication into developing you. If you're good, this job pays you for it and moves you up. Let's connect.

Pay:

$60,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k) matching Dental insurance Health insurance Paid time off

Work Location:

In person