Manager, Paid Search

<div class="content-intro"><p>At MERGE, we are <strong>Built Different</strong>. We are a marketing and technology agency purpose-built for the intersection of health and wellness—where human impact matters most. By weaving storytelling through technology, we move beyond traditional engagement to Whole Human Marketing. This approach recognizes that humans are multidimensional and complex, and uses AI to ensure every brand interaction feels natural, contextual, and relevant.</p> <p>This commitment to human-first innovation is what brings us together and propels us forward. We are united by our North Star: to unite people and brands to empower healthier, happier lives.</p> <p><strong>Emerge to the Top of Your Career</strong></p> <p>At MERGE, we strive to create a superior work experience where talented and ambitious people grow. An experience that encourages people to think higher and feel deeper. An experience where people engage their minds and hearts to do the best work of their careers.</p></div><p><strong>As our Manager, Paid Search, you will…</strong></p> <p>Support MERGE's practice in creating, optimizing, and executing top-tier client paid search campaigns. As a hands-on player and coach, you will guide and mentor our paid search specialists while overseeing keyword research, campaign builds, client recommendations, QA processes, and performance reporting. Bring your passion, natural curiosity, and collaborative spirit to drive real impact for our clients while keeping a strong focus on agility, technical ability, and humble leadership.</p> <p><strong>What You’ll Do</strong></p> <p><strong>Strategy & Campaign Execution</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Lead Discovery & Audits:</strong> Lead the discovery process to understand overall client and PPC goals, conducting thorough audits to pinpoint structural opportunities and refine campaign tactics.</li> <li><strong>Optimize Landing Pages & Tracking:</strong> Ensure analytics tracking implementation is accurate, seamless, and easy to manage while identifying key optimization opportunities on landing pages.</li> <li><strong>Develop Testing & Keyword Plans:</strong> Build and recommend keyword strategies, negative keyword maintenance, and ongoing testing plans (such as search query reports and keyword overlap analyses).</li> <li><strong>Drive Performance:</strong> Continuously analyze program performance against core KPIs (ROAS, CTR, CPA, conversion rates) to keep campaigns sharp, agile, and effective.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Client & Partner Relations</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Deliver Clear Insights:</strong> Lead client status and reporting calls to present actionable insights, performance results, and proactive optimization strategies.</li> <li><strong>Manage Platform Partnerships:</strong> Collaborate closely with major search engines and media partners, including Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, to leverage the best tools and opportunities.</li> <li><strong>Resolve Billing Smoothly:</strong> Act as the primary contact for resolving billing discrepancies in close partnership with our client strategy and billing reconciliation teams.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Quality Assurance & Team Growth</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Maintain High QA Standards:</strong> Lead rigorous QA checks for trafficked approved plans across engines (keywords, ad copy, extensions) and launch parameters (dayparting, bids, budgets, and targeting).</li> <li><strong>Mentor & Teach with Humility:</strong> Train and empower paid search specialists, sharing your expertise generously while acting as a trusted subject matter expert for our broader media strategy teams.</li> <li><strong>Shape Practice & Industry Viewpoints:</strong> Actively contribute to overall account strategy—including annual budget planning, KPI setting, and partner selection—and share insightful POVs on industry trends both internally and externally.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Who You Are</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Experienced Marketer:</strong> You bring 3 to 5 years of professional paid search campaign management experience, ideally backed by a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Advertising, or equivalent hands-on experience.</li> <li><strong>Pharma & Life Sciences Specialist:</strong> You have essential, proven experience working on Life Science and Pharma accounts, navigating their unique campaign needs with care and expertise.</li> <li><strong>Platform & Tool Expert:</strong> You possess true mastery of search engines and management platforms (such as Fluency, Search Ads 360, Skai, Marin, Optmyzr, Smartly.io, or Adalysis), alongside strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Google Workspace.</li> <li><strong>Agile Problem Solver:</strong> You blend critical thinking with a solution-oriented mindset, pivoting quickly when performance data or market conditions change.</li> <li><strong>Humble Collaborator & Mentor:</strong> You enjoy lifting up others, communicating complex insights clearly, and managing multiple high-priority projects under tight deadlines with composure and team spirit.</li> </ul> <p>#LI-VM1</p> <p>#LI-HYBRID</p> <p><strong>Our Hybrid Philosophy</strong></p> <p>For this role, we prioritize hybrid candidates in <strong>Atlanta, GA; Bosto