Paid Search Junior Associate

Merkle is a leading data-driven, technology-enabled, global performance marketing agency that specialises in the delivery of unique, personalised customer experiences across platforms and devices. We call it ‘people-based’ marketing, and with over 25 years’ experience, we are proud to be recognised as a global leader.

Merkle’s heritage in data, technology and analytics is the foundation for our understanding of consumer insights that drives our people-based marketing strategies. Combined with our expertise in performance creative and media, we can then offer our clients content-driven, contextual and compelling customer experiences that drive business growth.

In 2016, the agency joined the Dentsu, one of the world’s biggest media companies to form the Customer Experience Management (CXM) Line of Business.

Want to forge a career in one of the most exciting and dynamic areas of digital marketing? If you’d say you’re a logical person with a love of data and relationship-building, a position in our Paid Search (aka PPC or Pay-Per-Click) department might be just the ticket.

We’re looking for someone to join us as soon as possible (likely looking at a February / March start date). 

Paid Search involves advertising in the sponsored listings of search engines like Google. Every time a user clicks an ad, the advertiser pays the search engine – meaning advertisers need to get their ads in front of the right people at the right time to ensure a cost-effective marketing strategy. Paid Search advertisers therefore consider business goals, target audiences, ad copy and a whole host of other factors when creating and managing campaigns.

We welcome new joiners from all backgrounds; you can be freshly graduated or looking for a change of career. Following a comprehensive induction programme, our Junior Associates rapidly build a balanced portfolio of clients that vary by size and industry. A crucial part of the role is using specialist platforms to implement Paid Search strategies that deliver on client goals – but the fun doesn’t stop there! We love analysing and identifying performance-boosting opportunities and working with clients to ensure they’re getting the most out of their Paid Search campaigns.

Life as a PPC Marketing Associate at Merkle

Training. From your first day you will embark on our extensive training programme. You will quickly be introduced to PPC through in-person classroom sessions, online training and various workshops. You will be assigned a coach who is dedicated to your learning and will assist you with any questions you may have. Everyone learns at their own pace and your coach is there to support you throughout your training! We’re lucky enough to have a super close relationship with Google, so do expect to have regular visits from our Google representative, and possibly visit their equally beautiful offices to help assist you with your training.

Data. You’ll be working with large sets of data from the beginning of your Merkle Career! As of day one, there will be a large focus on build work and campaign structure. Through doing this you will be quickly introduced to Google Ads Keyword Planner from the Google Ads interface, and from the outset you will be spending time on excel to learn where your campaign may need optimisation.

Campaign Builds. It will be your responsibility to get a briefing from the client on how they would like to build their campaign. You will advise on our best practise and then build it from scratch or sometimes improve upon existing campaigns. Additionally, you will have increased opportunities to assist wider teams with analyst pieces and Keyword generation and gain further exposure to extra clients within Merkle!

Consultative. You’ll foster strong, professional relationships with your clients, keeping in regular contact with them through a variety of mediums. Whether this is through consistent email communication, weekly phone calls or sometimes regular face-to-face meetings. You will utilise your skills to understand your client’s goals and objectives! Depending on the client, you may even have the opportunity to occasionally work remotely from their head offices! As your relationship building skills progress, you could find yourself having increased involvement in your clients’ strategic decisions.

Tools and Platforms. As a PPC Associate you will be specialising purely in Paid Search. You will need to become extremely familiar and confident working with numerous platforms. The most common being Google Ads and Microsoft Excel. Through our online training platform, Merkle University, you will also have the opportunity to take several courses to improve and enhance your skills on a variety of other platforms.

Happiness. It’s hard to overstate the importance we place on employee happiness. We want all our employees to enjoy coming to work in our offices (which we’re rather proud of!) and working in a super-friendly and supportive team. At Merkle, everyone has a voice and a part to play in driving the organisation forward.

To learn more about this role, please see the blog post below from one of our current employees:

PPC – Day in the Life Blog Post

Qualifications

What we are looking for in you

• Passion and clear research into Paid Search and curiosity about the digital industry
• Well-developed logic and reasoning skills, including an aptitude for data analysis
• A co-operative and supportive personality; a true team player
• The ability to work autonomously and to efficiently manage multiple projects
• A keen eye for detail and highly articulate in verbal and written communications
• A strong sense of professionalism, commercialism and a deep respect for others

Finally, we expect that you’ll have really done your research into Paid Search. You don’t need to be a pro (we don’t require you to have any previous experience!), but we absolutely need to see that you’ve read up on recent trends, are familiar with the industry and have nailed understanding the basic concepts. There’s so much to read online; hopefully once you start, you just want to keep reading!

The Interview Process

Firstly, we suggest you apply at your earliest convenience (make sure you’ve done your research!) as our roles are always very popular and do fill quickly. We hire on a first-come basis.

In this position, you will be focusing solely on Paid Search so we will want to see a passion and enthusiasm for this particular area. This interest can be showcased in your research and ability to go above and beyond when looking into this area.

· Application – When you apply you will be asked a couple of questions to showcase your interest in Paid Search.

· Video Interview – If your application is successful you will be asked to complete a video interview (they sound scarier then they are, we promise!). The video interview is a chance for us to get to know more about you and your knowledge and recent research.

· In Office Interview – If successful after a video interview then you would progress to the in-office interview. This is a chance for you to come to the office, meet us in person, learn more about the company and showcase your skills, passion and research in person.

· Final Interview – If you reach the final interview, you will be asked to put together a Paid Search Campaign, based off a pretend client brief.

Throughout the entire process we will be wanting to learn more about you as an individual (you’re interests, skills and understanding of the role), your passion for this area and the research you’ve done. Don’t focus on the nerves, make sure you come prepared and ensure you interview us as well! At the end of the day you’ll be with us 5 days a week, so you want to make sure its somewhere you want to work to.

Diversity & Inclusion

At Merkle, we believe that a diverse and inclusive environment improves us as a community and as a business. We want to foster an environment of growth, where ideas and contributions are actively encouraged. We need this culture of courage to continue to thrive in our fast-paced industry.

We have created six Diversity and Inclusion Pillars. Each pillar is made up of a community of members who serve as role models and spread a message of inclusion throughout our global workplace. Pillar members are responsible for planning initiatives, events and training, along with championing change within our business. These pillars are Gender, Ethnicity, Mental Health, Religion, Disability, LGBT+.

Merkle is a place that embraces differences of opinion. To be an advocate for real change we really encourage applications from women, candidates with disabilities and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as we recognise that these groups are currently underrepresented in our marketing/technology industry.

Merkle does not discriminate against job applicants on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Experience stipulated in this job description serves as a guide only and all applications will be considered on their merits, irrespective of experience.

As part of our Diversity and Inclusion agenda, and as an Equal Opportunities employer, if you require reasonable adjustments during the selection process please engage directly with your Recruiter.

A few of the benefits

Whether it’s the joy of working with people at the top of their game or the Merkle social calendar, people love working here – and we hope you will too

·       Career development through Merkle University and other tools; with access to courses, textbooks and mentorship

·       Private Medical Insurance, Company Pension, life insurance and other corporate benefits

·       A selection of other benefits including ability to buy additional holiday, season ticket loan and 2 volunteer days