Strategic Paid Search Lead: Scale Retail SEM

Sweetwater; Fort Wayne (IN); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Sweetwater, the nation's number one online retailer of music instruments and pro audio gear, is seeking a Paid Search Lead to join our Performance Marketing team and take ownership of our paid search strategy and execution across a large, complex retail operation.

This role will report to the Director of Performance Marketing and work closely with our long-term search agency to ensure performance milestones are met.

Qualifications

• 4+ years hands-on paid search management.
• Experience at large scale with significant budgets and product/keyword volume.
• Retail/e-commerce background with 5,000+ SKUs preferred.
• Strong knowledge of Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, shopping ads, bidding strategies, and analytics.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day strategy and direction for Sweetwater’s paid search across major platforms.
• Serve as main internal contact and strategic partner for our paid search agency.
• Oversee agency performance ensuring alignment with goals, strategy, and financial targets.
• Review and refine agency recommendations, reporting, and keyword strategies.
• Develop a forward-looking paid search roadmap with tests and optimization areas.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, scale growth, and strengthen customer acquisition.

Skills

Paid search

Google Ads

Analytics

Agency management

A/B testing

Retail/e-commerce

Tools

Google Ads 360

Microsoft Advertising

Google Tag Manager

GA4 / Analytics

Job description

Sweetwater, the nation's number one online retailer of music instruments and pro audio gear, is seeking a Paid Search Lead to join our Performance Marketing team and take ownership of our paid search strategy and execution across a large, complex retail operation.

This role will report to the Director of Performance Marketing and work closely with our long-term search agency to ensure performance milestones are met.