Roles we recruit
Seven practices, 27 functions. Start at the practice when you cannot yet name the title; go straight to the function when you can.
Browse all 229 roles Brief us on a seatFlat 15% of first-year base · shortlist in 10 working days
A PPC specialist builds and tunes your paid search campaigns by hand: keywords, match types, ad copy, negatives, landing page tests and bids. Screenshots of rising click-through rates are easy to show, so we screen for cost per opportunity they lowered, accounts they inherited and cleaned up, and how they report when spend is wasted.
Paid search feeds back fast, so the first quarter shows whether spend is working or being wasted. Each stage below has a signal that predicts it, and we test for that signal before you meet anyone.
The ramp, and the test behind each milestone
Weeks 1 and 2
Account structure, search terms, match types, negatives, conversion tracking and budgets, plus how conversions reach the CRM. Pauses what is plainly wasting money and logs every change.
On track looks like a written audit, wasted spend found and stopped, and tracking verified end to end.
How we test for it before you meet them
An audit exercise in our screen: a described search account with real problems in it. We score what they find first and what they would leave alone.
Weeks 3 to 6
Campaigns grouped by intent, match types and negatives tightened, ad copy tested against a clear message, and reporting on cost per opportunity rather than clicks.
On track looks like cost per opportunity falling on the main campaigns, with the change explained.
How we test for it before you meet them
We ask about an account they inherited and what they changed first. A former manager confirms the before and after.
Weeks 7 to 10
Tests on ad copy, offers and landing pages, set up with the website or CRO lead, with a hypothesis and a stop rule for each.
On track looks like at least two tests finished with a written result, including one that lost.
How we test for it before you meet them
We ask about a test they lost and what they changed afterwards. Specialists who never lost a test have rarely run one.
Weeks 11 to 13
Budget pacing and a forecast of what a further dollar buys, with the point at which a channel stops returning and where spend should move.
On track looks like a monthly forecast that lands near the result, and a clear view of diminishing returns.
How we test for it before you meet them
A reference call with a marketing leader about how this specialist reported a bad month and what they proposed.
After day 90
Strong specialists share search terms and messages that convert with content and product marketing, and start testing other paid channels with the same discipline.
On track looks like search insight used in content and messaging, and a plan for the next channel.
How we test for it before you meet them
We ask what they learned from search that changed another team's work. A specific example predicts a specialist who adds value beyond the account.
Five responsibilities. If the seat owns budget and strategy across paid channels, it is a paid media manager; if it mainly runs social ads, it is a paid social manager.
Keywords, match types, ad groups and ads organized by intent so each can be judged on its own.
Search terms reviewed regularly, with negatives added so spend follows buyers and not browsers.
Ads written and tested against a clear message, with results recorded.
Daily and weekly control of spend, and a view of what each extra dollar returns.
Conversions tied to the CRM, and reports on cost per opportunity rather than clicks.
Three neighboring seats absorb work people assume belongs here. Drawing the line wrong is how a PPC hire ends up running events or setting a company’s channel strategy alone.
That seat ownsBudget and strategy across paid search, social and display, and the specialists who run them.
Hire it instead whenseveral paid channels need one owner and a plan, not another pair of hands.
That seat ownsCampaigns on LinkedIn, Meta and other social platforms, with their own formats and tests.
Hire it instead whenthe audience is reached through feeds rather than search.
That seat ownsUnpaid search: research, on-page work, internal links and briefs for writers.
Hire it instead whenyou want search traffic that does not depend on a monthly spend.
The title stays the same; the account does not. Pick the one that matches your spend.
Runs search for a B2B company where leads are few, costly and tied to a long sales cycle.
Builds and tunes campaigns daily under a paid media or demand generation lead.
The only paid search person, owning strategy, build, reporting and budget conversations.
The questions we ask in our own screen. Use them in yours; the warning signs are as useful as the answers.
Every candidate we put forward is scored on these five, and the scores travel with the shortlist, gaps included. Four out of five with a named weakness beats a clean sweep you cannot verify.
| What we score | Weak evidence | Strong evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per opportunity lowered | Reports clicks, impressions and click-through rate. | Cost per qualified opportunity before and after, on an account they ran. |
| Account audit skill | Starts with new campaigns and leaves the waste in place. | Finds the main waste on our exercise and ranks the fixes. |
| Tests and honesty | Never lost a test, or never ran one. | Tests with hypotheses and stop rules, losses included. |
| Tracking to the CRM | Trusts platform conversions with no CRM check. | Conversions tied to opportunities and revenue, verified. |
| Fit with your account | Ecommerce or brand search for a B2B lead generation account. | Has run search like yours: your spend, your sales cycle, your buyers. |
Public US benchmarks, read October 2026. Salary.com’s PPC specialist band is narrow, and the step up to a paid media or PPC manager is large, because the manager owns budget and strategy rather than a set of campaigns. Built In has no PPC page, so its digital marketing manager figures stand as a neighboring seat.
Each bar runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile, the middle half of reported pay.
Base salaryWages including commission (BLS)Median base salaryAverage total pay, base plus variable
PPC Specialist
Salary.com base benchmark
$70,454 to $79,954 base
Digital Marketing Manager
Built In, self-reported, neighboring seat
$82,000 median base$111,040 average total
Paid Media or PPC Manager
Salary.com base benchmark, the next seat
$124,616 to $145,490 base
Market research analysts and marketing specialists
BLS, includes paid search and campaign specialists
$58,350 to $108,310
PPC Specialist and Paid Media or PPC Manager: Salary.com base salary, 25th to 75th percentile, United States, as of October 1, 2026. Digital Marketing Manager: Built In median base salary and average total compensation (base plus additional cash, self-reported), reviewed October 14, 2026. Market research analysts and marketing specialists: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, annual wage at the 25th and 75th percentiles (SOC 13-1161), all industries. Public aggregates, not ZaphyrRecruit placement data.
A PPC specialist builds and optimizes paid search campaigns. They research keywords, set match types, write and test ads, review search terms and add negatives, control bids and budgets, and connect conversions to the CRM. Their measure is cost per qualified opportunity, not clicks, and they report honestly when spend is wasted.
Salary.com puts a PPC specialist at $70,454 to $79,954 base, with a median of $76,293 (October 2026). A paid media or PPC manager, who owns budget and strategy, runs from $124,616 to $145,490 base. Built In has no PPC page, but its digital marketing manager figures show an $82,000 median base.
A PPC specialist builds and runs campaigns hands-on, usually in search. A paid media manager owns the budget and strategy across paid channels, manages specialists and agencies, and reports to leadership. If the account needs daily attention, hire the specialist; if channels need an owner and a plan, the manager.
An agency suits a short test or a small budget that does not justify a hire. An in-house PPC specialist pays off when search is a core channel, spend is large enough to need daily attention and lead quality needs feedback from sales. They learn the buyer and the CRM data. We hire the in-house seat.
Search campaign structure, keyword and match type judgment, ad copy, conversion tracking, landing page testing and clear reporting. For B2B, add CRM knowledge so conversions tie to opportunities. Platform certifications matter less than an account they ran and a cost per opportunity they lowered. Ask them to walk you through the account itself.
Describe a search account with real problems, such as broad match with few negatives and unverified tracking, and ask what they would check first and what they would leave alone. An hour is enough. It shows judgment and priorities. Avoid asking them to build a full campaign unpaid: strong candidates decline.
Ten working days from a signed brief to a shortlist of three to five calibrated specialists, each with our audit exercise scored and past results checked with a former manager. Interview speed decides the rest: good PPC specialists rarely run one process at a time, so a decision within a week of the first interview keeps them.
Tell us your monthly spend, the platforms and what a good opportunity costs today. We come back within one business day with how we would run the search and what the seat pays.
We build shortlists from people doing this work now, often before a seat is advertised. Set up a job alert for demand generation roles, or send your CV and we will come to you when a seat opens.
The PPC specialist is one of eleven seats in this function. If the gap sits elsewhere, start there.