SEM Strategist (North America)

Palo Alto Networks

13d

About The Position

We are looking for a curious and highly analytical SEM Strategist to help lead and evolve our paid search programs across Palo Alto Networks’ global cybersecurity portfolio. This role sits within the Global Digital Marketing team and plays a key part in capturing high-intent demand and translating search visibility into measurable business outcomes including pipeline and revenue. The SEM Strategist will own and drive search strategy across priority solutions and regional markets, working closely with global campaigns, field marketing, product marketing, analytics, and agency partners to ensure search programs align with business objectives and buying group engagement. This role requires someone who views search as a strategic growth channel, not just a media tactic. The ideal candidate combines hands-on platform expertise with strong business acumen and curiosity to continuously test, innovate, and evolve search programs in response to changing market dynamics, including the rapid evolution of AI-driven search experiences (AIO / generative search). You will help ensure Palo Alto Networks stays ahead of changes in how buyers discover, research, and evaluate cybersecurity solutions in search environments.

Requirements

6+ years of digital marketing experience with at least 4+ years managing Search Engine Marketing (SEM/PPC) programs in a B2B technology environment.
Hands-on experience managing campaigns in Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising (Bing).
Experience using Google Search Ads 360 (SA360) for campaign management, bid strategy optimization, and performance reporting.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate performance data into actionable insights that drive business outcomes.
Advanced proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets (pivot tables, data analysis, reporting).
Experience working with analytics platforms such as Adobe Analytics, Tableau, or Google Analytics.
Highly organized and detail-oriented with the ability to manage multiple campaigns and priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a SaaS or cybersecurity environment is preferred.
Experience with regional platforms such as Naver or Yahoo Japan is a plus.
Experience supporting search campaigns across multiple regions (NAMS, EMEA, JAPAC).
Comfortable leveraging AI tools, automation platforms, and emerging search technologies.
Strong communication skills with the ability to present performance insights and strategic recommendations to stakeholders.
A curious mindset with a desire to continuously experiment with new strategies.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute regional search strategies across platforms including Google Ads, Microsoft Ads (Bing), Naver, and Yahoo Japan to drive high-intent demand capture aligned with business priorities.
Ensure campaigns are structured to support global growth objectives while accounting for regional search behaviors, language nuances, and market dynamics across NAMS.
Connect search performance to real business outcomes including pipeline, opportunity creation, and revenue influence.
Build, launch, and manage paid search campaigns across multiple markets while continuously optimizing campaign structures, bidding strategies, targeting, and messaging to improve performance and efficiency.
Analyze campaign performance data to uncover trends, keyword opportunities, competitive insights, and demand signals.
Leverage search insights to inform content development, messaging, and landing page strategy, helping ensure that high-intent queries are matched with relevant experiences.
Partner closely with Product Marketing, Global Campaigns, Field Marketing, and Sales teams to ensure search programs align with product launches and integrated marketing campaigns.
Collaborate with external agency partners and internal marketing teams to ensure strong execution, alignment with strategy, and continuous performance improvement.
Continuously test new approaches across bidding strategies, keyword expansion, audience targeting, ad creative, and landing page experiences.
Stay ahead of evolving search trends including AI-driven search results, AIO experiences, automation, and changing buyer research behaviors.
Develop performance summaries and strategic insights for weekly and monthly reporting, highlighting trends, opportunities, and recommendations that support marketing and business goals.