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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Digital Advertising Analyst

💰 $65,000 - $110,000

MarketingAnalyticsAdvertisingDigital Media

🎯 Role Definition

The Digital Advertising Analyst designs measurement frameworks, manages ad-platform operations, and delivers actionable insights to maximize performance and efficiency across paid search, social, display, programmatic, and connected TV (CTV) channels. This role partners closely with media buyers, product managers, data engineers, and business stakeholders to implement tracking, run experiments, and translate campaign data into optimization opportunities and strategic recommendations.


📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior Paid Search / PPC Specialist
  • Marketing Data Analyst
  • Media Operations Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Senior Digital Advertising Analyst
  • Paid Media Manager or Programmatic Lead
  • Performance Marketing Manager / Director

Lateral Moves:

  • Data Analytics / Business Intelligence
  • Marketing Science / Attribution Modeling
  • Product Analytics (adtech-focused)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Plan, execute, and monitor paid search (SEM/PPC) campaigns in Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising, including keyword strategy, bidding, ad creatives, and landing page testing to maximize conversions and ROAS.
  • Manage and optimize paid social campaigns across Meta Ads Manager, TikTok Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and Pinterest, applying audience segmentation, creative testing, and budget pacing to improve CTR, conversion rate, and CPA.
  • Configure, launch, and optimize programmatic display and video campaigns using DV360, The Trade Desk, or other DSPs, including deal negotiation, private marketplaces (PMP), audience targeting, and frequency capping for brand and direct response objectives.
  • Build, maintain, and troubleshoot campaign tracking and tagging implementations using Google Tag Manager, server-side tracking, conversion APIs, UTM standards, and pixel management to ensure accurate attribution and measurement.
  • Instrument and maintain analytics tracking in Google Analytics 4 (GA4), including event schema, eCommerce measurement, cross-domain tracking, and data layer governance to enable reliable reporting and cohort analysis.
  • Design and execute A/B and multivariate tests on creative, landing pages, and bidding strategies in partnership with CRO teams, analyzing results to recommend statistically significant improvements and iterative learnings.
  • Develop and maintain automated reporting dashboards and executive scorecards in Looker, Tableau, Data Studio / Looker Studio, or Power BI that surface KPI trends, channel-level performance, and budget pacing for stakeholders.
  • Query and transform large-scale advertising and conversion datasets in BigQuery, Redshift, or Snowflake using SQL to produce campaign-level, creative-level, and audience-level insights.
  • Build and validate attribution models (last-click, data-driven, multi-touch) and support incremental lift studies and experimental designs to better understand channel contribution and inform budget allocation.
  • Monitor daily campaign health, performance anomalies, delivery issues, and pacing; take corrective action such as bid adjustments, budget reallocations, or creative refreshes to meet performance targets.
  • Implement and manage bid strategies and automated bidding rules across platforms (target CPA, ROAS, maximize conversions) and calibrate algorithmic bidders with manual controls as needed.
  • Handle ad trafficking and creative management within ad servers (Campaign Manager 360, SOV platforms), ensuring accurate creative specs, frequency controls, and placement targeting for cross-channel campaigns.
  • Integrate offline conversion data (CRM, call tracking, in-store sales) and first-party data into campaign measurement and optimization workflows through S2S integrations, data uploads, and identity resolution strategies.
  • Maintain compliance with privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) and platform changes (cookieless environments, SKAdNetwork for iOS) by adapting tracking strategies and reporting methods.
  • Conduct audience analysis and segmentation using first-party data, CRM insights, and platform audiences to develop lookalike and retargeting strategies that improve conversion efficiency.
  • Provide strategic recommendations for media mix optimization using historical performance, seasonality, and audience overlap analysis to drive improved marketing ROI and lifetime value.
  • Support media buying teams with forecasting, budget planning, and channel scenario modeling to align spend with performance goals and corporate KPI targets.
  • Collaborate with data engineering to define measurement requirements, data schema, and API connections to automate data ingestion from ad platforms and expedite reporting cycles.
  • Audit campaign performance, tagging fidelity, and analytics implementation monthly and produce action-oriented remediation plans to close measurement gaps and improve data quality.
  • Lead post-campaign analyses and performance reviews, drafting clear, executive-ready presentations that include key learnings, next steps, and prioritized optimization opportunities.
  • Train and support internal stakeholders and junior analysts on ad platform best practices, reporting tools, and optimization techniques to scale capability across the organization.
  • Evaluate and recommend ad tech vendors, measurement partners, and analytics tools (DSPs, CDPs, MMPs) based on strategic needs, integrations, and expected ROI.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Assist in cross-functional initiatives such as product launches, seasonal promotions, and partnership activations by providing media measurement and targeting recommendations.
  • Monitor industry trends in programmatic, CTV/OTT, privacy-safe measurement, and ad-format innovations and report implications for media strategy.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proficient in Google Ads (Search & Shopping) campaign setup, optimization, and performance analysis with hands-on experience in bidding strategies and scripts.
  • Experience managing paid social campaigns in Meta Ads Manager, including detailed audience segmentation, conversion tracking, and dynamic creative optimization.
  • Hands-on experience with DSPs such as DV360, The Trade Desk, or equivalent for programmatic buying, PMP setup, and inventory strategy.
  • Strong SQL skills for querying ad and conversion datasets in BigQuery, Redshift, or Snowflake; ability to join, aggregate, and transform large tables.
  • Familiarity with Google Analytics 4 (GA4) event model, eCommerce measurement, and building reports that tie back to media performance.
  • Experience with attribution methodologies, multi-touch models, and conducting incrementality/Lift testing using randomized control or geo experiments.
  • Proficiency in Excel for analysis and modeling (pivot tables, advanced formulas, VBA/macros optional).
  • Experience building dashboards and visualizations in Looker, Tableau, Data Studio / Looker Studio, or Power BI to communicate insights to stakeholders.
  • Knowledge of tagging and tracking tools such as Google Tag Manager (web and server-side), pixel implementations, and conversion API integrations (Facebook Conversions API, Google Ads server-side).
  • Familiarity with data integration and automation via platform APIs (Google Ads API, DV360 API, Meta Marketing API) and basic scripting in Python or R for ETL and reporting automation.
  • Understanding of privacy-first measurement approaches including SKAdNetwork, conversion modeling, and probabilistic attribution.
  • Experience working with ad servers and trafficking tools (Campaign Manager 360) and managing creative specs and delivery controls.
  • Background in A/B testing frameworks, hypothesis design, statistical significance, and interpreting test results.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent verbal and written communication; able to translate technical analyses into concise, business-facing recommendations.
  • Strong stakeholder management and collaboration skills; comfortable working with media buyers, product, engineering, and leadership.
  • Analytical mindset and problem-solving orientation with a focus on actionable insights and optimization.
  • Attention to detail and commitment to data quality, documentation, and reproducible analysis.
  • Time management and prioritization skills in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
  • Curiosity about digital media trends, consumer behavior, and measurement innovations.
  • Ability to influence cross-functional teams and lead change around new measurement practices or campaign strategies.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Economics, Statistics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree in Analytics, Data Science, Marketing Science, or MBA is a plus.
  • Certifications such as Google Ads, Google Analytics, DV360, Meta Blueprint, or The Trade Desk certifications desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Marketing Analytics
  • Data Science / Statistics
  • Economics
  • Computer Science

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years in digital advertising, media analytics, or performance marketing roles.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years managing paid channels across search, social, or programmatic with proven results in optimization and measurement.
  • Demonstrated experience with cross-channel attribution, GA4, SQL, and dashboarding tools.
  • Prior agency or in-house performance marketing experience with a measurable impact on ROAS/CPA improvement.