Senior Performance Marketing Manager, SMB

NerdWallet Small Business is the go-to financial resource for small businesses. We’re here to help entrepreneurs achieve their financial goals and grow businesses as big as their aspirations. As a catalyst for smart financial decisions, our combination of proprietary technology and financial expertise provides business owners with tailored solutions based on their unique needs and eligibility—helping them prosper, create more jobs, and, ultimately, grow the economy. We’re looking for a driven, analytical performance marketer to own and scale paid acquisition efforts across our SMB verticals, including lending, credit cards, insurance, and banking. In this role, you’ll lead the full lifecycle of performance marketing initiatives — from strategy and experimentation through execution, optimization, and measurement. You’ll operate with a high degree of autonomy while partnering cross-functionally to drive measurable business outcomes through data-informed decision making and scalable growth strategies. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives in ambiguity, enjoys building programs from the ground up, and is energized by seeing the direct impact of their work on business performance. The ideal candidate is both a strategic thinker and hands-on operator with deep SEM expertise, strong analytical rigor, and a passion for experimentation and continuous optimization. This role reports to the Director, Performance Marketing. WHERE YOU CAN MAKE AN IMPACT: - Own and optimize day-to-day SEM operations across SMB lending, credit cards, insurance, and banking verticals, including bidding strategies, budget allocation, ad copy development, keyword management, and campaign structure optimization. - Design, execute, and analyze structured experiments across audiences, creative, bidding strategies, and landing page experiences, synthesizing findings into scalable optimization playbooks and growth frameworks. - Develop and maintain reporting frameworks and dashboards using Salesforce, Looker, Snowflake, and other analytics tools to measure marketing performance, identify opportunities, and surface actionable insights. - Manage and optimize campaigns across Google Ads, SA360, and Microsoft Ads, applying best practices in campaign architecture, automation, and performance optimization. - Build and scale emerging paid social acquisition programs across platforms such as Meta, LinkedIn, and TikTok by defining channel strategy, testing creative approaches, and establishing repeatable growth loops. - Independently drive initiatives from concept through launch and post-performance analysis, bringing structure, momentum, and strong business judgment in a fast-paced environment. - Partner cross-functionally with Product, Analytics, BI, Creative, and broader Marketing teams to improve acquisition performance and align channel strategy with broader SMB business goals. - Stay informed on industry trends, platform changes, privacy developments, and emerging growth opportunities to continuously evolve acquisition strategies and maintain a competitive edge. YOUR EXPERIENCE: - 3–6 years of hands-on SEM and performance marketing experience, ideally within financial services, fintech, or other regulated industries. - Deep familiarity with Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and SA360, with experience managing large, complex account structures and optimizing toward measurable business outcomes. - Proficiency with analytics and business intelligence tools such as Salesforce, Snowflake, Looker, or similar platforms. - Strong analytical mindset with the ability to build reports, interpret complex performance data, identify actionable insights, and influence strategy through data-driven recommendations. - Demonstrated success designing and executing structured experiments and translating findings into scalable improvements. - Experience with or strong interest in paid social acquisition channels including Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, or similar growth platforms. - Ab…