What everyone gets wrong when writing a marketing analyst job description

The 3 big mistakes sabotaging your job description

Most marketing analyst job descriptions fail because they don’t reflect the reality of the role. Here are the three most common problems:

Bloat: You’re saying too much about nothing

Strong candidates want to know what the role involves, what tools they’ll use, and how success is measured, not sift through filler to find it.

Poor example: “Work cross-functionally to optimize multi-channel marketing campaigns.”

Better: “Use Supermetrics to pull campaign data into Google Sheets, analyze channel performance, and present findings in weekly marketing syncs.”

Buzzwords: You’re hiding behind jargon

Phrases like “data-driven decision-maker” or “growth hacker” obscure what you actually need in the role. This can confuse potential applicants and drive away serious candidates. 

Poor example: “We’re looking for a passionate storyteller with strong analytical chops.”

Better: “We’re looking for someone who can turn complex campaign data into insights that drive our content and paid media strategies.”

Brag: You’re selling a dream, not describing a job

Overselling the role without showing the day-to-day work creates a mismatch. Be transparent about the less glamorous tasks, because that’s ultimately what builds trust.

Poor example: “You’ll uncover game-changing insights that fuel breakthrough campaigns.”

Better: “You’ll manage source tagging across all campaigns, and ensure weekly reports are consistent, accurate, and automation-ready.”

What bad marketing analyst job descriptions are really costing you

When your JD misses the mark, the costs stack up fast – often in ways you don’t immediately see.

Top candidates won’t bother applying

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 92% of job seekers abandon applications due to poor experiences, such as lengthy forms, unclear job descriptions, or confusing application processes. 

If your JD doesn’t reflect the actual work, skilled marketing analysts will assume you don’t respect or understand the role, and they’ll move on.

You’ll waste time with the wrong applicants

Vague or generic job descriptions often attract poor-fit applicants, which clogs up your hiring pipeline with individuals who don’t match your needs. Survale research found that this kind of “applicant overload” leads to slower hiring and lower-quality outcomes, increasing the risk of costly mis-hires.

Your reputation can take a hit

The job description is often a candidate’s first impression of your company. If it’s bloated, unrealistic, or confusing, it becomes part of your hiring narrative – and word spreads. SHRM found that 72% of candidates who abandoned a job application process publicly shared their negative experience. 

How to write a marketing analyst job description like a pro

We spoke to Flynn Zaiger, CEO of the digital marketing agency Online Optimism, about what separates a compelling JD from one that gets ignored. Here are the six takeaways he shared:

1. Focus on the real work

High-caliber candidates want clarity from the job description: What will I actually be doing, and why does it matter?

“Skip the generic ‘data-driven decision-maker’ fluff,” Zaiger says, “and spell out exactly what their Tuesday looks like: ‘‘You’ll spend mornings reconciling Facebook Ads Manager with GA4 data, afternoons building Looker Studio dashboards that actually get used, and Fridays explaining to clients why their nephew’s Instagram post didn’t drive enterprise sales.’”

2. List the tools – and why they need to keep upskilling

While every marketing analyst role comes with its own tool stack, it’s a mistake to treat those tools like fixed requirements. Zaiger advises hiring teams to be transparent about what platforms analysts will use daily – but not to mistake tool mastery with long-term value. 

“List the actual tools they'll touch daily – GA4, Looker Studio, Supermetrics, Excel, but emphasize that tool knowledge expires faster than milk,” he tells us. “What matters is their ability to learn whatever shiny new analytics platform Google announces next month.”

3. Include the not-so-glamorous parts of the job

Strong candidates understand that no job is all dashboards and insights. However, many job descriptions oversell the strategy and skip the operational reality, which leads to mismatched expectations. 

So, ensure your job description is transparent about the tedious aspects of the role. 

“Yes, they’ll uncover game-changing insights,” Zaiger says. “But they’ll also spend hours cleaning up campaign naming conventions because someone decided ‘FB_Summer_2024_v2_FINAL_FINAL’ was a good idea.”

Being upfront about less exciting tasks helps attract people who value the craft, not just the credit.

4. Define success with outcomes

Top talent wants to know what success in the role looks like – from what they’re accountable for to the results they should achieve. Instead of saying they’ll “streamline reporting,” show them what they’ll own.

“Include specific outcomes they'll own,” says Zaiger. “You’ll reduce our client reporting time from 8 hours to 2 hours per month’ beats ‘optimize reporting processes’ every time.”

That clarity gives candidates a target and provides your team with a performance benchmark from day one.

5. Connect the role to business outcomes

Marketing analysts don’t work in a vacuum. They influence decisions across product, performance marketing, and even sales enablement. As such, your job description should show how analysts’ insights shape real decisions, not just marketing dashboards. 

In your JD, consider including a line like: “You’ll collaborate with our head of lifecycle marketing to identify churn triggers and optimize retention campaigns based on attribution insights.”

This helps candidates understand the impact of their work beyond the marketing team, enabling them to self-select whether that’s the kind of challenge they want.

6. Frame the growth path, not just the job scope

Great analysts are looking to grow, whether that’s into a marketing operations lead, a performance strategy role, or a data science position. Even a brief mention of professional development, team structure, or what success might unlock helps candidates envision a future with you.

Opt for something along the lines of, “As the first dedicated analyst on our team, you’ll help shape our reporting function and have a direct path into marketing ops leadership.”

Don’t oversell – just be specific.

A marketing analyst job description that actually works

To pull it all together, here’s a JD that gets it right:

Job title: Marketing Analyst

Location: Remote (US)

Department: Marketing

Reports to: Head of Growth

Job type: Full-time

Job summary

We’re looking for a marketing analyst who can turn raw data into real-world insight. You’ll collaborate with paid media and content teams to uncover what’s working, what isn’t, and what to do next – faster than we’ve ever done before. You’ll use data analytics to spot emerging market trends and help shape strategic decisions across the funnel.

Key responsibilities

• Reconcile performance data from GA4, Looker Studio, and ad platforms

• Track, analyze, and report on key marketing campaign metrics

• Build dashboards that teams actually use

• Clean up and standardize naming conventions for better reporting consistency

• Present findings to marketing leadership and recommend changes

• Cut reporting time by 50% in your first 90 days

Key competencies and skills

• Strong understanding of performance marketing and digital metrics

• Experience with statistical analysis, designing, or interpreting market research studies

• Ability to turn complex data into actionable insights

• Familiarity with channel attribution and marketing funnel KPIs

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Collaborative mindset with attention to detail

Tools you’ll use

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

• Looker Studio

• Supermetrics

• Excel / Google Sheets

• Meta Ads Manager

• Your own adaptability to be ready for whatever comes next!

Qualifications

Required:

• 2+ years in a marketing analytics, growth, or performance marketing role

• Experience using GA4 and at least one reporting/dashboard tool

• Proven ability to influence marketing decisions with data

Preferred:

• Experience working with B2B or SaaS marketing teams

• Familiarity with SQL or BI platforms (e.g., Power BI, Tableau)

• Experience with marketing automation platforms (e.g., HubSpot, Marketo)

What we offer

• Remote-first work environment

• Competitive salary + performance bonus

• Learning budget and conference allowance

• Clear path into marketing ops or strategy leadership

How to apply

Submit your resume, a brief cover letter, and (optionally) a dashboard or project you're proud of. We review every application carefully and will reach out if your experience aligns with what we’re looking for.

Tips for tailoring this example to your company

This example works well for a lean, high-growth team; however, every company is unique. 

If you’re in a larger organization, emphasize how the marketing analyst will collaborate with dedicated channel owners or product analysts. If you’re a B2C company, highlight consumer behavior, market conditions, and customer journey metrics. Early-stage company? Focus more on versatility and foundational reporting. 

Overall, your JD should reflect your organization’s data maturity and marketing complexity rather than someone else’s boilerplate. Start with our example’s structure, then personalize it based on how the marketing analyst will create value in your business.

Don’t just copy-paste: How to review your existing JD

Already have a marketing analyst job description? Great – but don’t assume it’s doing the job. Block 15 minutes in your calendar, grab your existing JD, and ask:

• Does this reflect what the marketing analyst will really do, week to week?

• Would I apply for this role if I were in their shoes?

• Are the tools, metrics, and deliverables clearly defined?

• Is anything vague, overly polished, or trying to oversell?

Use this article as a checklist. Even small tweaks – like replacing buzzwords, adding real metrics, and clarifying outcomes – can shift the quality of applicants you attract.

The key to great marketing analyst hires isn’t just a solid job description

A well-crafted marketing analyst job description can help attract serious applicants. But as any hiring manager knows, resumes and cover letters rarely reveal whether someone can do the job. Do they have the marketing analytics skills required for the role? Can they drive decisions with confidence? Optimize performance across channels?

This is where many hiring strategies fall short – and where skills-based assessments come in.

With a platform like TestGorilla, you can measure candidates’ role-specific skills alongside their behavioral tendencies, personality traits, and more to see how well they align with the needs of the role. 

For marketing analyst candidates in particular, you can start with TestGorilla’s Marketing Analytics test, which assesses candidates’ ability to:

• Gather and interpret marketing data from multiple sources

• Use key metrics to assess and optimize campaign performance

• Make informed, strategic recommendations backed by data

You can pair this test with up to four other TestGorilla tests (from our library of 350+ tests) for a comprehensive assessment of everything that matters for your open role.

And skills-based hiring isn’t just a trend – it’s an approach backed by data:

• 51% of hiring managers value skills and experience more than degrees or job titles, per a 2025 Indeed survey. 

• According to LinkedIn’s Economic Graph, skills-first hiring can expand talent pools by six times globally and 8.2 times for specialized roles, such as AI or analytics, compared to title-based hiring.

• TestGorilla’s 2024 State of Skills-Based Hiring Report found that 88% of employers noted fewer mis-hires and 91% saw better retention using skills-based hiring.

• In 2025, we found that 85% of employers are using skills-based hiring, and more than three-fourths of those employers use skills assessments as part of their approach.

Plus, a skills-based approach helps you shortlist the strongest candidates before you even conduct your marketing analyst interview. This ensures you’re spending valuable hours with people who’ve already proven they can do the work.

A better job description is the first step to a better hire

If you want better marketing analyst candidates, start by writing a better job description. That means stripping away the fluff, avoiding empty jargon, and giving a clear, honest preview of what the role involves.

Then, once you’ve got the right people applying, use TestGorilla’s Marketing Analytics test to validate their skills – and shortlist top talent. You can also use our B2C Growth Marketing Test to assess their ability to diagnose growth barriers, develop growth plans, and implement them effectively. It's ideal for evaluating candidates' growth marketing capabilities in B2C contexts.

Want to see how skills assessments work? Sign up for a free TestGorilla account or book a free demo today.