About
Zach Hipes
Digital Strategist · Atlanta, GA
I build the search and AI visibility systems that put businesses in front of buyers before the competition gets the chance. Currently leading strategy across 175+ dealerships at Asbury Automotive Group.
The Full Story
Most marketing is noise. Agencies sell impressions. Dashboards light up with numbers that never connect to a single dollar of revenue. I saw it early in my career and I've spent every year since building the opposite: systems that track real results, prove what's working, and cut what isn't.
I learned this the hard way. My first leadership role was running marketing for a multi-location roofing company with a six-figure ad budget and zero attribution. No one could tell which campaigns drove revenue and which burned cash. I rebuilt the entire system from the ground up: tracking, targeting, automation, follow-up. The results spoke for themselves, and so did the lesson. If you can't measure it, you can't improve it.
That conviction shaped everything that followed. At Appliance EMT, I was a one-person marketing department responsible for every dollar spent and every lead generated across 40+ markets. No team to delegate to, no agency to blame. Just me, the data, and the results. That kind of accountability changes how you think about strategy. You stop guessing and start building systems that compound.
Today I lead search and AI visibility strategy across 175+ dealerships at Asbury Automotive Group. The scale is different, but the mindset is the same. I connect organic search, paid media, and the AI platforms rewriting how people find answers into one measurable system. The problems are more complex at this level, and so are the opportunities.
What I've learned is that the approach doesn't change with scale. Whether it's a national enterprise or a single-location business, the process is the same: find the gap, build the system, prove the ROI. The problems get more complex, but the discipline stays constant.
I got into this work because I like building things that actually move the needle. Not decks. Not dashboards. Revenue. That hasn't changed, and it won't.
What I Specialize In
The full visibility stack, from traditional search to the AI engines rewriting how people find answers.
Search & AI Visibility
SEO, AEO, GEO, multi-location search, AI Overviews, and entity optimization across Google, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.
Paid Media & Performance
Google Ads, campaign architecture, bid strategy, budget allocation, and revenue-attributed performance marketing.
Data & Analytics
Conversion tracking, GA4, reporting dashboards, revenue attribution, and data-driven decision-making.
Marketing Automation & CRM
Lead routing, automated follow-up sequences, CRM integration, and pipeline optimization.
Content & Conversion Strategy
Landing pages, conversion rate optimization, funnel design, A/B testing, and messaging strategy.
Technical & Structured Data
Schema markup, Core Web Vitals, site architecture, entity architecture, and rich result targeting.
Experience
Feb 2026 to Present
SEO / AEO / GEO Strategist, Asbury Automotive Group
175+ dealerships
Leading enterprise organic search, AEO, and GEO strategy across 175+ dealerships. Unifying SEO, AI visibility, and structured data into a single measurable performance framework at national scale.
June 2025 to Feb 2026
Director of Marketing, Appliance EMT
$70 to $40 CPA
Built the marketing function from the ground up across 40+ Atlanta-area service markets. Owned paid search, SEO, CRO, and landing page development as the sole marketing decision-maker. Cut cost per acquisition from $70 to $40 while scaling the team from one technician to three.
May 2024 to June 2025
Director of Marketing, The Roof Depot
$190 to $28 CPL
Led full-funnel digital marketing for a multi-location roofing contractor across the Southeast. Managed Google Ads, SEO, paid social, and localized landing pages. Dropped cost per lead from $190 to $28 in 60 days by restructuring campaigns around intent and automating follow-up.
Education & Credentials
B.S., Clemson University (2014)
Google Ads Certified
Salesforce Certified
Professional Certified Marketer (PCM), American Marketing Association
Let's talk.
Whether you're hiring, have a project in mind, or just want to connect, I'd like to hear from you.