{"id":25650,"date":"2025-02-19T13:23:13","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T07:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.karooya.com\/blog\/?p=25650"},"modified":"2025-02-19T13:23:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T07:53:14","slug":"ppcchat-things-i-wish-i-knew-sooner-in-ppc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.karooya.com\/blog\/ppcchat-things-i-wish-i-knew-sooner-in-ppc\/","title":{"rendered":"PPCChat | Things I Wish I Knew Sooner in PPC | 18th February 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Whether it’s various ad platforms, clients, or PPC accounts, there are insights experts wish they had known beforehand. Host Julie F. Bacchini<\/a> explored these and more in this week’s PPCChat discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Q1: What are things you wish you knew sooner when it comes to working in actual accounts?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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The biggest one is that so much of the data we collect makes us think there’s a link between things. It’s almost always horses, not zebras. @ferkungamaboobo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That attribution is mostly wishes and fairy dust with some data mixed in, but it is treated as gospel. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d still answer the same questions 15 years later. But seriously, nothing beats real world experience certainly not reading Google help documents. @runnerkik<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d also say that it\u2019s OK to be wrong. Our job is to take what Google knows what we know about our client and we know about the platform and marry\u00a0 that with our experience to deliver the best results. @runnerkik<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google aren\u2019t your friend, their primary objective is for you to spend money. @ChrisMurray<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That some accounts cannot succeed. It could be for budget reasons, competition reasons or internal business reasons.\u00a0 We can\u2019t make every advertiser successful. Great ad strategy cannot make up for a bad product or bad customer service. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platform owners (Google, Microsoft, Meta, Pinterest, etc.) are trying to maximize their profits & stock price. Default settings and new products\/features usually are to achieve that goal. Be optimistic about the tools’ potential, but with a healthy dose of skepticism. @robert_brady<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The need to constantly monitor search terms and whack-a-mole terms and match types that don’t convert. @JeffreyHain<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This wasn’t my experience, but I do think that a lot of folks need to learn a non-antagonistic relationship with the platforms they’re running on. @ferkungamaboobo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clients have no idea who their actual competitors are A LOT @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, that you can\u2019t fix a bad product with paid ads. If ultimately either you\u2019re not solving a problem or you\u2019re doing so badly, burning more cash will not help. No amount of great ad copy and landing pages will retain customers or drive repeat purchases. @ChrisMurray<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re running two clients in the exact same industry, you can\u2019t just take strategies from one client and universally apply it to the next client the business\u2026how they run the business makes a difference as well as Geo considerations, etc. @runnerkik<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah that balance of “what does the client know that tools won’t show them” and “tools tell you things you didn’t know before” is a real challenge and one of the hardest things @ferkungamaboobo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for mentioning that @NeptuneMoon<\/a> The disconnect between client competitor sets and actual auction competitors is vast. @robert_brady<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

@runnerkik<\/a> \u00a0I\u2019ve worked in agencies that pushed for that [insert brand name here] approach, you\u2019re so right it just does not work out. @ChrisMurray<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question isn’t usually between whether a decision is right\/wrong, but what are the tradeoffs and which ones are you most comfortable making. @robert_brady<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

@robert_brady<\/a> I also think they don\u2019t conceptualize that they might have different competitors in the digital space than the non-digital space too. And of course, you will get those who answer the competitor question with \u201cWell, we don\u2019t really have competitors. To which I say \u201cWell, for potential customers, you do\u201d @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. How terrible the Google Ads exams are<\/li>
  2. The relationship between metrics. Eg. How CPC \/ CVR = CPA<\/li>
  3. How supportive and amazing this community is<\/li>
  4. How important a mentor\/support is in becoming success and good at running ads @ChrisMurray<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    I remember seeing April Dunford presenting years ago about positioning and she said \u201cyou know one of your competitors is the potential customer doing nothing\u201d @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Also that none of this is special. The digital part of digital ads is miniscule compared to the ads part, from a knowledge perspective. @ferkungamaboobo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    BTW\u00a0 April\u2019s book \u201cObviously Awesome\u201d is a great read and will probably change the way you look at your clients\u2019 businesses and competitive markets. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That a brand’s brand & a brand’s product is more important than any account structure, strategic ninja PPC mastery, or complete immersion in a client’s industry. @timmhalloran<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I feel like everyone covered the ones that I had, but to add to the “Google is a business” one – Google Reps are just trying to get their payout, not yours. @adwordsgirl<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How about one of my favorites:Search advertising captures demand, it does not generate it. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Regarding relationships with platform reps: If you know your numbers, you can push back against some of their suggestions. @JeffreyHain<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Also, perception is sometimes more important than results. This has been a hard one to come to terms with. Especially when you come at your work with a “if I do awesome PPC work, know the industry, know the KPIs, work to achieve them in any way possible, then they’ll see the hard work and understand their account is in good hands” \u2014 when in reality, they may just want to be kept in the loop. Know what’s going on. Have ammo in their back pocket if they’re required to defend or promote the work that’s being done in marketing and being done by their vendors. Also, flashy visuals and consistent report deck branding is underrated. @timmhalloran<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I realize as much as a Google rep will pitch new optimizations or campaigns types, you want to take it with a grain of salt. It’s not always in the best interest of the client as we all know that Google wants to get the most clicks out of the account regardless what it takes. On the other hand, I have met reps that will help you guide the right strategies for the right client and tips in tricks that are beneficial. Usually, those reps have been on the agency side prior. @AmberDeedler<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Q2: What are things you wish you knew sooner when it comes to how different ad platforms work?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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    That all platforms use dark patterns to try to get advertisers to do what is best for the platforms. And that those things may or may not be what is best for the advertiser. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The biggest one is that they’re all looking for scale over quality. They want a bunch of zeroes behind their estimates, because that’s how they can get money. So they do that, irrespective of making their product actually real. @ferkungamaboobo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And by dark patterns, I mean money wasting default settings, hiding important things like auto generated assets 4 levels down, removing exclusion categories so it is more arduous to exclude things, etc. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mm. I largely mean inventory and metrics being inflated and marked down. 10000 impressions at 0.25CPM vs 100 good impressions at 25CPM. @ferkungamaboobo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You shouldn’t just import Google Ads into Microsoft Ads. There’s so much more to it. Paid Social is a completely different kettle of fish. @C_J_Ridley<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    @NeptuneMoon<\/a> \u00a0I was literally just talking about this yesterday to one of my ops specialists. So much time and energy is spent creating UI’s that make it harder to turn off default settings. And defaults can change based on how close to quarterly targets they are. @timmhalloran<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    @timmhalloran<\/a> Or when they turn stuff on that you already turn off. I keep having this happen with Optimized Targeting in Google for a display campaign. I turn it off, it mysteriously turns back on. Rinse and repeat. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    IMO, the one lesson I wish I could convey to everyone is that platforms take your money+ people make you money. You can’t serve both masters perfectly, so err on the side of doing right by your audience, even if that comes at the expense of annoying\/violating the platform’s preferences. @DigitalSamIAm<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Platforms interests and advertiser interests can never be 100% aligned. They just can\u2019t. So making that clear from the beginning in a client relationship can help a lot. Like I am looking out for you and sometimes that is going to mean I am going against \u201cwhat Google says\u201d (or Meta or Microsoft, etc.). @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Platforms make changes without input from the majority of their advertisers. They do it based on what is good for the company first and foremost. And sometimes it is with input from MAJOR advertisers. But know that the product teams are not working in the product nor are they actively seeking to understand how users work in the product either. When you finally realize this, the crazy stuff they do is easier to \u201cunderstand.\u201d @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Q3: What are things you wish you knew sooner when it comes to working with clients or stakeholders?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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    Hardly anyone will actually read your reports. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Sometimes clients don’t know how to run their businesses. @JeffreyHain<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That the way you communicate is one of the most important things you can do. Also, the metrics that you focused on in your reporting are the ones that they\u2019ll focus on. @runnerkik<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ask clients, in plain language, what questions do you have to be able to comfortably answer from your boss regularly? And make sure they have answers for those questions that they are comfortable talking about. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    @NeptuneMoon<\/a> But the clients who used to run their Google ads, but just don\u2019t have time are super dangerous. Also that one was from you Julie @runnerkik<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    @runnerkik<\/a> Oh you mean the \u201cI\u2019d totally be doing this myself if I wasn\u2019t so busy\u201d client. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    AVOID THESE TYPES OF CLIENTS. You can thank me later for that one. Lowering your price without adjusting the scope will only lead to you doing work at rates that make you angry. If you are starting to have stress every time your email chimes because of a particular client, fire them. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Consultants are not employees and clients should not expect to treat you like one. Nor should you accept being treated like one. If a potential client is difficult in a proposal information gathering call, they will be even worse as a client. Decline to send that proposal. No amount of money is actually worth it to work with an abusive client. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That they only want to know that revenue has increased!..and that you’ve found them a way to spend less. @TheMarketingAnu<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    @NeptuneMoon<\/a> dropping truth bombs all over the place. @robert_brady<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u00a0@robert_brady<\/a> I have seen a lot of things in 25 years. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Empathy and competence will be your primary tools for building strong (recurring) client relationships. Build empathy with active listening. It’s not about your small talk skills in the first 90 seconds of the Zoom call. It’s hearing what they’re saying, what their problems are, and coming back with solutions that you can try to fix those problems. Build competence (or trust in your logic) by convincing them that your plan is the right approach and then delivering on that promise \u2013 with results, leads, sales, etc. Whenever I’ve lost a client it usually boils down to: 1) They felt like they weren’t being heard (didn’t feel empathy)
    2) They didn’t trust our ability to deliver results for them (lost faith in our competence)There are situations where trust is lost through no fault of your own too (ad platforms change without warning, misunderstood or misrepresented KPIs, budgets, goals, go-to-market that didn’t scale fast enough before the next funding round, etc) but on average, in situations I believe were foreseeable, I’d say it boils down to those two things.     @timmhalloran<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Trust your gut when it comes to clients. I had a client I worked with via a full-service agency. This client disparaged at least 2 people or teams every time we met with her. I told my agency contact – when this ends, it is going to end badly. She said – why do you say that? And I said because one day that ire is going to be pointed in our direction. Sure enough, it eventually was. We left a meeting and I said, well, we are fired. And she said – why do you say that ? And I said because she is pointing her crazy standards and irrational anger at us now. Friends, we were fired. It was confirmed the next day and ended in a lawsuit. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Trusting your gut is a big one. I also like to “dig” a bit if I have a new biz lead that’s agency hopped a lot before they got to us. Usually, it means that same\u00a0issue<\/em>\u00a0is going to find it’s way back to you. @timmhalloran<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Oh, the \u201cwe have had 4 agencies in the last 4 years\u201d is a GIGANTIC red flag. Which usually points to a them problem.\u00a0@NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The client need your consultancy, expertise and experience more than they need a “yes person” to execute the tasks they think need doing Once you gain the confidence and learn how to communicate with clients in a firm but professional manner, work becomes a lot less stressful. @C_J_Ridley<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If I see an agency-hopper lead, I like to require a comprehensive ad channel audit that includes interviews with the person who will be my primary contact \u2013 helps me understand if their frustrations were valid. A lot of times, that’ll be enough of a crystal ball to see what the next 12 mo. will look like. @timmhalloran<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Q4: What are things you wish you knew sooner when it comes to managing your career – whether as freelancer, consultant, agency or employee?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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    You absolutely cannot have enough language in your contracts. Cover all the things! @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    No one cares about your skill or knowledge. It’s a lemon market, they cannot tell. And corollary – your skill and knowledge is largely irrelevant to getting a job. That’s not why people hire. @ferkungamaboobo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When a client goes radio silent on you 3 out of 4 times it has nothing to do with you or your performance. Have language in your contracts about communication lapses. You may never need it, but have language that allows you to pause work if you cannot get ahold of your contact for an extended period of time. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Build\/join a community Whether you’re freelance, in-house or agency side, having people to bounce ideas off, sanity check you or seek advice from is invaluableIt’s also a great way for building a personal branding and realising how knowledgeable you’ve become. @C_J_Ridley<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Define your working hours with time zone! This allows you to charge differently if a client wants you available outside of those hours. It is always at your discretion, but having clauses that protect you from things like having meetings at 9 PM your time is important! @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Learning to put your work-life balance first is a must. Schedules, scrips and rules are great for keeping your accounts running as planned during weekends @C_J_Ridley<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Have a defined scope change process laid out in your initial contract. And use it! When a client is asking for out-of-scope tasks, always let them know it is out of the current scope. You can decide to do it for no additional charge, but make sure they know you did them that courtesy. Otherwise, they will expect out-of-scope to be absorbed by you without additional fees. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Do your best to be consistent. Consistent reporting, timelines, showing up, etc. And build a pack of good clients. Especially the ones that move around and like to bring their favourite vendors with them. They can be a great source or recurring revenue. Find ways to make them look good. They’ll remember the agency that makes them look good. And lastly, I’ve said this before, but one of the best bits of advice came a few months into my first PPC job, “Don’t burn bridges. The industry is a lot smaller than you think.” And that’s been my experience. @timmhalloran<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Great points @timmhalloran<\/a>. Especially clients taking you with them to their new destinations (this is a huge way many get \u201cnew\u201d clients). And the reminder about this industry being small. It really is. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    @NeptuneMoon<\/a> So many pearls of wisdom today from you. @JeffreyHain<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I love sharing my experience. Especially if it saves someone else from something hard. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I did start a new channel here too called #the-business-of-ppc<\/a>\u00a0where we can talk about this kind of stuff. Seriously, bring your questions. And you can DM me too if it is kind of sticky to post in the channel. I have had to sue a client. Had clients stop paying. Dealt with physical inappropriateness, threats, You name it, I have probably experienced it. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    PPCChat Participants<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n