This week’s PPCChat session was an interesting one.Hosted by Amalia Fowler, this session was focused on PPC education for experts and newcomers and how to keep learning in an ever changing industry.<\/p>\n
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Slipped and fell into it. A traditional advertising internship fell through, and I begged them to teach me other stuff.\u00a0@JonKagan<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I was called into an interview and they asked whether I liked Excel!! hehe…enough to say I felt I had met my perfect match. @mindswanppc<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I ran an event planning company when I was 19. I was also in school for marketing management at that time and we had one singular class on online marketing. Whatever happened in that class created enough interest for me to start doing PPC for the event planning company. @adwordsgirl<\/a><\/p>\n I was doing web sites & SEO when paid digital ads started to become available… I waded in & never looked back!\u00a0@NeptuneMoon<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I had a false start when I applied to work at Google in 2002 and quit before my start date when they revealed some additional details of the job description via phone.\u00a0@amyppc<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I was the new guy on the team and was asked to figure out this Twitter, FB, and Google ads thing.\u00a0@jdprater<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n My real start was doing web design at an agency in 2004. They fired the marketing girl for not knowing how to calculate CTR, and gave me her job.@amyppc<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Back when I was a blogger, it was a quick way to test new product ideas. @mikecrimmins<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Personally, I took an overall marketing course for tourism, switched into a communications marketing course, thought about traditional, my teachers told me I’d be a good digital strategist, and I got an internship where I had to teach myself PPC! It’s been a journey.\u00a0@amaliaefowler<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I was head of overall marketing for larger companies and some startups. When I went out on my own, most of my first clients wanted help with PPC, so I decided to focus there and just work with helping in PPC.\u00a0@lchasse<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Got lucky – had an internship WAYYYYY back in the day that dabbled in online & offline lead gen. The digital side really sunk the hook in me!\u00a0@SEM_PPC_MattV<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Accident (kind of). I was a copywriter at an agency and the search person needed help. back then it was all about semantic understanding of language so she wanted a writer. I started and NEVER STOPPED!!!!\u00a0@JuliaVyse<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I had direct marketing experience and realised PPC was just direct marketing.\u00a0@stevegibsonppc<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I don’t have any fun story here – I was bored in my sales job and wanted to move into marketing. The best way to get a job was to be well rounded so learned SEO & Search PPC first, and never stopped.\u00a0@DarthSamK<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I was in school and didn\u2019t think I was learning much. I got Analytics and AdWords certified\u2026 Moved down to Salt Lake and lived on couches until @ericdfarmer<\/a> took a chance on me and hired me. He gave me all the freedom in the world and I took it and ran!\u00a0@markpgus<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n It sort of just happened. I was doing a bit of everything in my digital marketing role, but more and more of it became PPC!\u00a0@BrittanyZerr<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Took a job at an HR\/comms agency and helped build the digital team from scratch with my boss. Went from 9% to 25% of company revenue in 18 months. Got to work on RIM and burn that midnight oil.\u00a0@duanebrown<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Took the first internet marketing course my university offered. Got an internship with the guest lecturer on PPC. The rest is history.\u00a0@robert_brady<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Professor Kent Lundin’s Digital Marketing class at @byuidaho<\/a>. Then an internship with @Stu_Draper<\/a> & @LukeAlley<\/a>, been addicted to Ads ever since.\u00a0@PPCJedi<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I was an SEO and the someone took over the top of the SERP and I have always been a curious guy who likes a challenge.\u00a0@soanders<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n “You are NOT an imposter. You are definitely worth your pay because of how much Excel ninja stuff you know.” I had a lot of lack of self confidence in the beginning. I needed to learn I WAS really good at what I did. A2.2 also it’s ok to want to find a quick way to find out how to do something. Thank God I was patient enough for Scripts to come out.\u00a0@<\/a><\/span>mindswanppc<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I don’t know if I would tell myself anything. Like most of you, I am self taught and have quite enjoyed the journey to get here.\u00a0@adwordsgirl<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Change will be constant. Be flexible & always look for ways to apply what you\u2019ve learned in new ways. Also, it\u2019s ok to not know the answer sometimes!\u00a0@NeptuneMoon<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n PPC Spy tools are a waste of time.\u00a0@eld3000<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Relax and stop over-optimizing. Yes, you’re getting results\/feedback really quickly, but it doesn’t mean you need to do anything.\u00a0@jdprater<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I would tell myself three things: 1. Google won’t give you refunds. 2. Google doesn’t have all the answers. 3. Marketing isn’t life or death (I was way too stressed out in the early days)\u00a0@amaliaefowler<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n There’s a lot of this you can’t control, you’re basically running one big GIANT test. So calc your budget to the penny, and track all your hours!\u00a0@JuliaVyse<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n LEARN ABOUT THE FUNNEL. Day 1 me thought Search was everything and didn’t appreciate Display\/YT\/Social anywhere near as much as I should have.\u00a0@DarthSamK<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Day 1 me thought the AdWords market was already saturated and the days of “cheap traffic” were behind us. This was in 2004, guys.\u00a0Also – clients aren’t just paying for results. Clients are paying to not have to worry. Get better at feelings, not just data.@amyppc<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Never imagined back then how big digital marketing would become, so I’d probably advise younger me to try entrepreneurial route while market share is a bit easier to grab. No regrets about how things played out though!\u00a0@SEM_PPC_MattV<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Good question, but knowing you cannot have a process that is static (not even for 6 months) in this job. Google & others change their systems often, you will have to be very agile. Oh also, Google is not going to be the smartest person in the room in the future.\u00a0@lchasse<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I wished that I would’ve done more than just dabbled in PPC. I wish I could’ve told myself to get more serious about it right away.\u00a0@mikecrimmins<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n PPC is not a panacea – some things just aren’t a fit due to volume and nature of business.\u00a0@eld3000<\/span><\/a><\/b><\/p>\n I learned it quickly when I screwed up an account early on. Everything needs to be strategic. You can be an expert in the platform but connecting it to real business outcomes is the key\u00a0I increased leads 25% for a company while decreasing CPL\u2026 Rev dropped 50% tho..@markpgus<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Get a second pair of eyes. If you can’t see it, someone else might. and it doesn’t mean you don’t know what you’re doing. + offer to be a second pair of eyes for others. it’s worth it.\u00a0@JuliaVyse<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I think I would also tell myself to play detective, not to blame the “external environment” for issues (increased competition or user behaviour) and make sure I’ve exhausted my internal search of work I’ve done.\u00a0@amaliaefowler<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n That few emergencies exist and if it won’t matter in a year, try not to stress about it. Also, some people are afraid to say they don’t know and education is a huge way to win business and trust.\u00a0@duanebrown<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Self…talk to the client about how this impacts the overall marketing program – use words like prospecting in stead of ‘nonbrand’ and discoverability instead of ‘brand'” I feel like I learned this much later than I should have.\u00a0@FindingAmanda<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I’d wish I knew how to find the last question in learn excel, get a good set of glasses and noise cancelling headphones, and lastly remember, there are lot of hacks in this industry, avoid being one.\u00a0@JonKagan<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Baseline data is where you are currently, not how someone else is performing. If your CTR is 2.5% or 25%, that is your baseline and making improvements to that are what count, not what other folks are getting.\u00a0The other thing I would say is it is okay not to win every client. It is okay to fire a client as well. Some clients are not a good fit for you and will cause you more pain than what the $$$ in is worth\u00a0@lchasse<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n It’s ok to say “I don’t know, but I’ll find out” No one expects you to know everything. Also, honesty is the best policy, always. Don’t try to brush over mistakes. Own them.\u00a0@Mel66<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Triple check your settings.\u00a0@adwordsgirl<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n At my first agency job I got sent to an in-person meeting with the CEO of the company. His first question was “Why should we be paying you Don’t consider a negative result a failure. The reason we test is to rule things out; not because we think we’re going to win 100% of the time.\u00a0@DarthSamK<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Mine was definitely not trying to bite off more than I can chew. I walked into a role because it was the “logical” next step in my career. But I definitely hadn’t done learning at the prev role I was at. That role didn’t last long….thankfully! Was too stressful.\u00a0@mindswanppc<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n My 6 month performance evaluation with @JeffAllenUT<\/a>. He gave me the toughest feedback I’ve ever heard. He pointed a huge blind-spot. It changed me and made me a better marketer and co-worker.\u00a0@jdprater<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Measure twice, cut once. Ensure you know the correct budgets (I’ve spent a 3 month budget in 1 month!) and are 100% clear on client’s needs and moving forwards.\u00a0@NathanK_TX<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Setting up my first company – I mean PPC has rules, setting up shop doesn’t\u00a0@soanders<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I personally live by the hypothesis that you can learn more by doing with PPC than in the classroom – which means there has to be room for errors within a supportive learning environment.\u00a0@amaliaefowler<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Use contracts & be very specific about what is & is not included in your projects. Been burned over not being 100% clear. Had a client not pay for a major project early on – learned to to progress payments so my work not too far ahead if $$.\u00a0@NeptuneMoon<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n A boss explained to me that no one will make a big deal out of you, so you need to be your own best cheerleader.\u00a0@JonKagan<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Building a paid team from scratch with the assistance of people who were good at management but not PPC was a huge learning experience for me. I wish I had listened more about processes and things that would affect future growth.\u00a0@amaliaefowler<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I think doing several summers of door-to-door sales. First I learned the art of selling, then I learned how to do it at scale online.\u00a0@PPCJedi<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Already shared how I destroyed a client\u2019s business\u2026 SOOO other than that, it has been gradual improvement. Learning from peers, then learning from blogs, then learning through convos with speaker\/bloggers on Working at an agency as an account manager with 10+ accounts. Seeing just how many moving parts go into a digital campaign. What the clients often see is just the tip of the iceberg.\u00a0@nscalice<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Mistakes happen. Be transparent & own them. Learn from them & move forward.\u00a0@SEM_PPC_MattV<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I learned the value of intent-based marketing VERY early in my career with a national restaurant chain. I was driving reservations for $1.50 on search that were $90+ with demo-targeted banner ads. Everyone was shocked back then.\u00a0@amyppc<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n That I can’t control everything. I won’t relive working for a US health insurer the year the ACA went through (website down, awful headlines, weird politics etc) but I will say that admitting I couldn’t magically change everything was freeing.\u00a0@JuliaVyse<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Easily moving to Sydney, Melbourne and London (UK) to take my persona; and professional experience up 5 levels and come home a different man. Work abroad if you can, it’ll change your life.\u00a0@<\/a><\/span>duanebrown<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Switching to an in-house role made me question a lot of the assumptions I had as agency-side. I had prodded at the underlying problems in most SMB campaigns, but seeing how it worked from the inside was illuminating.\u00a0@ferkungamaboobo<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I think this goes into two categories. There’s the college level programs and the online type ones. For college programs, the industry changes so much that its hard to really dive into everything – I feel like they should focus on strategy, comms, and basics.\u00a0@amaliaefowler<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I feel like there are a lot of really smart folks out there (a lot here), who could be doing classes for folks online. Different perspectives is great. So many platforms now to teach on from Udemy, YouTube, Skillshare, etc… @lchasse<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Curiousity & client communication. The programs tend to teach skills which are great, but the mindset of questioning everything, googling and trying different things isn’t there. For Comms, a warm, professional email & clean status doc will keep you in biz forEVER.\u00a0@JuliaVyse<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n PPC is highly strategic and highly technical. Many people are jumping in to learning the technical with no interest in the strategy. That’s backwards and hard to fix.\u00a0@amyppc<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I find few of them delve into the adjustments you make over time, as campaign grows\/matures. You use very diff tactics getting last 25% out of campaign than you did getting the first 25% worth of improvements.\u00a0@heyglenns<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Not enough focus on goals or strategy. The tactical\/execution models are determined by these, not the other way around. Most edu\/training I’ve seen overfocuses on tactical.\u00a0@SEM_PPC_MattV<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Statistics. It’s a data world and we’re just living in it. Helps to learn the language.\u00a0@Wickerpedia<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n A lot of people say they want advanced content and yet find it articulate what that means. Advanced is a generic word and can mean so many different things. A lot of course go for the lowest hanging fruit which is people just getting started or DIY management.\u00a0@duanebrown<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Teach it in college! Digital media courses didn’t exist when I was in college.\u00a0@JonKagan<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Not enough focus on trying to ensure people understand the business objectives & what’s important to the client. the data is important but some ppl waffle about the metrics that aren’t of any concern to the client.\u00a0@mindswanppc<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Client communication and setting expectations. I’ve been at it for a while now and I still don’t think I’ve got it right.\u00a0@adwordsgirl<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Education is a huge challenge in our industry because things are constantly changing.\u00a0@amaliaefowler<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The changing nature and fast-paced world of PPC. By the time the content is live it’s already outdated.\u00a0@jdprater<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Huge challenge – we did a training programme once, where we tried to get Google involved as well as technology providers. Every time the training ran, their part of the module would be updated. You need to have a new updated programme for each training..@soanders<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Hands on experience! Certifications are nice. That and a foundational knowledge of marketing\/advertising are important\u2026 @AdamDurfee<\/a> is KILLING that with his students @YDigitalAgency<\/a> an on campus Agency that manages real client accounts. He\u2019s doing amazing stuff!\u00a0@markpgus<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n There needs to be a focus on the offer\/incentive as much as the tactical execution. Why should the person take the desired action?\u00a0@robert_brady<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n For some reason, most PPC people think there’s no need to learn direct marketing. Atonishing lack of DM education within the industry.\u00a0@stevegibsonppc<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Be comfortable with change and enjoy the life long learning that comes with the job and growth. It’s ok to admit you don’t know something… gives you a chance to learn something new.\u00a0Q2: What do you wish you knew in the beginning that you know now? What would you tell Day 1 you?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
#<\/s>ppcchat<\/a> faster. Still scrolling up and down your profile, Amanda!\u00a0@soanders<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nQ3 What has been the biggest learning experience for you in your career – either a specific event, or client, or experience, etc.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
$<\/s>X<\/b><\/a>?” If you have a solid answer to that question, you’re usually okay.\u00a0@robert_brady<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n#<\/s>ppcchat<\/a> I recommend this learning path to literally EVERYONE.\u00a0@<\/a><\/span>markpgus<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nQ4: What do you think education programs are missing or lacking in regards to digital or PPC? <\/strong><\/h4>\n
Q5: What advice do you have for someone interested in pursuing a career in PPC? <\/strong><\/h4>\n