I've been doing this Pay-Per-Click advertising thing a little while now. Well, 12 years, actually. In that time, I've managed tens of millions of dollars worth of ad spend, been through about a dozen different iterations of various "types" of marketer, and now, I lead my own team.
Currently, one of my main jobs is providing coaching, leadership and accountability for my team members. In this phase, I've had time to really think about what separates a "merely" good PPC'er from a great one, and the steps to take to become the latter.
If like me, your ambition is to attain true mastery of this discipline, here are the things you need to do. And many of these things are probably applicable to any industry or discipline.
Don’t learn the tactics, learn the foundation
"What account structure should I use?"
"What bid strategy is the best?"
"Which match types should I use?"
These are common questions I face. The person asking them is basically saying, "I'm stuck. Please tell me what to do."
However, if you want to git gud then you need to build the foundational knowledge that allows you to answer these questions YOURSELF, and to change your answer to them as the situation evolves.
If you just learn the answer by rote, you'll be no better off in the long-term. Worse still, when the market shifts, and the strategies that worked yesterday stop working today... You're screwed.
At the very least, if you have to seek an answer one of the questions above, also seek the reason for the answer.
"What account strategy should I use for this specific situation? Why? What other account structures could work? Why??"
That kind of thing.
But, even better, build your foundational knowledge. Learn about the keyword match types, the different campaign settings, and how bidding works. Then, put this together in your head and come up with your own account structure.
Practice and experiment
This goes hand-in-hand with the previous point. Once you have built some foundational knowledge, it's time to put it to use. Do this by coming up with some ideas and experiments that you can use.
Back to the account structure example: maybe, based on your current understanding, you think an account structure where all your keywords are grouped by product might work. So, give that a go.
You don't have to get it right the first time, because the point of that is for you to learn from your experiment and adapt over time. Done is better than perfect. Because, when it is done, then you can iterate and learn.
If you are constantly trying to get it perfect, you'll never benefit from the post-launch learnings.
Join groups and talk
Figure out what groups you can join. It doesn't matter if it's online or offline. They will give you access to other people in the PPC space, ideally people smarter and more experienced than you.
Once you are there, actually engage in the group. Don't be a lurker. You're not going to get the maximum amount of value by nervously fidgeting at the sidelines and not talking to anyone.
Here are some of the groups I enjoy:
Agency Savvy - not the cheapest but the Facebook Group is full of high-level PPC'ers and the membership gets you access to all of Mike Rhodes' (one of the industry's top influencers) courses. Mike is also personally involved and very accessible inside the FB Group.
PPC Lounge - if you don't want to commit to the price-tag of an Agency Savvy membership, check out this free and very active Facebook Group instead.
PPC Subreddit - the PPC subreddit is a place where you can kick back and talk shop with other PPC'ers around the world. This group is more skewed towards people working in PPC agencies.
Local Groups & Events - not such a big one for me as I'm an expat based in Bangkok, and most of the local events here are less relevant to me. However, if I was back home in London I'd def be checking out local PPC and marketing mixers and events. Depending on where you are, you could check on MeetUp.com or Linkedin Groups to find some local industry events. To be fair though, I am writing this during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. So maybe just save this tip for later. In the meantime, wash those hands and stay at home folks!
Read the news
Before I was a PPC'er, I used to buy TV advertising campaigns for the likes of 20th Century Fox and AOL (remember them!?).
But I eventually left that world.
I love advertising, but the world of TV was too slow. It moved at a glacial speed, when I knew I would prefer where things were dynamic and fast-changing. So I went digital.
And that's the PPC world we live in - you need to stay current if you're going to be awesome at this pursuit.
Read the PPC news. Do it regularly, multiple times per week. Find a way to integrate it into your life. I like to use an app called Feedly to aggregate all my favourite PPC news sites into one easy feed.
When I have a moment of downtime, I whip out my phone and browse the news feed for good nuggets. Yes, this does indeed mean that I experience 80% of my PPC epiphanies while on the toilet!
Here are some of the feeds I've aggregated into Feedly:
Find a mentor
Get someone to teach you. The easiest way to do this is to get a job in the industry, of course. Find a person or agency you respect and tell them how much you want to work for them and how passionate you are about becoming a true master of PPC.
Alternatively, if you have a friend who knows a thing or two about PPC, buy them a drink. Or a lunch. Whatever.
Then, ask for their opinion on your PPC problem. Most experts love to show off their expertise. I'm definitely guilty of this and, by the way, mine's a good dram of single malt, thank you very much.
But more than anything else, if you present them with an interesting problem and loosen them up with a couple of drinks, I'm pretty sure that they'll spill the beans - and enjoy every moment of the process.
Of course, don't always be seeking something from them. Be a genuine friend to them, keep that relationship going, and whenever you do get stuck on a PPC thing, ask them. A lot of people think mentorship is this really formal and rigid thing but really, that's all there is to it.
If you don't have any friends that fit the bill, then make some. Refer to my previous point about joining groups and attending meet ups to facilitate with that!
Always be learning
“It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.” - Epictetus
My final tip for you is that you must retain your "beginners mind" as the Zen Buddhists would call it. I've been doing this 12 years and I still consider myself a learner... so what's your excuse?
If you ever succumb to the fallacy that you've now learned it all, and don't think there's much else left to learn, then you'll forever fall short of greatness. Don't do that.
Stay humble, keep learning, and always aim to be 1% better every day.