How I became a PPC expert

Today, I’ll explain to you how I became a PPC expert. This post will serve multiple purposes: ask this question of prospects (yes, this is a recurring question from new prospects), review my PPC journey, and try to help aspiring digital marketers get their feet wet in this field.

The first contact with Google Ads

My first exposure to the world of Google Ads was at the university back in 2011. We had a digital marketing course (back in the day, we needed to distinguish “traditional x digital”). During this course, our textbook included a chapter explaining what Google Ads was (called AdWords back then). At the end of the chapter, we had a $200 credit to spend with an actual client (who told you an MBA didn’t have any practice?) – but I’ll discuss it later in this article.

That day, I realized a massive opportunity was in front of me: a possibility of work that could allow me to work from anywhere, with virtually any type of client and vertical, putting my creativity to work every day.

The first campaign setup

This was part of a Google challenge, in which multiple universities worldwide participated to create the best case (campaign setup, client, etc.). Each group of students had to find a real client, pitch the benefits of a Google Ads campaign, and sign them up for a test campaign with this credit.

So, here we were: chasing clients to pitch something they had never heard about (I’m talking about 2011, 99% of the business owners never heard anything about Adwords back then). Within a week, we found a modelling agency that was open to giving it a try.

We set up a campaign, put our credits in, ran the campaign, and drove some leads to this company. I didn’t know which part was more exciting.

The first “real” Google Ads account

After this first experience, my Digital Marketing teacher asked who would volunteer to manage a vital government account here in Quebec, Canada. I volunteered and got the project (it was summer, and, in Canada, the other students wanted to enjoy the short summer we have here). I have to tell you: For someone who thought the $200 could do wonders, I was in front of a budget of many thousands (back then, a click rarely would cost more than $0.10).

The project lasted the whole summer, and I could hone my PPC skills. Once the project was delivered, I was sure I wanted to work with PPC and Google Ads in the future. So I aligned the rest of my credits to better serve this new career path I decided to take.

First Google Ads experience on my own

Just before finishing my MBA, I realized I needed more field experience. As an immigrant, I needed the famous “Canadian experience” to build a solid career here. But I faced a challenge: to find my first actual client, I had to show more proof of work than two university projects. After a few months of thinking about how to solve this situation, I realized I could match my (new) passion for online advertising with my hobby: helping nonprofit organizations.

So I decided to volunteer for nonprofit organizations and manage their Google Grants. After a few months, I had set up and managed dozens of accounts, and experience was no longer a problem. In fact, because of the shortage of specialized PPC managers, I offered my time as a volunteer to organizations in Canada, the United States, Brazil, and Europe. I got to meet amazing new people, work with a variety of accounts, and help these organizations while building my portfolio and experience. It was a great ride.

Getting the Google Ads certification

I knew I would need my Google Ads certifications to navigate the waters of the PPC agency world. So I did. But I must confess, given my experience up to that time, the advanced certification seemed a bit difficult, but I had it.

Other PPC certifications

Once I got my first double Google Ads certification, I also got my Microsoft Ads certification (then called Bing Ads). In the following years, Google would specialize their certifications, recognizing the need for specialization in the industry. So instead of only one basic and one advanced certification, we had five advanced (Search, Display, Video, Apps and Shopping).

Back in 2015 (while I was on parental leave), I passed all Google ads certifications at once (one day, I was bored with the whole new parental life).

Then Snapchat ads certification, Waze ads certification, Amazon ads certification and so on.
I renewed every one of these certifications for several years, but then I stopped doing so because of a lack of time and interest. I kept myself up to date on all new developments in my areas of interest.

Discovery of the PPC agency world

A thought I had back then (and still hold) is that if you want to work in this area, you should start by working for an agency. So I did it. I worked for two agencies with very different types of clients and structures.

I put time and many nights of study into growing as a PPC specialist. It paid off. Now I run my firm with many clients. I have to say, I’m happy with the choice I made more than ten years ago, and this field continues to keep me busy and curious.