One Year In PPC: What I’ve learnt and achieved in one year in Paid Media

SQR, sitelinks, PMax... if you had asked me what these were a year ago I’d have had no clue, now they are part of my day to day life as a PPC Executive. As it's coming up to my one year anniversary in the Paid Media team, I’ve become reflective of what I've learned and achieved as I look back on the start of my career.

The Black Friday hustle 

With my priority last year being Google Skillshop certifications, I managed to miss out on the hectic Black Friday season (I’m sure I did help with some ad copy here and there). This year it’s been all hands on deck as we get closer and closer to the biggest day in retail.

I’m now nose deep in new ad copy, keyword research and sending out a prayer that all my rules on Google Ads work. The Black Friday season feels like the perfect way to round up my first year in PPC, as everything I’ve learned comes into play. Creating eye-catching ad copy and making sure we’re capturing every relevant Black Friday search term has been top of my agenda, and I can’t wait to see the results start flooding in.

There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing the work you’ve created succeed and turn into conversions and revenue for your client. I can’t wait to watch the journey from ad creation to sale this Black Friday season and to hopefully drive an increase in YoY results.

My First Expo 

Arriving at the London Excel and getting a lanyard featuring my name may just be a career highlight. The Ecommerce Exhibition was a great introduction into the world of expos and a chance to find out more about the importance of marketing for Honchō.

Filled with stalls of current and potential partnerships, coupled with talks from brands ready to inspire, I couldn’t imagine a better first exhibition. I left with new knowledge across multiple industries, including beauty, fashion and hospitality. Although all different, there was a clear theme with how these companies found success - through experimentation, staying true to themselves and having a clear goal of who they want to be. I’ve since made sure to apply these philosophies to my approach in PPC.

I can not wait for my next expo and to dive deeper into the world of marketing. Learning and growing in this industry is vital, with marketing expos being the best stage to gain insights into some of the top brands.

Gaining Responsibility 

It’s always encouraging to see your team trust and believe in your work, so being given more responsibility on a long-term client was a massive step in the right direction for my future in PPC. Managing budgets, keeping on top of optimisations and working with my team to further progress the account has really allowed me to advance in my skills.

I was also given the opportunity to work with additional clients, supporting team members in the process. Being able to participate in different projects allowed me to learn new skills and features of Google Ads. For example, I’ve recently been working on my first Display campaign. Here I was able to do independent research on Display Campaigns, growing my knowledge on topics, placements and more general optimisation tactics for this style of campaign. 

Advancing in PPC is always a top priority, and this all starts by gaining more responsibility and independent learning. This year I’ve been able to build on the opportunities and grow my skill set in Paid Media

Gaining My Voice 

This role has really given me the chance to gain confidence, particularly when speaking to clients in external meetings. An area I have really been able to grow in this past year is finding my voice with clients, both through email communication and meetings. 

Speaking up was daunting, but with every call I can feel myself growing in confidence and building a relationship with clients. Trusting in my opinions and ideas has really allowed me to open up and grow in all aspects as a PPC Executive.

New Clients

Gaining a new client during this year was a true highlight. Being able to build an account from the beginning and seeing it grow and evolve through the year was a great experience as we were able to watch year-on-year (YoY) growth. We were able to fully restructure the account, test new ideas and pull in extra customer insights to fully reach all potential customers.

I was able to bring in my own ideas into this account and join a quarterly business review (QBR), which really gave me insight into every element of the account and the goals we are working towards. Seeing YoY increases for revenue hit almost +200% some weeks is a rewarding feeling and really showcases all the hard work everyone on the team has put in.

Building Connections

Finding the right team for you is so essential in helping you reach your full potential. I’ve been so lucky to be surrounded by people who want to see me do my best and always encourage me to ask questions. I’m part of a team that always supports me and I credit them to my successes so far.

Not only is it important to build connections within your team, I’ve loved getting to know everyone else in the broader company and understanding how both mine and their roles can interlink. 

Finally, I am pleased to report that office dogs are now my friends. Resident sausage dog, Otis, used to chase me around the office, but now we've moved on to belly rubs, this truly has been a journey with many challenges. Perseverance is key, and it reminds me to never give up on any of my goals.

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