How to Become a PPC Specialist

Have you been considering making the switch to a digital marketing career?

One of the main challenges of the digital industry is that many of the positions are not as "standard" as other jobs. It could be sometimes confusing to break into the industry, as many roles don't necessarily have specific training, certifications or degrees.

PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising needs an unusual mix of skills that can range from being creative, to highly analytical. And as the digital marketing industry becomes more specialized, the need for skilled PPC specialists is growing fast.

In this article, we look at what does a career in PPC look like and the key skills needed to succeed.

What is Pay Per Click (PPC)?

PPC stands for pay-per-click, a form of online advertising that you only pay for when a user clicks on your ad. It is an essential element of a comprehensive search engine optimization strategy because it brings in immediate results.

With PPC you can improve visibility, identify news leads, bring more traffic to your side and increase your conversions. Overall, businesses use PPC to grow and increase sales.

The common platforms for PPC are Google Ads and Bing Ads. PPC allows advertisers to bid for ad placements in a search engine's sponsored links when someone searches on a keyword that is related to the business.

All of these searches trigger pay-per-click ads and businesses will only be charged when a user actually clicks on the ad. Since this form of advertising has the potential for a high return on investment (ROI), PPC specialists are in high demand.

There are a lot of facts that make a PPC campaign successful: research and selection of the right keywords, the organization of those keywords into campaigns and ad groups and setting up PPC landing pages that are optimized for conversions.

How Does PPC Work?

If you want to become a PPC Specialist, it is important you learn the right mechanics.

Search engines reward advertisers who can create relevant and well-thought targeted campaigns by charging them less for ad clicks. If your ads and landing pages are useful to users, Google will charge you less per click, having a positive impact on your business.

So, how does it work?

Ads are subject to the Ad Auction, an entirely automated process that Google, Bing and the other search engines use to determine the relevance of the ads that appear on the SERPs. Keywords play an important role here.

Businesses need to bid the terms they want to trigger so the ads will display. For example, let's say your business is an online plus-size clothing store and summer is around the corner. A user wanting to purchase a new suit might enter the keywords "plus-size bathing suit" or "plus-size swimwear". You will put in a bid on those or other related keywords or keywords chains and tell the search engine how much you are willing to pay for each click.

Then the search engine performs the complex algorithmic calculations that the Ad Auction is based upon and it will determine the ads that will be displayed.

Why Choose a Career in PPC?

Being able to accurately bid on keywords to drive sales has the potential for a significant ROI. If you pay a little for an ad, but the sales are coming in at a much higher dollar amount, the investment was worth it.

Skills with keyword research and testing are essential. Since paying for traffic gets results faster than organic methods, PPC specialists can quickly prove their value with measurable statistics.

With social selling at the forefront of digital marketing strategies, brands want to develop a relationship with their target audience, and PPC helps to facilitate that.

PPC specialists generate qualified traffic to take action on a website. Learning the techniques that will make you an expert in PPC is a nearly guaranteed way to jumpstart your current career in digital marketing or launch you into one.

What Does a Career in PPC Look Like?

PPC specialists use PPC not only to generate traffic and drive sales but also to help define a target audience.

By analyzing the actions customers take on a website, a PPC specialist can narrow down who is staying, how long they stay, and what they do after clicking on an ad. This information is as invaluable as is knowing how to use it.

Some of your day to day duties will include but are not limited to:

• Creating ad campaigns
• Writing ad copy
• Running ad campaigns in Google Ads and Bing Ads
• Running A/B tests
• Measuring conversions
• Optimizing conversions
• Testing keywords
• Defining and redefining the target audience

What Skills Are Needed to Become a PPC Specialist?

A PPC specialist is more than just an advertiser; you will be a social seller who helps the rest of the team close sales.

You will be an expert on your customer’s problems, wants, and needs, and you will have it ready in front of them when they are looking for it. To do this, you will possess:

• A foundation in digital marketing
• An ability to create ads
• An understanding of your audience and their behaviour
• A mind for statistics
• An understanding of how paid ads rank in search engines
• Advanced PPC certification training

Keep Up with Industry Trends

PPC advertising is a career where you have to learn by trial and error. You have to be willing to get your hands dirty and also be prepared to fail.

It is important to keep checking the newest industry trends and know what is working well before you get left behind. Overall, becoming a PPC expert can be a challenge, but will lead to a challenging career in a high-demand industry.