In this episode of Modern Marketing Messages, our host is joined by Heather Comiskey, a successful pay-per-click (PPC) manager at Amerianeagle.com. Heather shares her journey into the world of digital marketing and her approach to maximizing PPC campaigns with clients.
Whether you're a marketing professional looking to refine your paid search strategy or a business owner questioning the value of PPC, Heather shares valuable insights to help you maximize your advertising investment. This conversation dives into key PPC tactics, industry trends, and expert strategies to enhance campaign performance. Get ready for a deep dive into the evolving world of digital advertising with actionable takeaways from an industry pro. Let’s get started!
For captions, click "CC" within the video player. To read the transcript of this episode, click the transcript link within the description of the video on YouTube.
Heather Comiskey’s Role at Americaneagle.com
As a PPC expert at Americaneagle.com, Heather Comiskey manages pay-per-click advertising campaigns tailored to each client’s unique goals. Her daily responsibilities include monitoring campaign performance, ensuring alignment with business objectives, and optimizing strategies to drive impactful results. Heather works with a diverse range of clients, from niche brick-and-mortar businesses to large ecommerce brands and B2B lead generation companies. By focusing on specific goals—whether increasing online sales, generating leads, or driving in-store visits—she ensures every campaign delivers clear value. Her expertise in adapting strategies across industries allows her to continuously refine her skills and maximize advertising success for her clients.
From Curiosity to Career: Heather’s PPC Journey
Heather Comiskey’s journey into PPC began with an extensive marketing background, exploring various brand promotion channels before discovering her passion for paid search. She was drawn to its unique blend of creativity and data-driven strategy, allowing her to craft compelling ad copy while analyzing performance metrics to drive results. Her early experience in copy editing plays a crucial role in writing precise, impactful ad content. By balancing analytical thinking with creative execution, Heather found PPC to be the perfect fit for her career.
Biggest Shifts in Digital Advertising & PPC
One of the most significant changes in PPC advertising has been the rise of privacy regulations, limiting the data marketers can access. While Heather supports these changes as a consumer, they present new challenges in targeting and personalization. Striking a confident balance between user privacy and effective ad strategies has become crucial. Google Ads have become more accessible and intuitive than ever, making it easier for businesses to manage campaigns independently. However, this accessibility has also increased competition, requiring advertisers to consistently refine their strategies. As PPC evolves, staying adaptable and leveraging available resources is key to maintaining a competitive edge in digital advertising.
Adapting to Google Performance Max
The rise of automation and AI-driven tools like Google Performance Max has reshaped PPC strategies in many ways. While Performance Max offers broad reach across Google’s ecosystem—including YouTube, Gmail, Maps, and Discovery—it requires a carefully planned approach. Advertisers must intelligently define their target audience from the start, as machine learning builds upon initial data. If the foundation is flawed, campaigns risk reaching the wrong users. Maximizing Google Performance Max demands a deep understanding of audience behavior. By leveraging AI effectively, businesses can accelerate visibility and engagement, ensuring ads appear where users already spend their time online.
Underrated PPC Strategies That Deliver Results
Successful PPC strategies aren’t just about popular tactics. The best campaigns align targeted methods with business goals. One often-overlooked approach is demand generation campaigns for competitor targeting. Instead of bidding on costly keywords dominated by larger brands, businesses can reach potential customers through Gmail, YouTube, and Discovery ads, targeting user behavior rather than search terms. This strategy allows brands to cast a wider net, introducing their offerings alongside competitor searches without direct keyword bidding wars. By thinking creatively and strategically, businesses can optimize PPC campaigns for cost efficiency and better audience engagement, ensuring they reach the right customers in unexpected ways.
The Power of Audience Segmentation
Effective PPC campaigns start with precise audience targeting. Rather than trying to reach everyone, businesses should focus on attracting users who genuinely align with their products or services. Key factors include location, lifestyle, demographics, and purchasing behaviors. For example, someone searching for hiking gear may live near trails or have the flexibility to travel. Google Ads offers demographic filters like age, gender, and income, along with in-market targeting for relevant interests. Without proper segmentation, ads may reach the wrong audience—like serving tire ads to someone searching for weatherproof hiking gear. Defining the right audience ensures higher engagement and conversions.
Why PPC Is a Game-Changer for Businesses
PPC complements SEO by offering faster results and expanded visibility. While SEO builds organic traffic over time, PPC allows businesses to quickly reach new audiences, increasing brand exposure. A strong SEO foundation improves PPC performance, reducing costs as higher page authority signals relevancy to search engines. For new companies or websites, PPC helps boost visibility, driving traffic even before SEO gains traction. For established businesses, PPC enhances SEO efforts, reinforcing credibility. When combined, PPC and SEO create a powerful, synergistic approach that maximizes ROI and accelerates online success.
A PPC Campaign Success Story
One recently successful PPC campaign involved a large fashion client with strong SEO but no prior ad experience. Starting from scratch, a new PPC campaign focused on reaching the right audience through tailored shopping ads and AI-driven targeting. A larger budget commitment for a period of time helped gain ad visibility in the competitive fashion industry. Another success story came from a small brick-and-mortar niche business, aiming for a 5x return on ad spend. A hyper-local map ad targeted nearby customers, while a performance max campaign expanded visibility across the U.S. for cost-effective results. Both campaigns were successful through strategic targeting, creative thinking, and budget optimization.
Striking the Perfect Balance with Budget vs. Performance
Balancing budget with PPC performance requires strategic goal-setting and targeted adjustments. For even the smaller budget sizes, it’s crucial to start broad and gather data before optimizing. Bid adjustments allow for targeting specific return-on-ad-spend (ROAS) goals, but expectations should be tempered, as fewer clicks may result in higher conversions. Google’s machine learning helps identify high-spending customers, but it requires at least 30 days of data and five conversions for optimal results. Campaigns should run for at least two weeks to allow AI to learn and process, while more significant goals may take 30 days for meaningful adjustments and performance improvements.
Common Mistakes with PPC and How to Fix Them
A common PPC mistake is aiming too broadly, such as setting a campaign for the entire U.S. without considering where actual traffic is coming from. To optimize, break down targeting by states or regions to better focus on high-performing areas. Another mistake is not monitoring device usage. Users often engage with ads on mobile, but complete their purchases on desktops, or vice versa. It’s crucial to track device-specific performance and allocate budget accordingly. Depending on the business, using multiple devices for ads is key, as customers may interact across phones, tablets, and desktops before converting or calling.
The Best PPC Platforms Right Now: Where to Invest Your Ad Spend
Currently, the best PPC platforms vary based on business goals. Google Ads remains a top choice for its wide reach and features like the shopping tab, ideal for retail businesses. Microsoft Bing and LinkedIn offer unique opportunities, particularly for B2B companies, as LinkedIn's demographic targeting enhances Bing Ads. Social media platforms like TikTok also present significant potential, especially for small businesses, with its highly targeted algorithm driving visibility for niche markets. It's recommended to test across a variety of platforms, as each offers distinct advantages, and you never know which one will capture your audience's attention effectively.
Essential PPC Toolkit: Must-Have Software for Success
Heather's essential tools for PPC campaign management include Excel, which she uses for analyzing large data sets and creating pivot charts to identify trends. Google Ads' Keyword Planner is another favorite, helping her forecast keyword trends and plan for seasonal campaigns. For analytics, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) provides valuable insights into website health and traffic across various channels, while Google Trends allows for trend tracking, although its effectiveness is limited by the availability of current data. Heather emphasizes the power of GA4 for comprehensive reporting, especially in evaluating cross-channel performance.
AI, Machine Learning, and What’s Next for The Future of PPC
Heather believes AI and machine learning will make PPC advertising more usable and efficient, particularly benefiting small businesses by enhancing visibility and simplifying campaign management. However, with increased usability comes more competition, resulting in a crowded advertising space. Ads are becoming more prevalent, even on social media platforms like Instagram, which can feel overwhelming. Despite the increased competition, innovations like Google’s Performance Max campaign type excite Heather, as it offers diverse applications. She anticipates continued growth in new campaign types, driven by these advancements in AI and machine learning, further shaping the future of digital advertising.
Expert Advice for Businesses Optimizing Paid Search
Heather advises businesses looking to improve their PPC performance to start by defining clear, measurable goals and understanding their target audience. It’s crucial to ensure that the website offers a seamless user experience, as poor checkout processes can lead to lost sales. PPC, SEO, and user experience should work together as part of an integrated strategy. Additionally, businesses must continuously adapt to changes in technology, algorithms, and market trends. She recommends regularly reviewing and refining PPC campaigns, staying up-to-date with industry updates, and creating relevant, engaging content, all essential for sustained success.
Key Skills for Future Experts Becoming a PPC Pro
For aspiring PPC professionals, Heather recommends focusing on business, marketing, and media studies to understand consumer behavior and economic impacts on purchasing decisions. She suggests taking advantage of free resources like Google's digital marketing certification program to build foundational knowledge. Additionally, learning to analyze and interpret data is crucial for making informed decisions. Data-driven insights can reveal which strategies work, helping professionals adjust campaigns effectively. Heather emphasizes the importance of being adaptable and willing to experiment based on data, as PPC strategies can often yield unexpected results that lead to better performance.
Career Advice That Made an Impact
Heather’s most memorable piece of career advice came from her time at a nonprofit: "Respond, don't react." She learned the importance of taking a moment to think through decisions rather than rushing to act on immediate impulses. This advice encouraged Heather to process the information she received and evaluate her options, even in high-pressure situations with tight deadlines. She believes this approach not only applies to work but to personal life as well, helping maintain a level-headed perspective and avoid emotional reactions, ultimately leading to more thoughtful and effective decision-making.
Conclusion
PPC and digital marketing are rapidly evolving fields with endless opportunities for growth and innovation. Heather emphasizes the importance of understanding your audience, leveraging data, and staying current with new tools and strategies. She recommends focusing on business marketing, media, and digital certifications like Google’s free courses to build a solid foundation. As technology continues to advance, the future of PPC will be shaped by data-driven decisions, agility in adapting to trends, and a deeper understanding of consumer behavior. For anyone pursuing a career in PPC, staying curious and adaptable will be key to success in the ever-changing digital landscape.
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- Modern Marketing Messages: Americaneagle.com // Twitter // Instagram // Facebook // YouTube
- Heather Comiskey: LinkedIn
- Resources: Americaneagle.com Paid Search & PPC Management Services | Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate | Digital Marketing Services
Brought to you by Americaneagle.com, a digital marketing and web design company, Modern Marketing Messages discusses the latest and greatest in both online and offline marketing tactics, strategies, and trends. We take a deep dive into anything and everything marketing, speaking to the best and brightest minds in technology and marketing. Episodes will cover different areas of focus, from advanced SEO to paid search, personalization to influencer marketing, and everything in between.
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