Episodes

In this episode of PPC Live,The Podcast, host Anu interviews Kate Luke, a seasoned head of digital with a passion for e-commerce. The episode focuses on how mistakes, specifically in PPC settings, can lead to unexpected successes and valuable lessons. Kate shares an early career mistake involving setting the wrong target ROAS and how it surprisingly generated positive results. The conversation highlights the importance of trust, both within teams and with clients, as well as the necessity of ...

In this episode of PPC Live, The Podcast, host Anu sits down with seasoned PPC professional Serge Nguele to discuss one of his biggest professional mistakes and how integrity helped him turn it around. Serge shares the story of a £20K overspend at his former agency and the valuable lessons learned from the experience. Key Takeaways For PPC Professionals Facing Mistakes: - Stay Calm: Remember that no lives are at stake in PPC - Own It Completely: Take full responsibility without ma...

Host Anu interviews digital marketing executive Dii Pooler (11+ years experience) about the dark side of personal branding in PPC. Dii shares a vulnerable story about a corporate client consultation where she was put on the spot with complex YouTube and CTV questions outside her speciality area of paid search and lead generation. Despite her expertise, not having an immediate, polished answer shifted the room's energy, leading to passive-aggressive comments and microaggressions. The episode e...

Susan Richards-Benson, a 20-year PPC veteran and independent contractor, shares her experience with a devastating account suspension that cost her client tens of thousands in revenue during their busiest season—all due to client dishonesty. The Setup: Client: Indoor children's playground in Florida Timing: Christmas period (peak season) Problem: Google Ads account suspended for "circumventing systems" The 2-Month Investigation: Google support only provided generic respons...

In this candid episode of PPC Live The Podcast, host Anu sits down with Peter Guba, a Google Ads expert and founder of Profit Mill, to explore the raw reality of PPC failures and how they can become powerful learning experiences. Peter shares two memorable mistakes from his career - one hilarious, one costly - that shaped him into the marketer he is today. The main story centres on a perfect storm of PPC disasters: while managing a multi-million dollar enterprise event management client, P...

In this episode of PPC Live: The Podcast, host Anu chats with Greg Finn, co-founder of Cypress North, about the biggest mistakes he's witnessed in PPC and how they became learning opportunities. Greg shares two major f-ups: a Halloween costume company that accidentally set their monthly budget as a daily budget (spending $300K instead of $30K), and his own team's Microsoft Ads import error that sent one client's ads to a completely different advertiser's account. More importantly, Greg reveal...

In this episode of PPC Live The Podcast, host Anu interviews Kat Sale, co-founder of House of Performance, about a catastrophic client experience that serves as a cautionary tale for agency professionals. Kat shares how a gifting company client spent £40,000 in just three days with zero sales, despite her team's explicit warnings against their aggressive launch strategy. The situation escalated when the client refused to pay £12,500 in consultancy fees, forcing Kat to write off the loss and end ...

In this episode of PPC Live, host Anu interviews Chris Nightingale, founder of Can-Do Digital Marketing, about a significant mistake early in his PPC career and how he turned it around. Chris shares the story of accidentally increasing bids by £50 instead of 50p, causing massive overspending for a client. He discusses his immediate panic response, how he addressed the situation professionally, and the surprising support he received from his manager. Key takeaways discussed: Good manage...

In this insightful PPC Live The Podcast episode, host Anu Adegbola welcomes industry powerhouse Navah Hopkins, Evangelist at Optmyzr and respected digital marketing strategist. Navah courageously shares her experience of accidentally spending $50,000 in just three days (a client's entire monthly budget) due to an ill-timed switch to max conversions bidding strategy combined with a significant budget increase. The conversation explores how Navah turned this potential disaster into a valuable l...

In this episode of PPC Live The Podcast, host Anu welcomes Google Ads coach and ex-Googler Jyll Saskin Gales to discuss a pivotal moment in her career – taking on a client she shouldn't have. Jyll shares how ignoring red flags led to a situation that forced her to fire a difficult client and refund their retainer, but ultimately pushed her to transform her business model from Google Ads management to coaching and education. Listen as Jyll provides valuable insights on: Recognizing clie...

Q1 How has your journey in the industry been? Q2 What are your biggest frustrations with the industry right now? Q3 You only do smart bidding - why? what is your position on which strategy to use and under what circumstances? Q4 What are your thoughts on PMax? Exit velocity: What’s one thing you want to leave people with Best advice have you've been given Imposter Syndrome moment

#ppcchat Anu Adegbola chats with Paid Search expert Boris Beceric about account structure and AI Q1 What is it like being a LinkedIn influencer Q2 What are your biggest frustrations with the industry right now? Q3 Smart versus manual bidding, what is your position on which strategy to use and under what circumstances? Q4 What is your position on using PMAX and under what circumstances? Q5 SKAG or STAG, what is your position on which strategy to use and under what circumstances? What is a h...

#ppcchat Anu Adegbola chats with in-house Paid Search expert, Helen Dooner, about how her in-house team uses AI and giving PPC-ers advice on how to approach PPC in 2025" Q1 What was the biggest shift for you in how you run PPC campaign when you moved in-house Q2 What are your general feelings towards AI Q3 What wouldn’t you allow AI to touch Q4 What has AI changed the most for you Q5 Does your Lead Gen team use Performance Max Exit questions: What’s one thing you want to leave people with...

#ppcchat Anu Adegbola chats with Paid Search expert Chris Ridley, about account structure and AI Q1. Does Account Structure Even Matter Anymore? Q2. Do you think account structure matters anymore? If so, does it vary by platform? And if not, why not? Q3. Have you changed the way you structure accounts and/or campaigns? If so, does it vary by platform? And if not, why not? Q4. What are your biggest frustrations with account and/or campaign structures right now? Q5. If you could change someth...

#ppcchat Anu Adegbola chats with in-house Paid Search expert Matt Beswick⁠, about the latest updates in Search Marketing, giving PPC-ers advice on how to approach PPC in 2025" Q1 How did you get into client-side Q2 What frustrates you most about all the new updates Q3 How is your PPC workload as a client-side professional Q4 What’s one thing you want to leave people with Q5 Advice to freelancers wanting to pitch Q6 What is your favourite agency story to tell Q7 What best advice have you b...

#ppcchat Slack discussion that runs on Tuesdays at 5pm GMT - Led by Julie Bacchini (@NeptuneMoon) Q1 Do you use social media to either build your brand and/or find business or leads? If so, which platform(s) do you use? Q2 Do you use social media to either build your brand and/or find business or leads? If so, which platform(s) do you use? Q3 Have any of the recent changes on social platforms (Meta dropping fact checking or TikTok being banned and unbanned for example) changed your social med...

#ppcchat Slack discussion that runs on Tuesdays at 5pm GMT - Led by Julie Bacchini (@NeptuneMoon) Q1 Much like Twitter before this, after their change in ownership and subsequent policy changes, do these changes on Meta cause you to feel any differently about the platform, either personally or professionally? Q2 Has any of last week’s happenings with Meta given you pause over continuing to recommend advertising on their platform? If so, why and how? And if not, why not? Q3 Do you think as adv...

#ppcchat Slack discussion that runs on Tuesdays at 5pm GMT - Led by Sarah Stemen (@runnerkik) Q1 Do you do research as part of your PPC strategy and management? If so, what types? Q2 Is research something you do once or is it ongoing? If it is ongoing, at what frequency are you doing it and what types are you doing? Q3 Do you have any tools you use for PPC research? Q4 What is your biggest struggle or challenge when doing PPC research? Q5 Is there a tool you wish existed for PPC research? ...

#ppcchat Slack discussion that runs on Tuesdays at 5pm GMT - Led by Julie Bacchini (@NeptuneMoon) Q1 What are your predictions for paid search advertising (Google and Microsoft Ads)? Q2 What are your predictions for paid social advertising (Meta, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, etc.)? Q3 Are there any platforms that you think will gain ground in PPC in 2025 that we are not really talking about much in 2024? Q4 What are your predictions for the PPC industry?

#ppcchat Slack discussion that runs on Tuesdays at 5pm GMT - Led by Julie Bacchini (@NeptuneMoon) Q1 What was your overall impression of the BFCM period this year? Q2 What is your strategy for the rest of the holiday shopping season 2024? Q3 Have you seen any trends in advertising or sales this year that have you excited or worried? If so, what and why? Q4 What is on your holiday wish list for Google Ads or Microsoft Ads? Q5 What is on your holiday wish list for PPC clients or stakeholders?...

#ppcchat Slack discussion that runs on Tuesdays at 5pm GMT - Led by Julie Bacchini (@NeptuneMoon) Q1 What do you consider to be “wasted spend” and does it vary by platform? Q2 How do you detect wasted spend in your accounts (if you look for it)? Where do you find it most often? Does it vary by platform? Q3 Are you seeing an uptick in wasted spend in your accounts? If so, does it differ by platform? Q4 Are you doing anything to try to combat wasted spend in your accounts? If so, does it diffe...

#ppcchat Slack discussion that runs on Tuesdays at 5pm GMT - Led by Julie Bacchini (@NeptuneMoon) Q1 What does “ethical marketing” mean to you? Q2 Q2: Are there tactics you’ve seen that you consider unethical and if so, why? How much do the ad platforms influence ethical vs unethical behavior? And do you find ad platforms themselves to be ethical or unethical or a bit of both? Q4 Have you ever been in a position where you’ve been asked to do something unethical by a client/boss? How did you ...

#ppcchat Slack discussion that runs on Tuesdays at 5pm GMT - Led by Julie Bacchini (@NeptuneMoon) Q1 What is a horror story regarding a platform (performance, support, etc.) that you have experienced? Q2 What is a horror story regarding a client that you have experienced? You can fuzzy up details to protect the “innocent” if need be! Q3 What is a horror story regarding a mistake you made in PPC? Q4 What is your biggest challenge in lead gen PPC right now? Has it changed in the last 6 to 12 m...

#ppcchat Slack discussion that runs on Tuesdays at 5pm GMT - Led by Julie Bacchini (@NeptuneMoon) Q1 Is the Q4 season a big deal for the accounts you manage? If so, why and if not why not? Q2 Do you have anything new that you are trying for this year’s Q4 season? Q3 How are clients and stakeholders as we head into Q4 this year - are they excited, nervous, etc.? Q4 What is your gut feeling on how Q4 will be this year - strong, weak, similar to 2023? Q5 Are you running into any issues yet wit...