12 Pay Per Click Professionals Crushing the PPC Advertising Game
The true power of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is its ability to drive bottom-line results for businesses. Approximately two-thirds of people who click on a PPC ad do so to purchase a product. Plus, paid ads are said to raise brand awareness by 80%!
Those stats are not just reserved for Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Display, social, and native advertising are all online marketing channels that fall under the cost-per-click (CPC) advertising umbrella, and they all allow for highly optimized targeting that drives growth while helping you maintain and monitor the best possible ROI.
As such a prominent part of the online marketing world, PPC advertising has attracted some of the best minds in the business. Many of these people started out when PPC was in its earliest stages, growing their careers alongside the ever-changing and growing PPC industry. And, as with any industry, some have risen above the others to reach PPC pro status. The following 12 PPC professionals – in no particular order – are renowned as masters of the PPC craft, but not just PPC; their talents extend to many other aspects of digital marketing. These 12 marketing, business and entrepreneurial leaders are all active in the online community, generous in the knowledge they share, and always fun to follow and read. Here are 12 PPC pros who are crushing their game in 2019, and we heartily recommend you follow them all!
12. Christi Olson
Listed by PPC Hero as one of the Top 25 Influential PPC Experts for the last 4 years running, Christi Olson is Head of Evangelism for Search at Microsoft, and a renowned author and speaker on everything search marketing. She is widely published, so you can always catch her latest PPC gospel on many of the top content sites about search marketing and PPC.
Follow Christi on Twitter @ChristiJOlson
11. Samantha Noble
As CEO of her own paid media consultancy, Biddable Moments, and founder of the Digital Females Group, a networking group for women in digital media, Samantha is a regular on the conference circuit, delivering keynote speeches and lectures on just about every aspect of paid marketing. Women – and men – in the PPC industry, take note!
Follow Samantha on Twitter @SamJaneNoble
10. Marty Weintraub
The founder and owner of AimClear®, an agency focusing on psychographic targeting, industry speaker, author and an EU/UK Search Awards Judge, Marty Weintraub is the go-to voice for his innovative marketing approach. And having achieved status for AimClear® as an Inc.500/5000 company no less than 6 times, is it any wonder he’s got such a following?
Follow Marty on Twitter @martyweintraub
9. Kirk Williams
He’s been working in the paid search industry since 2009, he founded his own PPC agency, ZATO, in 2011, and he has a list of PPC Expert titles and awards as long as your arm. If you want to hear the latest in paid search marketing in e-commerce and shopping ads, make sure to keep up with Kirk!
Follow Kirk on Twitter @PPCKirk
8. Frederick Vallaeys
As one of the first 500 employees at Google, Frederick is truly a PPC pioneer. He spent 10 years at Google building AdWords and was the company’s first AdWords evangelist. These days, he’s CEO of his own agency, Optmyzr, and you can catch him as a speaker at many PPC industry events. His new book’s almost out too!
Follow Frederich on Twitter @siliconvallaeys
7. Elizabeth Marsten
Elizabeth is a pro in just about everything digital marketing, but her true forte is paid search advertising. Currently, the Senior Director of e-Commerce Growth Services at CommerceHub in Seattle, WA, when she’s not on the speaker circuit or publishing articles in the top PPC publications, Elizabeth specializes in e-commerce PPC, product ads and feeds.
Follow Elizabeth on Twitter @ebkendo
6. Melissa Mackey
Melissa Mackey is most recognized for her role at gyro, where she works as the company’s search supervisor. This role requires her to manage all PPC accounts for a variety of national and international clients. gyro is one of the most notable companies in the marketing world and is the largest independent B2B marketing agency across the globe.
Follow Melissa on Twitter @Mel66
5. Brad Geddes
Brad Geddes is a well-known speaker and authority in the online marketing and PPC world. Geddes has over 15 years of experience in consulting on a variety of subjects, including optimization, PPC, conversion, SEO, affiliate marketing, product positioning, and campaign management. Working as a speaker, trainer, and internet marketer, he’s been busy since 1998 when he monetized his first website.
Follow Brad on Twitter @bgtheory
4. Purna Virji
As Senior Manager of Global Engagement at Microsoft, Purna specializes in digital marketing, AI and the future of search. In 2016, she was named by PPC Hero as the #1 Most Influential Expert in the world. So it’s not surprising that she is a regular columnist for sites like Search Engine Land and Moz, and a keynote speaker at conferences all over the world, including Pubcon and The Next Web Conference.
Follow Purna on Twitter @purnavirji
3. David Szetela
The owner and CEO of PPC agency FMB Media, author of two books on PPC and internet marketing, and host of the world’s longest running podcast on PPC – PPC Rockstars, David is a leading, veteran online advertising expert. He’s been named one of the top 25 PPC experts by PPC Hero for the past three years. Between his speaking events, featured posts on top PPC sites and weekly radio appearances, it’s not hard to find David – and well worth keeping up with his advice.
Follow David on Twitter @Szetela
2. Daniel Gilbert
Daniel started his career at Google, and then moved on to become founder and CEO of Brainlabs, which was recently named number 1 on the Deloitte Fast50 Tech Track, as well as receiving an ‘Agency of the Year’ award at the Masters of Marketing, by Econsultancy. In between his busy schedule receiving awards, Daniel is a columnist for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, Entrepreneur.com and more, and a frequent speaker at industry events. Last year, he was named the most influential PPC expert in the world by PPC Hero.
Follow Daniel on Twitter @dangilbertppc
1. Larry Kim
Just a quick glimpse of Larry Kim’s story is enough to tell you he is a true PPC guru. The founder of WordStream, and now the CEO of MobileMonkey, he has developed a deep and broad understanding of every aspect of online advertising, from AdWords to Facebook marketing to chatbots. And of course, we have him to thank for the “unicorn marketing” concept!
At Outbrain, we are also thrilled to have hosted Larry in our webinar about the top 10 PPC hacks. Check it out here.
Follow Larry on Twitter @larrykim
