Is PPC a good career? I am certain you will have a concrete answer to the question once you have gone through this piece.
I published my first PPC ad over half a decade ago. There are few who have seen the industry change as much as I have. This I believe bestows me with the qualification to scribble this piece, don’t you agree?
The best part? I will not force you to accept or reject the career in this piece. Rather, what I am doing is getting you an honest and transparent idea of the reality. I will walk you through the best and worst parts of choosing PPC as a career.
The final decision of going or not going with PPC will always be yours. Let us get started?
Contents
Unsaturated market
Nearly all the skills/businesses today are more or less saturated, well, not PPC.
PPC is one of the most sought-after skills today. That is purely because more and more businesses are trying to get online and get noticed. They may have the funds, but not the skills to utilize those funds adequately. That is where you come in.
Moreover, a large number of companies, especially in third-world nations like India still aren’t “online”.
“In fact, retail penetration in India is still <10.24% as of 2023”.
With your specific skill-set, you can introduce PPC to them. With time, you can establish yourself as a PPC giant in your industry/niche as there is still a long way to go before you see “saturation’.
Dynamic and increasing salary potential
The best part about PPC is that it is 100% transparent and traceable. If you are good at your job, there is no denying it. You will have the numbers and they will speak for themselves.
Now, you can either work on a “fixed” salary or on a “percent of the total investment/profits”.
You can also negotiate higher salaries/better positions with good track records. You will have numbers that will show your progress that can be used as a base for the jump in your salary.
Work from home (or anywhere), forever
One of the primary reasons why PPC is a good career is because “office” is not mandatory. You can pretty much work from anywhere as long as you’ve got a laptop and internet.
Of course, if you’re working for a company, this may not be the case for you. However, you can always advocate for it and if you can perform, chances of you being allowed to work remotely are pretty high.
Perfect balance between creativity and data
With a PPC career, you would not have to sacrifice any half of your brain or passion. Most of us have a leaning either towards creativity or tech, at times, both.
PPC is a career that requires you to delve in both these passions. You will require your creative side when it comes to designing attractive, conversion-boosting ad creatives.
On the other side, you will need to analyze data, budget, performances, bid and a lot more for a successful career.
Constant learning, never a dull moment
The thing with PPC is, it is not math, it is never constant. Your competition is always analyzing, upgrading, and trying to outperform you. Similarly, your conversions, clicks, and rankings change every moment.
There are new tools and trends launched every single day, you need to test those out and see what works best.
Hence, you can never just shelve the book on PPC and be happy with your certification, degree, or knowledge. It is something you will need to keep re-visiting and re-learning over and over again, every single day.
Now, I suppose if you wanted a dull life of just doing the exact same thing every day, you would have got a desk job eh?
Transparent and measurable performance
As stated earlier, everything is completely transparent in a PPC campaign. Impressions, clicks, conversions, ROI, and everything else is out there for everyone to review and judge.
Why that is a good thing? Your boss or partners cannot just dismiss your talent (if you have it) because you don’t laugh at their jokes.
Similarly, you will not lose clients if you place a strict performance-based clause in your contract. As long as you perform, they’ll have to keep you. It also makes easy to demonstrate your talent to your clients ensuring they keep you regardless of a clause.
Multi-industry demand
One of the biggest USPs in favor of PPC being a good career is its multi-industry implementation.
You’re exposed to an unlimited client-base. They can be from tech, construction, education, travel or literally any industry out there. As long as it’s a business that uses any form of advertising, they’re your client.
Exposure to other skills/industries
You may start out as a PPC-person but you’re bound to acquire other skills and just get more exposure to other industries in general.
E.g. if you’re into PPC, you’ll learn graphic designing, better writing, competition analysis and so on.
Similarly, when you take on clients, your knowledge about different industries will broaden. You’ll understand what works and what doesn’t in the industry, what strategies others are using and you’ll technically be the one making sales.
Once you’ve got that right, who knows where this PPC career takes you, eh?
Problems with a PPC career
The answer to “Is PPC a good career?” depends on both the aspects of the answer, the good, and the bad, doesn’t it?
Ironically, a lot of “the good” in a PPC career is also “the bad” for you depending on who you are, your preferences and your skill levels.
While it does have dozens of obstacles, I can name at least one that probably will be your nemesis, especially during your initial days. It is called negative ROI (Return on Investment).
The chances of you getting your first ad wrong are much higher than the first ad netting you profits.
Hence, some cash burn is nearly inevitable in your first days. That is not even the problem. The problem is you acquiring enough “burn money” that can teach you the ropes.
Then, there is always the budget-constraint. Your bosses/clients will not always give you what you ask for. Hence, at times, you will find yourself grasping at the straws, especially when against wealthier competition.
Secondly, the results are unpredictable. Just because you spend a million dollars, you may not see the clicks or sales you want to. Hence, it becomes hard to deliver with a 100% success rate despite you doing everything you can.
Ironically enough, those with a better/higher budget than you still have a longer rope to hang on to. Hence, it does at times become a competition of budget & money and not “skill” or knowledge!
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, PPC is a forever-learning career. Platforms very frequently update ad policies, requirements, formats, algorithms, and a lot more. Hence, if you are someone who likes more of a laid-back life, it is not exactly a benefit for you.
Similarly, the primary benefit of a PPC career, it being “unsaturated” also is one of its major drawbacks. You are bound to encounter clients who will not readily accept or understand its benefits. You will have to be somewhat of a sales person in order to convince them to hire you or your services.
On the other hand, users hate ads. Don’t you? We are becoming more and more anti-ad and tech-savvy. As a result, with time, ads face stricter and more frequent ad blockers.
There is also the constant monitoring required on your part. You are literally paying for each click and it does not take a long time to burn through a few hundred or thousand dollars.
Hence, you need to constantly monitor your ads and optimize them on the go. If constant improvisation is not your thing, it is going to be a problem.
Finally, while not a major drawback, PPC is not exactly child’s play. You will have to learn quite a few tools, tricks, strategies etc. The worst part? Nothing is guaranteed. Even with all the knowledge and money and skills, your ads may still fail.
Final words- Is PPC a good career?
An absolute answer to the question is not possible. At the least, it would not be a correct answer. But, overall and in a nutshell, PPC certainly seems like a lucrative career if you weigh its pros and cons.
If you have gone through its benefits, I am sure you understand those are unique. You get benefits that almost no traditional job on the planet offers.
But, the other side of the coin clearly isn’t as shiny, eh? This is why I have transparently laid down the problems with a PPC career for you.
I want you to go through everything I have listed and then make your decision. It sure is not easy, but I will say it is worth it.