Google AdWords – now named Google Ads – is one of the most useful methods out there for getting traffic to your website. It’s also a great investment for researching the keywords you can use to enhance and inform your traditional content marketing efforts.
But to get the most out of your pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, you need to know how to write the best titles, craft succinct but informative descriptions, choose the most enticing images and build conversion-oriented landing pages.
You also need to stay constantly up to date and in the loop on Google’s updates to their program and how optimization practices are changing. (You all know that marketing rules are always changing; that holds true for the paid side of the industry, as well.)
To help you keep up with the latest Google Ads best practices, news and insights, follow these 7 Google Ads influencers who are leading the way in paid search marketing.
1. Larry Kim
@LarryKim | LinkedIn
Larry Kim is the founder of WordStream, a developer of PPC management software and provider of online marketing services, and currently the CEO at MobileMonkey, a Facebook Messenger Marketing Platform. He’s a contributor at CNBC, Inc. Magazine and Search Engine Land, where he writes about the latest trends in PPC advertising, Google Ads, content marketing and work productivity. Larry was named Search Marketer of the Year in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 by PPC Hero, and is the #8 most popular author on Medium.
Read about Larry’s philosophy on productive unicorns… trust us.
2. Brad Geddes
@bgtheory | LinkedIn
Brad Geddes is an online marketing consultant who specializes in SEO and PPC advertising, including Google Ads. He authored Advanced Google AdWords, which is now in its third edition. He is also the co-founder of Adalysis, a PPC Management Software for Google Ads Optimization. Follow him on Twitter to see updates on his blog, presentations and notifications on live speaking events.
3. Lisa Raehsler
@lisarocksSEM | LinkedIn
Lisa Raehsler’s expertise is in search engine marketing, PPC and social media advertising. She is the founder and principal strategist at Big Click Co., an online advertising company that specializes in strategy and management of SEM and PPC. She regularly contributes posts for Search Engine Watch and The SEM Post. Located in Minneapolis, MN, Lisa has travelled the country to speak at different summits and conferences. AND, if you needed any other reason to follow her, Larry Kim called her a Bing Ads genius.
4. Frederick Vallaeys
@siliconvallaeys | LinkedIn
Frederick Vallaeys spent 10 years working at Google and helped build the then-titled AdWords. He was termed the Google AdWords Evangelist and helped advertisers use the platform effectively. Today, he is the CEO at Optmyzer, a company focused on AdWords optimization, automation and reporting.
5. David Szetela
@SzetelaDavid | LinkedIn
David Szetela is the owner and CEO of FMB Media, which is a PPC ad agency specializing in Google Ads and other types of social media advertising. Previously, he was a PPC advertising expert and CMO at Vizion Interactive, a digital marketing agency. He is also a contributing writer for Search Engine Watch and hosts a weekly podcast named PPC Rockstars.
6. Andrew Lolk
@AndrewLolk | LinkedIn
Andrew Lolk has worked in Google Ads since 2009 and is the author of The Proven AdWords Strategy, one of the most comprehensive guides for understanding and using this paid media tactic. He was the founder and CMO of White Shark Media, a leading search marketing agency, and is currently the CEO and founder of SavvyRevenue, a PPC agency. You can read his posts on the SavvyRevenue blog, including topics like “How Losing 5 Clients Over the Summer Shaped Our Year” and “When, Why, and How to Choose a (New) Google Ads Agency from an Agency Insider.”
7. Matt Umbro
@Matt_Umbro | LinkedIn
Matt Umbro hosts #PPCChat, a weekly Twitter chat where industry specialists discuss the latest trends in PPC marketing, including the newest updates to Google Ads. Matt also oversees content production for PPC Hero and writes monthly articles for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and Search Engine Journal. He is currently the Associate Director of Search at Hanapin Marketing, a digital marketing agency that specializes in paid search and social.
With the help of these Google Ads experts, you’ll always be ahead of the game when it comes to updates, news and information on how to optimize your campaigns for the best results. Paid ads are just one part of the content marketing operating system, and including them in a strategic and thoughtful way will help round out your marketing practice.
This post was originally published in June 2015 and has been updated for relevancy and comprehensiveness.