Meet Amanda Maurer

Amanda Maurer (fka Kreighbaum) was nominated by Lawrence Chasse in October 2021.

How long have you been working in PPC?

I’ve been working in PPC for 7 years now. I worked in Social Media/Content Marketing for 4 years before that.

How did you get started in PPC?

My first few marketing roles were in-house, and I wanted to get some agency experience. Through friends I met a director at a PPC agency and she hired me.

If you went to college, what did you study? If not college, do you have any other degrees or certifications?

I studied Marketing at James Madison University in Virginia. It’s crazy to think that PPC is my specialty now, because when I was in school there was one Internet marketing class, it was optional. I didn’t take it.

What was your first job that involved PPC?

At the company I worked for before I started at the PPC agency, I created a Google Ads account with all pure broad match keywords (oops). Let’s not count that.

My first REAL PPC job was at an agency in Tampa. I started out on the launch team so I got to be involved in strategy planning for a variety of different clients and industries, but our main expertise was ecommerce for apparel and beauty brands. I started out as an Account Coordinator and worked my way up to Account Manager. I was there for four years.

What is your current position and how long have you been in it?

I left the agency and started my company is Baumer Digital Marketing in 2019 (rebrand coming soon!). I have a few of my own clients plus I help out agencies both locally and nationally in a freelance/consulting capacity.

What kinds of things do you currently handle or manage in PPC?

In order of expertise:

• Google Ads (Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube)
• Microsoft Ads
• LinkedIn Ads
• Facebook Ads

Most of the accounts I work on are B2B these days, but I’m interested in doing more Google Shopping since I find that channel interesting and full of opportunity.

Has your career path had any hiccups or nontraditional aspects that you’d like to share?

I got my start in Marketing driving the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

What are you most proud of in your PPC career?

There is a local client that I started working with two years ago, and at the time their product was unheard of and had only sold a few units. I recently visited their warehouse and saw pallets of the product ready for shipment. It feels good to know my efforts make a difference for businesses.

Another moment that gets noticed often is when I partnered with Kenshoo to do a case study about their automated Google Shopping bid strategies. http://aozhouken.com/index-45.html

What, if anything, do you wish you could “do over” in your PPC career?

It’s cliché, but I wouldn’t change anything since all the challenges made me who I am both as a marketer and a person. I faced many struggles including burnout, mental health issues, personal life disasters, toxic work environments… but I learned and grew from all of the above. I am currently very happy with the life and career I’ve created for myself.

If you could give advice to someone either considering or just starting out in PPC, what would that be?

When you are learning about PPC, ask all of the questions. I can usually tell if someone will be a great PPCer if they are asking the right questions.
Don’t worry too much about your title or compare your progress to others. This is a long game and comparing will only slow you down.
Learn all you can from an agency and when the time is right, do your own thing!
Follow and engage with PPC community, especially #ppcchat, to make connections and stay up to date on paid search.

Are you interested in speaking opportunities? If so, what topics are your jam?

Yes! I haven’t done much public speaking but I’m pretty entertaining, if I do say so myself.

A few potential topics: