Bruno Giosa was nominated for a PPC Spotlight Profile in July 2023.
How long have you been working in PPC?
I’ve been working with PPC since 2011- it’s been a long 12 years journey so far.
How did you get started in PPC?
When I was 25 years old I decided to start a supplement e-commerce here in Brazil. I’ve always loved to workout and knew the market pretty well so I saved some money, built a website, bought the products, and in order to get people to buy my super fancy supplement, I had to learn how to do Google AdWords (yep, back then it was Adwords still). This is where my journey with PPC first started.
If you went to college or university, what did you study? If not college, do you have any other degrees or certifications?
I have a bachelor’s degree in advertising and a master’s in marketing. In college, I was always drawn by the numbers side of advertising, so when I finished my bachelor’s degree, my first job was offline media buying at a toy company called PBKids. It was pretty fun to be honest.
I do have all the Google Ads certifications.
What was your first job that involved PPC?
My first job was at my solopreneur supplement company called bfit.com.br. This is where I had my first contact with Google Ads. When I decided to call it quits, I was hired by a local PPC agency that was super small at the time called Jussi. This agency provided me with in-depth PPC training and this is where my career really took off. The owner at Jussi at the time (Henrique Russowsky / https://www.linkedin.com/in/hrussowsky/) was an ex-Googler with a super business-oriented mind who taught me so much about PPC and how to work with clients.
At Jussi, I was responsible for a book of clients, most of whom were starting in the Brazilian e-commerce market. I fell in love with this area right away. After working at the toy company and at my supplement e-commerce I learned that I love to sell stuff. And, the best part about doing it online it’s that you can measure every path of the way, I got hooked.
What is your current position and how long have you been in it?
Today I work at my mini-PPC for e-commerce agency called Bidworks. The agency is 7 years old right now and it all started with me freelancing for a bunch of years and then hiring my first employee. I’ve always wanted to keep it small and personal so I could choose better the clients I would work with and, at the same time, provide a high level of service.
What kinds of things do you currently handle or manage in PPC?
At Bidworks I handle pretty much all sides of PPC. We manage Google and Facebook Ads (sometimes some Pinterest too) for a book of e-commerce clients here in Brazil. I am responsible not only for building their campaigns but also to design a macro business strategy with short and long-term goals that align with the paid media KPIs.
With this planning in mind, I feel like the partnership is way healthier since we all know where we want to go and what are the acceptable KPIs in order to get there. For smaller DTC brands this can be very helpful so they can understand better the ways of paid media and what are the KPIs that can change the game.
Even though the strategy side of things is cool, I love spending a good afternoon optimizing a Google merchant feed in order to make the best Google shopping campaign ever. Just give me an espresso shot and I am good to go!
Has your career path had any hiccups or nontraditional aspects that youโd like to share?
Since starting with PPC, I’ve never doubted that this was something I loved and enjoyed doing and wanted to do for a long time. It’s so dynamic and full of possibilities that I felt at home.
The only place that I did not feel comfortable during my PPC career was at Acquisio, selling their PPC software. I discovered pretty fast that selling software was not the same as helping clients be successful at PPC platforms and, even though I loved moving to Montreal and experiencing life abroad, that was a short stint.
What are you most proud of in your PPC career?
Definitely Bidworks. Being able to work on my own and choosing the path forward had been a great feeling. Plus growing the agency to the point we are today with great clients that we are proud to represent and help them succeed has been great.
I’ve also had some pretty cool moments along the way like winning a Google award and earning a visit to Mountain View and also having a blog post published in the PPC Hero blog back in the day.
At last, I think the people and connections I made along the way are something that I will always be proud of. Great bosses that I had when I was starting my career, the PPC community is great, people like Kirk Williams (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ppckirk/) and Jessie Healy https://www.linkedin.com/in/ecommercecoach/) who were always there to bounce ideas around and of course, the great clients that we develop, create relationships, and learn so much from.
What, if anything, do you wish you could โdo overโ in your PPC career?
When I was living in Montreal I had the chance to work at Bloom (www.makeitbloom.com). For reasons bigger than myself I had to leave it before even getting started. If I could go back I would want to enjoy this opportunity in full deep mode. They had a great team with so many learning opportunities.
If you could give advice to someone either considering or just starting out in PPC, what would that be?
There is much good content from great PPC pros online. Dig deep, read as much as you can, watch as many YouTube videos as you can and if possible follow some of the best on Twitter to stay updated with all the news in the industry. Then, start small, get a few smaller accounts in order to apply what you learned, and test different ideas. You will learn so much faster doing the job in real life, it’s crazy.
If you have someone to learn from right next to you, use it to your advantage. The more time someone has in this industry the more tools they will have under their belt. That means more ways to fix a problem. Learn from those people. That’s why I believe starting your career working for an agency can be very good. You will be exposed to a whole lot of different problems and learn faster.
Are you interested in speaking opportunities? If so, what topics are your jam?
Yeah sure, why not!
I love everything Google Ads, if it’s related to Google Shopping even better ๐
Where can people find you to connect (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.)?ย
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brunogiosa/
Web Site: http://www.bidworks.com.br/
Twitter – @brunogiosa