Robert Brady
was nominated for a PPC spotlight in January of 2022.
How long have you been working in PPC?
Since 2006.
How did you get started in PPC?
Took my university’s first internet marketing class. It was 3 hrs once/week and the “professor” was Paul Allen (founder of Ancestry, not Microsoft). We had a guest speaker each week for about an hour and a lecture for the remainder. Each week was a different topic like SEO, blogging, PPC, keyword research, etc. During our PPC week the professor got local companies to give us like $500 on a prepaid AMEX card and build an account for them in AdWords. We didn’t do great, but I enjoyed it.
At the end of most class sessions, most guest speakers would give their contact info, so when I needed an internship at the end of the year I emailed them all. The PPC guy offered me a gig and trained me to run his existing campaigns on Overture, AdWords, Miva, etc.
If you went to college, what did you study? If not college, do you have any other degrees or certifications?
My degree is a bachelors in business management with a marketing emphasis.
What was your first job that involved PPC?
In-house with a small software company called WriteExpress. We sold a letter-writing software that integrated with Word and had like 4000 pre-written templates for cover letters, letters of recommendation, even love letters.
What is your current position and how long have you been in it?
Founder, Righteous Marketing. Started the company in about 2009 and it housed my side-gigs until about 2016 when I went solo (again) full-time.
What kinds of things do you currently handle or manage in PPC?
A little bit of everything honestly. I like being in the accounts and doing the work. I’ve got clients on Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Facebook Ads & Amazon Ads. My clients skew toward lead gen over ecommerce, with a couple higher ed accounts.
Has your career path had any hiccups or nontraditional aspects that you’d like to share?
I don’t think much of my career has been “traditional” at all. Digital marketing has always been ahead of the curve in many ways. I enjoy the casual dress code. I’ve worked from home for over 8 years now. I’ve done in-house and agency. I founded an agency at one point.
Probably the most non-traditional thing about my career is that I’ve avoided the management track where you stop doing the work yourself and start leading a team of people doing the work.
What are you most proud of in your PPC career?
#1 would be my client longevity. I’ve got clients that I’ve been working with for 5+ years.
What, if anything, do you wish you could “do over” in your PPC career?
There are a couple clients I took on despite my intuition not to. That led to lots of frustration and in some cases even unpaid invoices. So if I had those to “do over” I would have said no.
If you could give advice to someone either considering or just starting out in PPC, what would that be?
First, you have to learn fast in this industry. When platforms make changes or new channels open up, everyone is at zero. The person who learns the fastest wins.
Second, give your best effort, but don’t sacrifice your personal life balance. It’s okay to say you’re maxed out.
Lastly, do the little things right. Every. Single. Time. Over time that will add up to amazing results.
Are you interested in speaking opportunities? If so, what topics are your jam?
Definitely interested, but I don’t actively pursue many speaking opportunities. The industry has plenty of smart white guys already speaking. The one area I would feel inclined to speak up would be on going from agency/in-house to being an independent consultant/freelancer full-time. I’ve made pretty much all the mistakes and have some good wisdom to offer.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I really love how open and sharing the PPC community is. So many people willing to answer questions, offer help, and give of their time & expertise. I wouldn’t have progressed in my career without the help of so many people in this industry.
Where can people find you to connect (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.)?
Twitter: @robert_brady
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robertallenbrady
For LinkedIn, mention you read this in your connection request. I usually ignore invites because they’re usually trying to pitch something.