Santosh K was nominated for a PPC Spotlight profile by Nick Miller in September 2022.
How long have you been working in PPC?
12 years.
How did you get started in PPC?
I started as an SEO and then transitioned into Adwords PPC Advertising, learning my way through it, in an effort to capitalize on both short-term (PPC) and long-term (SEO) direct response marketing efforts.
If you went to college or university, what did you study? If not college, do you have any other degrees or certifications?
I majored in Accounting and Finance and did a post-graduate diploma in marketing and advertising. Besides that, I have done certifications in Google Ads throughout these 12 years of my PPC Advertising career.
What was your first job that involved PPC?
My first job was as Digital Marketing Manager for Dream11.com where I managed PPC campaigns to acquire users for the online fantasy cricket game Dream11 which is now a unicorn.
What is your current position and how long have you been in it?
My current position is Media Buyer for the Google Ads platform at Tier11 and I have recently joined here, after a year and a half at Solutions 8 where I lead the team of Google Ads Specialists.
What kinds of things do you currently handle or manage in PPC?
I manage Google Ads campaigns end-to-end for both ecommerce sales and lead generation.
Has your career path had any hiccups or nontraditional aspects that you’d like to share?
I am a media buyer at heart so my recent move from a leadership role at Solutions 8 where I was leading a team of 25 Google Ads specialists, copywriters, and data analysts to now at Tier11 as a media buyer can qualify as a nontraditional move. Still, I love my job as a media buyer and I chose to do what I love.
What are you most proud of in your PPC career?
I am most proud of building a team of world-class Google Ads specialists and strategists at Solutions 8, hiring most of them as a trainee and then mentoring them to level up to a strategist role (team lead) has been the most fulfilling role so far in my career.
What, if anything, do you wish you could “do over” in your PPC career?
I wish I could lead the Google Ads Support Center and transform its processes to make it a team of rockstar Google Ads specialists who not only know how to persuade advertisers to enable auto-apply recommendations but be of real help to them in achieving their business goals through Google Ads.
If you could give advice to someone either considering or just starting out in PPC, what would that be?
My advice would be to work in a competent PPC agency for at least a year, push yourself to the limit, and get your hands on everything in PPC advertising (media planning, buying, reporting, CRO etc.) so you learn how money is spent efficiently and wisely in PPC advertising and how results are delivered, for different kinds of businesses.
Are you interested in speaking opportunities? If so, what topics are your jam?
Yes indeed, and I would love to speak anything about Google Ads advertising.
Where can people find you to connect (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.)?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmsantosh/
Twitter: @PPCNinjaWarrior