Sarah Vlietstra was nominated for a spotlight profile in July of 2023.
How long have you been working in PPC?
I accidentally arrived in the PPC space in 2014.
How did you get started in PPC?
I was working for a large third party service provider for a year when that contract ended. The company I worked for also had a contract with Google and I started working in their Ads (was AdWords at the time) support center corresponding with marketing agencies.
If you went to college or university, what did you study? If not college, do you have any other degrees or certifications?
I graduated in 2004 from a small bible college in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I also received my cosmetology licensure from the state of Arizona in 2010.
What was your first job that involved PPC?
My first job was working as a contracted Google support representative. I was on the phone with multiple agencies a day providing account recommendations and assisting with sales opportunities for those agencies. However, now that I’m on the other side of things, I slightly cringe thinking of my past role, but it did provide me with a good perspective of how Google runs things.
What is your current position and how long have you been in it?
I am currently an account strategist at ZATO. I’ve been working with ZATO since 2020 and was familiar with Kirk through my previous job.
What kinds of things do you currently handle or manage in PPC?
My current job entails of account optimization, GMC & feed troubleshooting, client communications and reporting as well as working with the sales team on initial calls.
Has your career path had any hiccups or nontraditional aspects that you’d like to share?
I’d like to say I’ve tried out several occupations so far. When I first graduated high school, I would have never imagined I would end up in a career like this. Of course, the internet had only been invented a few years prior to that. However, this has been the field I’ve been in the longest out of everything that I’ve tried. I enjoy that the tactics are always changing and there is always more to learn.
What are you most proud of in your PPC career?
I’m very proud of the company I work for. I count myself fortunate to work with a group of wonderful individuals who have the most amazing integrity.
What, if anything, do you wish you could “do over” in your PPC career?
I can’t think of anything that I’d want to do over, as everything that I’ve done up to this point had led me to where I am now.
If you could give advice to someone either considering or just starting out in PPC, what would that be?
Learn as much as you can and never stop learning. Also, don’t get stuck in the way you do things, because if you want to be successful, those strategies will need to change at some point.
Are you interested in speaking opportunities? If so, what topics are your jam?
I’m not sure? I do have some prior speaking experience, but I find it hard to come up with topics that have not already been spoken of extensively by someone else.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I can’t think of anything else.
Where can people find you to connect (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.)?
I’m not very active on social media, but you can reach me on LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-vlietstra-63a698a0 or by emailing me at sarah@zatomarketing.com