Thuha Wright was nominated for a PPC spotlight profile by Anu Adegbola.
How long have you been working in PPC?
I’ve been working in PPC since 2006. So I remember the days of Minerva, Yahoo! Panama and when there never used to be a warning if you accidentally changed a bid from £0.05 to £50.00 instead of £0.50.
How did you get started in PPC?
After I left uni, I went into a Marketing Exec job for a publisher. I was looking to develop and the opportunity to use my analytical skills, which was a good fit for a fast growing industry.
So I got a job in a small agency that is not so small now…It is now a global. It was a great experience. They taught me the fundamentals which I still apply to this day. I also got to dabble in Facebook Ads when they first launched. I was with Jellyfish for nearly 5 years.
If you went to college or university, what did you study? If not college, do you have any other degrees or certifications?
I studied Maths with management at Royal Holloway, University of London. I am a numbers person so I love working with data and solving problems.
What was your first job that involved PPC?
My first PPC job was as an Account Manager at an agency called Jellyfish. I worked on the house account, Which? magazine generating 1000’s of keywords around washing machines and electric toothbrush reviews amongst other household products.
I thought I could use Excel until I started working in PPC. Then I realised there was so much unlocked!
What is your current position and how long have you been in it?
I’m currently freelancing and have been since 2018. I’ve been mainly supporting Digital Marketing teams or delivering training sessions.
What kinds of things do you currently handle or manage in PPC?
I’m really passionate about bringing people who work in PPC together.
I’m very much involved with the Paid Search Association where I hold the position of Secretary. The PSA aims to build a community for Paid Search professionals.
I am also working with Anu Anegbola to build her PPC Live UK brand. She has delivered several low-cost conferences in London which is aimed at PPC professionals of all levels and the speakers are from a diverse background. We are also building a Women in PPC community on Slack. If anyone is interested in any of these communities, they should definitely get in touch!
Has your career path had any hiccups or nontraditional aspects that you’d like to share?
Yes plenty.
But the main one was, when I was working agency side I had enough of the long hours and I felt the job was getting less varied so I quit to train as a secondary Maths teacher (I love Maths!). I finished my placements and got a certificate and am now part-qualified but never pursued it as I realised that teaching wasn’t for me.
I fell back into the world of PPC because of the skills shortage and a job was sold to me as more data-driven and it was the best job I’ve ever had!
What are you most proud of in your PPC career?
The forecasting tool I built using linear regression, in Excel! It was out by 5% every week so it was pretty accurate.
What, if anything, do you wish you could “do over” in your PPC career?
I wish I was more focused on building meaningful connections with everyone. I was too embarrassed to ask if I could connect with people I admire but in hindsight I should have been brave and done it. My paid work has come from people I’ve connected with over the years. A couple of jobs even came from someone who offered me a job that I didn’t accept many many years ago but I really liked the guy and his content so I connected with him on LinkedIn. I then later reached out to him as he had set up his own agency. You just never know where your next opportunity lies.
If you could give advice to someone either considering or just starting out in PPC, what would that be?
Don’t be cocky and be a know it all. It’s not possible. Be open to learning. And also don’t let imposter syndrome get the better of you. It’s likely you know more than someone about something, you are just not aware of it. And neither are they!
Are you interested in speaking opportunities? If so, what topics are your jam?
Networking,
GA4 for marketers
Where can people find you to connect (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.)?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thuhawright/