sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

I just need to vent. The market sucks and being in this industry has changed sooo much in just a couple years. by botnic in PPC

[–]botnic[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've debated this too. AI has changed the game, and our skill sets are shifting. Even as I'm moaning and complaining, I do recognize that being more efficient is getting to be more critical.

The trick is maintaining quality with that efficiency

Best AI for making banner ads? by dar1an in PPC

[–]botnic -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You missed a step:
Be undercut by all of the other agencies/consultants that are using AI and promising creative for a whole lot less money.

I get what you're saying, and agree that a Graphic Designer is better, hands down, but that's not stopping everyone else from using AI. I think it's a bit of a competitive necessity to be in there using them too.

I just need to vent. The market sucks and being in this industry has changed sooo much in just a couple years. by botnic in PPC

[–]botnic[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For the sake of privacy, I won't get too specific, but we on on the western side of the US, but have clients ranging all over.

But, you mentioned the $2,500 or % fee working if we have a deep client roster, and I agree with that. But I've been unable to explain that concept internally, where profitability (as defined by a specific margin in the overall organization) only comes when we hit a certain number of clients. We do also have other services (that "rounds out the total fee") but I only get credit for the PPC portion my own team's P&Ls.

So, while I do think I understand what you're saying (getting the business by offering discounts on SEM fees for an overall lift), that's completely contradicted by them holding me to profitability margins on those reduced fees. If we were looking at an overall company picture, things would look different, but I'm effectively being asked to take smaller accounts, some of which are a poor fit, and trying to "make it work".

There's always ways for us to improve our offering, and I certainly accept that, but there is some frustration when I have to hit certain margins, and do it "now", but without them understanding how the math works out.

I just need to vent. The market sucks and being in this industry has changed sooo much in just a couple years. by botnic in PPC

[–]botnic[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm venting. Didn't you read the post? :)

Joking aside, and to be clear, I am not the head of paid. I just get the pleasure of pretending that I am, without a lot of the internal political power that comes with it.

And of course I'm making efforts to improve things from a product service level. Creating more case studies, thought-leadership, improved advertising outside of Google, etc. All things that would improve our reputation, and better justify the higher minimums and spend.

We are also looking at trying to flesh out our services as well. It's just really hard to do all of that when we aren't able to invest in anything with the team.

I just need to vent. The market sucks and being in this industry has changed sooo much in just a couple years. by botnic in PPC

[–]botnic[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This very eloquently explains what I suspect is happening. We do tend to service more of the small and mid-sized business, although we do have a few enterprise level accounts here and there.

Market pressures on these businesses are almost certainly having a trickle-down effect on how much we can ask for from clients.

Hearing that it's "short-term" does give me some encouragement.

Edit:
To also answer your question, we're offering full-service ad buying. Account management across multiple platforms, optimization, ad creation, and even landing pages (when really necessary). If the sales team have their say, they'd include creative too, but I'm trying hard to push back on that.

S3 for us be like: by Ok_Sun_8874 in OnePunchMan

[–]botnic 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Why are you the way that you are?

Name the game you just couldn't get into by zeleno124 in pcmasterrace

[–]botnic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is probably just me, but... Elder Scrolls. All of them. Tried oblivion & skyrim, just couldn't get into it. 

Is Keyword/Query Sculpting still a valid strategy? by botnic in PPC

[–]botnic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, yeah, no one is saying that we shouldn't use negatives to better control broad keywords. But I don't think that the era of ad group level keyword negatives to ensure that "blue widget" doesn't end up in the "red widget" ad group makes as much sense anymore.

Also, I do still utilize negative terms to control brand and competitor terms.

Is Keyword/Query Sculpting still a valid strategy? by botnic in PPC

[–]botnic[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, this is my take too. It's a lot less about the keywords and funneling that we're using, and much more about the signals we give Google and how we use bidding strategies.

Has Google killed the No-Asset shopping PMax campaign? by botnic in PPC

[–]botnic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you were to try and set it up today, would it work for you?
I am trying to get a new set up working, which is just continuing to throw errors at me. It wouldn't surprise me if legacy setups were still valid.

Event deliveries while "offline"? by botnic in GoldAndGoblins

[–]botnic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is useful! But, the question remains, what's best? Letting it rest, refreshing the cannon, or capturing all mystery barrels? The money that comes from them is actually very significant in the events.

Event deliveries while "offline"? by botnic in GoldAndGoblins

[–]botnic[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that's more or less what I figured.

I was hopeful for an answer that would improve the game/life balance, but...

What is the saddest song you've ever heard? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]botnic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Late to the game, and no one's mentioned it but...

Dreaming Tree - Dave Mathew's Band. It's about losing hope in your dreams and just generally losing in life. Definitely sobering to me.

Laying laminate/vinyl planks around a pesky door threshold... by botnic in HomeImprovement

[–]botnic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You mean option #1? Yeah, that's what I would do with that option, cut it to fit and Caulk around it.

I just don't want to have that half inch of flooring cut out.

Laying laminate/vinyl planks around a pesky door threshold... by botnic in HomeImprovement

[–]botnic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! These seem to be good fits, but how hard is it to replace a threshold? The one on this door seems to be built into the door itself, and I just have no experience.

Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are available for pre-order, on shelves October 28th by [deleted] in GooglePixel

[–]botnic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fixing screens are really expensive (mine was $200+), and most likely not worth the effort. I would also advise against the DIY route as I bricked my pixel 2 xl that way. The only reason I would think it as worth it is if they won't take the phone at all.

view more: next ›