PPC Live #17 brought together sharp insights on how advertisers can maximize Google Ads to drive growth, navigate rising costs, and prep for peak season.
Paul Salame shared strategies to cut wasted spend and align campaigns with real business growth, Jérémy Courty unpacked how ecom brands can crack PMax by pairing AI with human strategy, and Ayisha Yousef delivered a timely playbook for winning Q4 with smart planning, data-driven decisions, and tactical execution.
Watch the live stream of all talks / Q&A.
Driving Real Business Growth With Google Ads – Paul Salame
Paul Salame kicks things off with discusses strategies for driving real business growth using Google Ads, drawing on their experience from starting a new agency.
He focuses on identifying and eliminating wasted ad spend, understanding user search intent, and implementing data-driven strategies to optimize ad performance.
Key topics included defining real business growth, examining top-line and bottom-line performance metrics, and differentiating between branded and generic user searches.
Salame also explains incrementality in ad spending, the importance of brand bidding, and offers practical tips for product prioritization in Google Ads campaigns.
Specific tactics he explained involve using product data to guide ad strategy, optimizing for gross margin and lifetime value, and structuring ads to align with business goals.
How to crack PMax for ecom brands – Jérémy Courty
Jérémy from Genie Goals discusses challenges in digital advertising, particularly with rising CPCs (cost per click) and AI integration.
He emphasizes the need for strategic value in campaigns, pointing out that merely using AI tools like PMax isn’t enough for competitive advantage.
Key takeaways include optimizing data feeds, customizing content, and adapting to changing consumer behaviors.
He stresses experimentation and reassessment to keep up with industry changes, especially in the context of declining traffic and increasing costs.
Courty advocates for a balanced approach combining AI tools and human strategy to drive high-quality traffic and conversions.
Q4 Starts Now: PPC Tips for Peak Shopping Success – Ayisha Yousef
The script focuses on preparing e-commerce PPC professionals for the critical Q4 period, emphasizing the importance of early planning.
Key points include starting campaigns early as searches for Black Friday and Cyber Monday begin in October, leveraging extended campaign durations for higher revenue, and strictly planning budgets.
Several timelines for key dates like Fake Friday, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are discussed, with strategic insights about ad scheduling, audience targeting, and performance evaluation.
Yousef also stresses the significance of first-party data, correct conversion tracking, using metrics like CPA, ROAS, and POAS, and daily monitoring of Google Merchant Center.
Practical tips like using ChatGPT for competitor price comparisons and managing stock levels of best sellers are provided to ensure a successful Q4.
Takeaways:
- Eliminate wasted spend by focusing on user search intent and cutting campaigns that don’t deliver incremental growth.
- Optimize toward gross margin and lifetime value, not just clicks or conversions, to align ads with true business outcomes.
- AI tools like PMax aren’t a silver bullet — competitive advantage comes from optimizing data feeds, custom creatives, and adapting to consumer behavior.
- Regular experimentation and reassessment are essential to stay ahead as CPCs rise and traffic quality shifts.
- Start holiday campaigns early (think October) to capture rising Black Friday and Cyber Monday searches.
- Lean on first-party data, accurate tracking, and daily monitoring to maximize performance and avoid wasted ad spend during the busiest shopping season.
