Author: Susan Yen

  • How to Figure Out Your Starting Budget for Paid Search

    Told Through a Thanksgiving Story Every Thanksgiving, there are two types of people:The ones who show up with a color-coded plan for the menu……and the ones who say, “Let’s just wing it,” then burn the rolls, under-season the turkey, and somehow forget the mashed potatoes entirely. Paid search budgets?Same energy. When you first launch a…

  • Why Your Equipment Company May Be Wasting Thousands on Paid Search (And How to Fix It)

    If you’re running paid search campaigns for your equipment company—Kubota, Bobcat, or any other heavy machinery brand—you know it’s not as simple as throwing money at Google or Bing and hoping for leads. Yet, too many equipment companies end up spending far more than they should, often with disappointing results. Here’s the hard truth: your…

  • Stop Guessing! When to Use Target CPA in Google Ads (and When to Back Off)

    So your Google Ads campaign is flopping. Clicks are coming in, but conversions? Crickets. You’re staring at the screen, thinking, “Maybe I should just switch to Target CPA and let Google do the heavy lifting.” Slow down there, tiger. Before you flip the bidding switch, let’s get real about when Target CPA actually works—and when…

  • Stop Auto-Importing: How to Make Microsoft Ads Actually Work for You

    If you’re a PPC marketer, you’ve probably been tempted by that glorious “Import from Google Ads” button in Microsoft Ads. It’s shiny, it’s fast, and let’s be real—it’s lazy. But here’s the catch: what works in Google, Meta, or Pinterest doesn’t automatically work in Microsoft. Microsoft Ads isn’t a carbon copy of other platforms—it has…

  • How to Handle Client Issues Like a Pro: Turning Frustration Into Progress

    If you’ve managed client accounts for any length of time, you know the drill: you hop on a call and the client sounds frustrated. Maybe performance isn’t where they expected it to be. Maybe you’re recommending a new strategy, but they’re not on board. Maybe you’re asking for more budget, and they’re pushing back. These…

  • Limited by Budget” in Google Ads: A Story from Radiator Springs

    Picture this: your Google Ads campaign is basically Lightning McQueen—built for speed, ready to win, shouting “Ka-chow!” every time the conversions roll in. But then… You see it: “Limited by Budget.”That’s like Doc Hudson waving a yellow or orange flag on the track. 🟡 Yellow Flag (Recommendation) Google’s saying, “Hey champ, you might be running…

  • How to Keep Up in the Fast-Paced AI Era of PPC

    If you’re in PPC right now, it feels like the ground is shifting under your feet every other week. New tools, new AI features, new betas, and platform “recommendations” that seem to pop up faster than you can clear them. It’s exciting, but also exhausting if you try to chase everything. The reality? You don’t…

  • Own Your PPC Accounts — Because It’s Your Business

    If you’re paying for it, you should own it. This should go without saying, but here we are. If you’re a business owner or marketing manager investing in Google Ads, Whether you use Microsoft Ads, Facebook/Instagram campaigns, GA4, or Google Tag Manager, you should always own your accounts. Not just have access. Not just be…

  • “It’s Just Jeans” — Until It’s Not: The Power (and Risk) of Brand Messaging

    As marketers, we get it. At the end of the day, it’s about growth. Revenue. Reach. Brand lift. The campaign goes live, the numbers roll in, and if they’re good — we call it a win. That’s why the recent American Eagle campaign is so interesting to watch. The spot features a young woman confidently…

  • What Google Isn’t Telling You About Broad Match

    (and Why I’m Side-Eyeing It) Let’s talk about broad match—or as I like to call it, “the keyword match type you didn’t ask for but somehow ended up using because Google slipped it into your Recommendations like a sneaky little gremlin.” I’ll be real with you.I don’t like using broad match. I never have, and…