Online marketing can be a complex world, especially when data is becoming so detailed and accessible, it can be challenging to know the best way to optimize or recommend future plans.

The ability to make strategic recommendations for PPC, implement with appropriate messaging/settings, navigate Google and Bing’s world, then report with thoughtful analysis—well let just say this is not a natural skill.

What does it take for an individual or a team to be PPC masters and get results in a constantly evolving industry? Not all-inclusive, here are a few thoughts:

Advertising Knowledge

Officially the life of “Mad Men” is over in its past state, but a few things ad men and women did, and did well, was know how to position a product, make a product look sexy, and drive demand for more. Creativity and ability to apply the basic advertising fundamentals is essential to crafting the most effective search engine marketing and display strategies.

Data Driven Analysis

Data is king regardless of the capacity of involvement in online marketing. A day will not go by that results will be questioned and opportunities for growth pursued. Understanding the data as defined, cause and effect of data points, and how the data represents success is key. Study how each metric is defined. Everything you learned in economics class is applied to PPC and online advertising. You shouldn’t have skipped class.

Client Management

Agencies are not the only ones with clients. As an in-house PPC manager, you also have internal clients for which relationships and communications will be essential. Responsibilities will include assessing the clients’ needs and goals, determining best media plan to reach goals, then communicating the process and results back to clients. Sometimes there will be hand-holding. Sometimes you will be a counselor and friend. Sometimes you will get beat up in the conference room over ROI. It’s all part of understanding client needs and meeting them with impeccable service and an answer for everything.

Technical

Tracking code, retargeting code, Tag Manager, website development code, servers, software—you name it, are all little pieces in the PPC pie. Having the ability to define and communicate requirements to advertisers at all levels of the organization is important. Every company’s set-up is different, so trouble–shooting these technical components is an essential skill needed to keep things running smoothly.

Intuition

According to my Google search results, intuition is: the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. This means, going beyond formal technical and analytical skills to follow a gut feeling on the current situation and recommend next steps. When the answer is not obvious and there are several options presented, intuition will be necessary to blaze a path to successful marketing.

The essential skills to PPC will vary by the advertiser and individual case. For example, ecommerce accounts will require another layer of special skills and insights. If you have a point of view you want to share or add to from this list, tell us in the comments or tweet @lisarockssem or @thesempost  if you think this is possible.