The PPC Mastery Podcast

Join The PPC Hub and get PPC OS: https://www.ppcmastery.com/hubLouis Bogdan is 21. He was going to study computer science and become a developer, but fell in love with Google Ads instead.Six months ago he had barely any clients. Today he and his co-founder Niku run Affirmed with more than 40 e-commerce clients, and their third team member is an AI agent called Alfie — which has its own Gmail, its own identity, and a spot on the team page of their website.I sat down with Louis to go through how he built it, what his day actually looks like, what he still does by hand, and where AI let him down before he fixed it.He also has the sharpest take on "AI first" I've heard: on its own, it means nothing. It's always AI-first something. You have to be the expert first, because AI can only be as good as you are.What we get into:✅ Why "AI first" is meaningless without an expertise attached to it✅ The autopilot analogy: why the plane still needs a pilot with hours in the seat✅ The diagnostic algorithm he built that checks every client account, every day, and tells him what's wrong✅ 60% of his day automated today, 80% once the last skills land — and why all of that time goes into client acquisition✅ Giving an agent read and write access, its own service account, and its own email✅ Why he lowered his prices instead of raising them, and how the retainer works now✅ The honest answer to "will AI improve my client results?" (it's not what most people want to hear)✅ Where AI actually broke for him, and the one thing that fixed it✅ Why he deleted LinkedIn off his phone✅ His full client acquisition method, start to finishTimestamps:00:00 Intro: who Louis is and what he's built01:55 From wanting to be a developer to falling into Google Ads03:25 50+ courses, and what finally made it click04:35 The post in The PPC Hub that found him a co-founder05:40 What he was looking for in a partner07:55 "AI first" on its own means nothing — AI first what?09:00 Why you don't need to become an AI expert10:45 The autopilot analogy: the plane still needs a pilot11:35 How agents reshaped the work12:35 The diagnostic algorithm that runs across every account daily13:35 A full day a month on reports nobody read14:40 60% of his day saved, and where that time goes16:10 What he still does vs what the agents do17:10 An average day, start to finish21:00 Does he still open the Google Ads interface?22:05 Read and write access, and giving the agent a service account23:05 Meet Alfie, the agent that's on the team page23:45 Which client communication is automated, and which isn't25:10 Q from the chat: does the system improve client performance?28:15 Pricing: £1,000 a month, no contracts, and why they went lower31:00 CRO and landing pages: what they consult on instead of sell33:00 Do you need to be technical? He is, and says you don't35:50 Where AI went wrong for him, and what fixed it38:45 Why a chat window isn't enough for this work40:45 His advice if you're where he was 6–12 months ago43:50 Where to find Louis45:55 His client acquisition method, leaked49:00 WrapFind Louis on LinkedIn, or in The PPC Hub — he's in there daily, and he still helps people with conversion tracking for free.Affirmed: https://affirmed.coLouis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/imlouisbogdan/The PPC Hub: https://www.ppcmastery.com/hub

Join The PPC Hub: https://www.ppcmastery.com/hubSeth Gorton runs Searchly out of Cape Town. His pitch to clients is that they take full responsibility from click to conversion — so Google Ads, but also the landing page, the website, the CRM, and everything that happens after the click.At Searchly, Seth uses AI agents to do 6x more with the same resources, scaling back from 6 to 3 team members.I sat down with Seth to get into:✅ How he grew his agency by adding CRO and AI systems✅ Why he cut juniors and now only hires senior specialists✅ What the "yes-man effect" is and why it worried him.✅ How his team rebuilt a client's entire website in a weekend and lifted conversion rate 40%We also went deep on the CRO side, which is where most Google Ads Specialists say they see the value but don't know where to start.Seth headed up a CRO department before founding Searchly, so he walked through his actual process — and it's simpler than most people expect.Timestamps:00:00 Intro: Seth Gorton and Searchly00:50 Full responsibility from click to conversion02:25 Building the agency on the Google Ads Success Formula from day one03:35 What they actually offer: search, Bing, SEO, CRO03:55 Why they launched Searchly Web04:35 Where to start with CRO if you've never done it05:20 Find the drop-off, then find out why06:40 The grandmother test07:00 How CRO and Google Ads feed each other07:50 Quality score, landing pages, and the metric on top of the dashboard08:55 Bringing AI into the CRO process10:05 Claude's Microsoft Clarity connector10:45 Why Alfred told him to stop building separate systems12:05 A day in the workflow: barely opening the Google Ads interface13:20 Connectors, and changing the Shopify site in real time14:45 "Anything I want to build, I can build in seconds"15:30 Should he grow the agency or not?16:15 Six people down to three, and the yes-man effect17:40 Why he's fearful for juniors right now18:45 His advice: don't use agents until you know the fundamentals19:30 Why senior-only makes sense for a small agency20:40 Agents replaced 90% of the work juniors used to do21:30 The fractional CMO move22:05 Charging when the execution is commoditized22:55 Pricing: no change, just more efficient23:05 A website rebuilt in a weekend, and 40% more conversions23:45 What makes a good landing page24:15 Custom CRMs for lead gen clients25:00 Where AI is not perfect25:45 The campaign that never went live26:35 Advice if you want to add CRO to your offer28:45 No wireframes, straight to draft29:45 Chrome DevTools, self-correcting AI, and version 37 in 30 minutes30:20 The bubble we're all in31:10 AI watermarks, and what they'll actually change35:00 The client who said "don't use AI"35:35 The ClickFunnels lesson37:15 WrapSeth is on LinkedIn and in The PPC Hub, and he offered to grade your landing pages if you send them over.Seth on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seth-gorton/Searchly: https://searchly.co.za/The PPC Hub: https://www.ppcmastery.com/hub

Join The AI Agent Challenge: launch agents for Google Ads in 5 days: https://www.ppcmastery.com/ai Cindy Ebner runs the PPC department at a German search marketing agency working with finance and insurance clients. Three people, a lot of accounts, and no plan to hire — because AI agents took over most of the execution.I sat down with her to go through the whole journey. She started in SEO on the content side, taught herself Google Ads on the job, and had never touched a terminal before last November. Now her team builds campaigns in minutes, runs audits with agents, and every specialist owns their own clients end to end.We covered how she got there, what her week actually looks like now, what her team does differently, and the mistakes that cost her when she trusted the output too quickly.What we get into:✅ The one week her founder gave the whole team to do nothing but play with ChatGPT, and the prompt book that came out of it✅ How campaign build time went from 8 hours to 6, to 3–4, to minutes✅ The setup wall: "what is a terminal, and why can't I just use the app?"✅ Turning SOPs you already have into skills your agents can run✅ Her Monday planning skill: inbox plus Trello in, a finished team board out, 20 minutes later✅ Why she blocks one hour a week just to develop her setup✅ How the strategist/executor split disappeared, and what it did for her team's confidence in client calls✅ The services they can offer now that they couldn't before: tracking, CRO, landing pages, offers, and AI Overview visibility✅ What went wrong when she sent an agent's output to a client without checking it✅ How careful to be with write access to a live account✅ Her advice if you're curious about agents but not convinced yetTimestamps:00:00 Intro: who Cindy is and why she's on00:50 From SEO content to running the PPC department02:10 Three people on PPC, and why they didn't have to hire03:10 The week her founder told the team to stop working and play with ChatGPT05:20 Prompt books, SOPs, and presenting the process at OMR07:10 Building their own campaign setup tool with Make and n8n08:50 8 hours, then 6, then 3–4, then minutes09:30 The Mike Rhodes video that made her buy the course on the spot10:30 "What is a terminal?" — getting through the setup11:30 Turning existing SOPs into skills12:50 Building skills from The PPC Hub knowledge base13:20 Friends of Search, and the full circle moment with Bob15:00 What she'd say to anyone who thinks they're not technical enough16:20 Why it never stops: new capabilities every week17:40 A sneak peek at her PPC Summit talk18:05 The Monday planning skill: email, Trello, and a finished board20:00 Morning and evening check-ins with her setup20:15 Block one hour a week to develop your own OS21:10 The skills they use daily, and why the tracking specialist changed client conversations21:50 The sanity check: nothing slips through anymore23:10 The strategist vs executor split is gone26:35 How the team took it, and how Jenny went from avoiding calls to leading them28:55 Why the person doing the work should be the person on the call29:25 New services they can sell now: tracking, CRO, landing pages, offers, GEO32:40 The struggles: over-trusting the output, and the CTA that was actually there34:20 Write access to a live account, and starting soft with negative keywords35:30 Why long sessions produce more mistakes, and why dry runs matter36:40 Advice if you're curious about agents but skeptical38:50 Where to find CindyCindy is speaking at The PPC Summit in Lisbon next month, where she's showing a full week inside an AI-first agency. She's also happy to be a sparring partner if you're getting started — find her on LinkedIn.Follow Cindy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindy-ebner-479327153/The PPC Summit, Lisbon: https://www.theppcsummit.comThe PPC Hub: https://www.ppcmastery.com/hub

Download the list of questions here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rVoTjdGKq2QwxQJ7729az5u7FS-lpTQM/view?usp=sharing

Gain total clarity on what it takes to drive results with Google Ads in 2025 & beyond. Join The PPC Hub: https://www.ppcmastery.com/hubIn this episode, I dive into Google Ads news & trends for 2025 with Adriaan Dekker and Thomas Eccel.- Follow Adriaan Dekker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriaan-dekker-google-ads-freelancer-rotterdam/- Follow Thomas Eccel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaseccel/

In this episode, Ruben Runneboom shares how to prepare your Google Ads campaigns for Black Friday (and get your clients on board).Ruben is the co-founder of Taskforce Agency and one of the smartest minds in PPC. He regularly shares advanced tips and tricks on LinkedIn, so be sure to follow him: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rubenrunneboom-ecommerce-specialist/Extra resources provided by Ruben:Briefing doc for  clients: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1x6zcDpYuTzdYEqSAfHxjMgRN5lhVgcpCLyn01qLi2j0/copy Q4 Strategy Framework: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HMaygtIdK3v6uj4JdFARRycC9DRRzGUp1U28q2hM3Ac/copy 

In this episode, Mike Rhodes shares how to leverage AI with Google Ads. This episode is full of gems, enjoy!About Mike Rhodes:Mike is a Dad, Husband, public speaker, and serial entrepreneur who built and sold his agency, co-wrote world's best-selling Google Ads book, and is now building epic products for the PPC community.- Follow Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikerhodesideas/ - Get Mike's pMax script: https://pmaxscript.com/ 

In this episode, Frederik Boysen explains why it's so important to track and optimize for profit, not just revenue. This episode is full of gems, enjoy!About Frederik Boysen:Frederik Boysen is the founder of ProfitMetrics, a tool that specializes in tracking (gross) profit for ecom brands.- Follow Frederik on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederik-boysen-607ab444/ - Get a free trial of ProfitMetrics: https://profitmetrics.io/ 

In this episode, Thomas Eccel shares best practices to drive results with Demand Gen campaigns (Google Ads). This episode is full of gems, enjoy!About Thomas Eccel:Thomas is a high-level Google Ads Specialist who quickly mastered Demand Gen after it was launched. They even call him “The Demand Gen Whisperer”.Follow Thomas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaseccel/

In this episode, Bob returns to talk about how drive results with Google Shopping. This episode is full of gems, enjoy!About Bob Meijer:Bob is the

In this episode, Geert Groot takes you through a practical approach on how to scale Google Ads with small budgets. This episode is full of gems, enjoy!About Geert Groot:Geert is a freelance Google Ads Specialist who manages 100+ accounts at once. He specializes in local businesses and is a master at driving results with small budgets. He's also an active member of The PPC Hub and frequently helps members drive results with small budgets.Follow Geert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geertgroot/ 

In this episode, Niklas Buschner shares an epic case study of how he grew a client from €28K/mo to more than €550K/mo in ad spend. This episode is full of gems, enjoy!About Niklas Buschner:Niklas is the founder of Radyant, a digital agency from Berlin. He's a member of The PPC Hub and frequently shares his insights to help the members in our community. Follow Niklas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niklas-buschner/ 

In this episode, Adriaan Dekker takes you through the latest PPC news and trends, and shares a few golden nuggets on how to leverage LinkedIn to build your personal brands and get (freelance) clients. This episode is full of gems, enjoy!About Adriaan Dekker:Adriaan is my primary source of news updates and is officially the fastest-growing person in the PPC industry.- Follow Adriaan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriaan-dekker-google-ads-freelancer-rotterdam/- Subscribe to his PPC newsletter: https://adriaan-dekker.plugandpay.nl/checkout/google-ads-paid-newsletter

In this episode, Bob shares the “Modern-Day Search” framework to drive results with Search campaigns.Search has changed a lot over the years and what worked in the past is no longer a guarantee for success.Find out how to properly set up your Search campaigns. This episode is full of gems, enjoy!About Bob Meijer:Bob is the

In this episode, John Moran shares why you can't trust Google Ads data, and how to scale your campaigns instead. This episode is full of gems, enjoy!About John Moran:John is one of the smartest minds in the PPC industry. He is the Co-Founder of Solutions8 and Chief Strategist at Tier11.Follow John Moran on LinkedIn.

Miles sat down with PPC legend Kirk Williams to discuss how to build a business you actually like. Kirk shares some incredible insights that go against the "hustle" culture that gained popularity in recent years.In 50 minutes, he'll completely help you redefine what success means to you, ensuring you build a business around your life and not the other way around.Watch Kirk's recent TedX talk ("Stop the Scale: Redefining Business Success").Follow Kirk here:- Follow Kirk on LinkedIn- Follow Kirk on X- Read his blog at ZATO Marketing- Grab his book "Stop the Scale, Building a Digital Agency You Actually Like"Subscribe to The PPC EdgeGet advanced Google Ads tips in your mailbox every Monday: https://www.ppcmastery.com/blogSubscribe to The PPC Mastery Podcast

Let's face it: working in PPC is stressful. In this episode, we discuss how we deal with stress in PPC and give our tips to prevent burnout at all cost. Thanks to Thomas Eccel for submitting his question!

Miles answers a question from Thomas Eccel: “What are the benefits of the increasing PPC community power on Linkedin and Discord? How can we learn from each other, and how do you leverage the powerful community knowledge/news/strategies for your clients?”

In this episode, Bob discusses how to create high-converting landing pages for Lead Gen & SaaS clients, incorporating the DREAM framework.

In this episode, we discuss how to prioritize your Google Ads tasks. Think about regular optimizations, one-off improvements, and experiments. 

Recently, Google announced 12 new pMax updates. In this episode, Miles will run you through all of them!

In this episode, we dive into how you can craft irresistible offers with our DREAM framework - Land your dream clients by focusing on their dream outcomes.

In this episode, we dive into how our free Google Ads Discord community came about. 

Miles answers a question from Thomas Eccel: “Why do you only work with Ecom accounts and not Lead Gen? And what's your favorite ecom target metric to optimize towards?”

In this episode, we zoom in on Google Ads' newest campaign type: Demand Gen and the current best practices.

In this episode, we zoom in on Google Ads' newest campaign type: Demand Gen. What is it, how does it work, and for whom is it for? Let's find out!

Miles answers a question from Bernt Muurling: “What do you want to achieve? What goal are you working towards?”Got a question? Submit here and we might answer it in a future episode: https://www.ppcmastery.com/podcast

Miles explains how he intentionally plans out his day for maximum results for his clients and PPC Mastery and why his morning routine is so important. Own the morning, own the day.

In this episode, we discuss how to retain your clients in the best ways possible, including a lot of personal examples and 'best-practices'. 

In this episode, we give you some high-impact first-party data segment ideas for Lead Gen, SaaS, and Ecommerce that can be used for your audience signals.

Welcome to E3 of The PPC Mastery Podcast! In this episode, we zoom in on how Miles and I got our first clients and how we grew our freelance business.

Welcome to the first episode of The PPC Mastery Podcast! In this short episode we'd like to explain what you can expect from us in the near future. Let's roll!

Welcome to the second episode of The PPC Mastery Podcast! In this podcast we'll touch on how it all started, how we became Google Ads specialists, how and when we started freelancing, how we met and how PPC Mastery was born. Let's dive in!