In this insightful PPC Live The Podcast episode, host Anu Adegbola welcomes industry powerhouse Navah Hopkins, Evangelist at Optmyzr and respected digital marketing strategist. Navah courageously shares her experience of accidentally spending $50,000 in just three days (a client's entire monthly budget) due to an ill-timed switch to max conversions bidding strategy combined with a significant budget increase.
The conversation explores how Navah turned this potential disaster into a valuable learning experience by:
- Promptly identifying and addressing the issue with transparency
- Investigating invalid clicks that led to securing credits from Google
- Determining that max conversions wasn't appropriate for legal clients, but max conversion value would be
- Establishing stronger trust with the client by demonstrating accountability and expertise
- Building relationships with in-house teams who can advocate for you during challenges
The episode reveals important lessons on failing gracefully, including:
- The importance of documenting concerns when testing risky strategies
- Why you should trust your instincts and advocate for what you know is right
- How to approach mistakes with clients (be the first to bring it up with solutions)
- The value of setting bidding floors and ceilings when using automation
- Why AI should be treated as a partner rather than being delegated your strategic thinking
Navah leaves listeners with a powerful reminder to "give yourself grace" in an industry constantly disrupted by AI, privacy concerns, and economic shifts, while emphasising that failures aren't truly failures if they generate valuable learnings.
00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
04:03 Discussing Failures in PPC
04:34 The $50,000 Mistake
07:18 Turning the Situation Around
10:10 Lessons Learned and Strategic Advice
11:22 Communication and Client Relationships
16:11 Valuing Your Service
18:16 Technical Insights and Best Practices
21:01 Mindset and Recovery
23:21 Final Thoughts and Advice
26:22 AI in Digital Marketing
30:20 Conclusion and Where to Find Navah
Get the full transcript on our Podcast Site.
Follow Navah on LinkedIn, BlueSky, or Optmyzr
Book a coaching call with Anu
PPC Live The Podcast (formerly PPCChat Roundup) features weekly conversations with paid search experts sharing their experiences, challenges, and triumphs in the ever-changing digital marketing landscape.
The next PPC Live event is on June 26th in Leeds, UK
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