SEA / PPC specialist
Runs paid ads on search engines: you only pay when someone clicks.
You'll like it if you enjoy numbers and want to see results quickly.
What it is
SEA (Search Engine Advertising) is advertising on search engines: the ads above or below the results marked "Sponsored". It's also called PPC (pay per click) because you only pay when someone clicks. The specialist decides which searches to appear on, how much to spend and when to stop.
Works with
- SEO specialist (shared searches)
- Designers and copywriters (ads)
- Marketing analytics (sales tracking)
- Head of marketing (budget)
What they actually do
Keyword selection
Chooses the searches the ads should appear on and excludes the ones that bring useless clicks (negative keywords).
Campaign structure
Splits the budget into campaigns and ad groups, by product or by goal.
Ad copy
Writes short headlines and descriptions, tests several versions and keeps the ones that work.
Budget management
Decides the daily spend and how much to bid for a click, moving money to where it performs best.
Landing pages
Checks that the page after the click keeps the ad's promise.
Results analysis
Works out what each customer costs and how much comes back for every euro spent.
How the work is measured
The indicators (KPIs) they look at most often. The charts are just drawings, not real data.
- CPC
- The average cost of a click.
- CTR
- The share of people who click after seeing the ad.
- CPA
- The average cost of getting an order or a lead.
- ROAS
- How many euros of sales come back for every euro of advertising.
How to get started
Many people start at an agency, running small budgets under a senior's guidance. The free certifications offered by ad platforms help you learn the vocabulary.
1. Skills you need
- Doing the maths in spreadsheets
- Writing short, convincing lines
- Making decisions with numbers
- Precision: a mistake costs real money
- Curiosity for A/B tests
2. Free tools to practise
- Google Keyword Planner
- Google Ads Transparency Center
- Google Sheets
Tools by other companies, free or with a free plan: we mention them only as examples.
3. In job ads it's called
- Junior PPC specialist
- Paid search assistant
- Junior performance marketer
4. Later you can specialise in
- Performance marketing
- Paid social
Try it
Exercise 1 · Ads for the iced teas
Luca from Five Leaf writes to you: "Ads for the iced teas"
4 parts, nothing to type: just choices, with a professional's solution at the end.
What you learn
- negative keywords
- relevant ads
- CPC, CPA and ROAS
- deciding with data
The basics, before you try
Short lessons in the app, with a quick check question at the end.
Study the theory →