{"id":14865,"date":"2016-01-19T12:00:10","date_gmt":"2016-01-19T20:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iteratemarketing.com\/?p=14865"},"modified":"2020-06-24T07:17:50","modified_gmt":"2020-06-24T14:17:50","slug":"my-first-three-months-in-search-engine-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iteratemarketing.com\/blog\/my-first-three-months-in-search-engine-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"My First Three Months In Search Engine Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Beginner’s Look At Pay-Per-Click Advertising<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A career change can be a daunting prospect. Leaving the comfortable bubble of professional safety to try something entirely different would make most people shudder. Well, that\u2019s what I did about three months ago. I graduated in 2011 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in marketing, but spent four and a half years in retail management while the marketing world continued to change and evolve beyond what I\u2019d learned in the classroom.<\/p>\n

I started at my Iterate Marketing at the beginning of October – I had \u00a0no real world experience and minimal academic experience, but I was excited \u00a0to learn and build my career. The position was\u00a0for search engine marketing, focusing on pay-per-click. At the time, I could tell you what AdWords was or analyze data from it, but I couldn\u2019t have built or managed an account if my life depended on it. Thankfully the company I work for values “will” over “skill.”\u00a0They were willing to invest in me and train me on all aspects of PPC marketing.<\/p>\n

It was a lot like being back in school to start. I had weekly readings, daily assignments, and extra projects to work on. These projects\u00a0were time-consuming\u00a0‘grunt work’\u00a0passed down by\u00a0my experienced co-workers. The biggest change\u00a0was the environment<\/strong>. Going from a \u00a0scheduled job where you clock in and out to a place where the bottom line is getting your projects done on time was a big, but very welcome, change.<\/p>\n

Being\u00a0responsible for my time and my assignments encouraged a strong sense of accountability from the start. They were willing to take a chance on me and I couldn\u2019t let them – or myself – down. Like anything new, I did my best to throw myself into it, I read every resource as quickly and thoroughly as I could. My leader provided daily lectures and examples to teach me all the functions of what I would need to know.\u00a0There was always someone around to help or answer questions if I got stuck, and that .<\/p>\n

The strange thing was, I was legitimately enjoying the grunt work. Getting scraps of projects from the more experienced strategists, even if it was something repetitive or time consuming, was fun for me. The only way to get better is practice and I was taking all the practice I could. Plus, when you\u2019re getting to know a new team, it never hurts to take on as much as you can and help whoever you can, while still hitting deadlines.<\/p>\n

\n

“The only way to get better is practice and I was taking all the practice I could.”<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Even while doing all\u00a0this work and training, I was still struck by the relaxed attitude of the office. Any time we\u2019d get burned out on a project or assignment, we\u2019d play ping pong or video games to blow off steam. Again, this sort of situation in the past would have been beyond unrealistic.<\/p>\n

It seemed like everything went to mach speed after barely a month.\u00a0It’s\u00a0like when you realize you\u2019re only 3 weeks into the semester when the midterms suddenly loom ahead.\u00a0\u00a0I was picking everything up at a pretty good pace. I had passed my Adwords and Bing Ads certifications and suddenly I had actual clients to work with. Of course, I wasn\u2019t doing anything drastic to begin –\u00a0but everything became very\u00a0real.\u00a0I was\u00a0handling accounts, funds, and, in essence, livelihoods for clients. There were – and still are – plenty of\u00a0times when I have to reach out to my teammates or my leader for help\u00a0with what I could focus on or how I might be able to improve something.<\/p>\n

\n

“Like anything important, I\u2019ve started \u00a0with small\u00a0changes and grown bolder.”<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As we went through the holidays, my responsibilities grew. My role increased and my clients got bigger. I began working on\u00a0accounts that were more vital to the success of the company and I needed to ensure their ongoing success. Like anything important, I\u2019ve started \u00a0with small\u00a0changes and grown bolder. It\u2019s a little more nerve-wracking, but it\u2019s fun!<\/p>\n

This week, I onboarded my first client and\u00a0I\u2019m doing it all\u00a0from the ground up –\u00a0creating the strategy, the campaigns, and everything else. After three month of preparation, I\u2019m ecstatic to finally put to use all\u00a0the skills I\u2019ve learned and show what I\u2019m capable of.<\/p>\n

Trying something new is always challenging and can be frightening at times.<\/strong> After three months, though, leaving retail to do search engine marketing has been one of the best decisions I\u2019ve ever made.\u00a0I\u2019m ecstatic that I have a job I enjoy in a place that was willing to invest in me.