The Death of a PPC Purist - Hero Conf UK - April 2026 - Chris Ridley

There was a time when being a PPC Purist was a badge of honour for me; mastering match types, obsessing over CPCs, and living for the perfect account structure. But those days are over. Automation, cross-channel attribution, and evolving client expectations have changed the game.

In this talk, I’ll share how killing off my PPC Purist mindset and drawing ideas from other channels and business functions completely changed the way I think about Paid Media. You’ll learn how to connect your campaigns to real business objectives, understand the KPIs that keep board members awake at night, and reposition yourself from the person who “runs the ads” to the marketer the business actually needs in the room.

Transcript

1. Chris Ridley Evoluted THE DEATH OF THE PPC PURIST /in/chris-ridley/ | Speakerdeck.com/c_j_ridley/
3. Three Things • My personal experience • What exactly is a PPC Purist Mindset • Killing your PPC Purist Mindset
4. Thing #1: My personal experience _
5. My Personal Experience
8. Trade Shows Social Content Organic Social Website Content
9. Press Releases Trade Shows Project Management eBay Listings Google Ads LinkedIn Ads Social Content Organic Social Email Marketing CRM Management Website Content Brand Guidelines Technical SEO Local SEO
11. Jack of all trades, master of none! _
15. Jack of all trades, master of something! _
19. Thing #2: What is a PPC Purist Mindset? _
27. Thing #3: The Why & How _
30. Transferable Knowledge Content Writing → Ad Copy CRM Management → Audience Segmentation Email Marketing → Remarketing Digital PR → Brand Building Sales → Value Proposition
31. Talk Business To Me
32. Mortgage 1st • Self-employed advisors • Supply & Demand • Cold Leads • Real Cost Of Inefficient Ads The solution wouldn’t have been achievable without learning about their business model
33. Rhetorical Question Time!
34. Importance of Accurate KPIs
35. Importance of Accurate KPIs
36. Importance of Accurate KPIs
37. Summary:
38. Recap PPC Purist Mindset Becoming A Better Marketer
39. Stay Curious _
40. Take Ownership _
41. Remember: Our purpose as marketers is to help the business succeed.
42. Thank You Chris Ridley Head of Paid Media /in/chris-ridley/ linktr.ee/PPC_Chris