Junior Paid Media Manager @ MCM

I deliver results for clients via paid ads.

I don’t run ads for screenshots, I run them for business results. 

I’m focused on helping you deliver real results. Not bragging about vanity metrics or confusing you with PPC nerd jargon (where I can help it).

I also make paid marketing content for those who want to learn & maybe sometimes laugh.


PPC Garms founder (lol)

Jamie Leckie

Advertising Operations Manager at Web Marketer | Google Ads | Facebook Ads | Microsoft Advertising

Hi, I’m Joe Williams, a digital marketing professional with over eight years of experience driving measurable growth through Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and Paid Social strategies.

Currently, Performance Lead at Ziggy, a demand generation agency for ambitious tech brands, I help scale B2B revenue through data-led campaigns across Google, LinkedIn, Bing, and emerging platforms like StackAdapt. I've managed large-scale monthly budgets and delivered results for clients ranging from high-growth startups to global enterprises.

With a strong focus on results, team leadership and strategic thinking, I'm passionate about helping brands reduce customer acquisition costs and accelerate pipeline growth.

Joseph Williams

Unit 9 Hyrox sim: 59:07. Great event and looking forward to Cardiff in May.

Performance Marketing Lead | PPC & Paid Social Specialist | Driving Scalable Growth for B2B & B2C Brands

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This week, I have been reading the 2026 LinkedIn Ads Benchmarks Report by Dreamdata. Here are a few insights that really stood out to me:

1️⃣ LinkedIn is outperforming other channels on revenue, despite higher CPCs, LinkedIn delivered 121% ROAS.
For comparison:
• Google Search: 67%
• Meta: 51%
It’s a good reminder that cheap clicks don’t always mean better results.

2️⃣ Non-brand search is getting tougher, costs are rising, while engagement is falling.
• CPC up 29%
• CTR down 26%
With AI answers appearing directly in Google search results, more users are getting what they need without having to click.

3️⃣ Most of the B2B journey happens before sales, around 81% of the buying journey happens before someone enters the sales pipeline. The average deal takes 272 days and involves around 10 stakeholders. Which means many paid touchpoints happen long before a lead form is filled in.

It’s becoming harder to rely only on channels that capture demand. The teams winning in B2B are also investing in channels that create demand and build familiarity earlier in the journey.

Are you shifting budget towards demand creation channels, or doubling down on search?

Low CPC doesn’t mean good performance, a cheap click can look like a win at first but cheap clicks do not grow revenue. Low CPC often means you are buying low-quality traffic that is unlikely to convert.

People may click your ads but have no real intent to buy, your ads may be shown to the wrong audience or you can end up with lots of traffic but very little value.

What should you focus on instead?
✅ Conversions
✅ Cost per acquisition (CPA)
✅ Revenue
✅ Pipeline generated
✅ Profit

Some of the best-performing campaigns have higher CPCs. This is because they reach people who are actively searching, comparing, and ready to act. We should focus on business results, not vanity metrics.

If you're running lead gen campaigns and not testing LinkedIn Message Ads, it might be worth adding them to the mix.

Here's why:

1. You're reaching people who already know you. Remarketing means your audience has already interacted with your brand. A well-timed message in their inbox, not a banner they scroll past.

2. It feels personal, Message Ads land directly in LinkedIn inbox, making them feel more like a one-to-one conversation than a traditional ad. For B2B lead gen, that tone can be the difference between a click and an ignore.

3. You control the conversation. A single, clear CTA. No distractions, no competing ads on the page. Just your message and a decision to make.

LinkedIn's audience targeting is already strong. Pair that with remarketing and Message Ads, and you've got a strong combination for lead gen and hitting lead targets.

What's your experience been with Message Ads?

My new blog has just dropped for PPC Live: Why Audience Penetration Should Drive Your Cold Audience Budget Decisions for PPC

When it comes to scaling PPC, most marketers focus on bids, creatives, or campaign structure. But there’s a much more strategic question we should be asking first: Have we actually reached enough of the audience yet?

In my latest blog, I break down why audience penetration should be the key driver behind your cold audience budget decisions.

The full article is live now, link in the comments.

One of the most interesting developments in Google Ads right now is AI Max for Search campaigns, and if you haven't looked into it yet, it's worth your attention.

AI Max expands your keyword targeting using AI, rewriting ad copy and matching to a broader range of queries it thinks are relevant to your goals. On paper, that sounds great. In practice, it needs careful handling.

Here's what's got me thinking:

- The potential is real. Google is reporting strong conversion lifts for advertisers using it alongside flexible targets. For accounts looking to scale without blowing the budget, that's genuinely interesting.

- Handing over control carries risk. AI Max can rewrite your copy, expand your targeting, and make decisions at a pace that's hard to monitor without the right checks in place. For lead gen accounts especially, that can mean a spike in volume that looks great on paper but doesn't hold up when sales review the quality.

- The answer isn't to ignore it. The answer is to test it properly, with clear goals, strong conversion signals, and a close eye on search term reports and lead quality.

AI is no longer a feature Google is suggesting. It's fast becoming the default. Are you testing AI Max yet? What's your experience been?

New campaigns in Google Ads are tempting to judge fast, but early data rarely tells the full story. In the first few weeks, clicks and conversions are low and daily results swing wildly. Reacting too quickly can undermine campaigns before they have a chance to learn.

This is why benchmarks matter. Until you have three months of real campaign data, industry benchmarks are your best guide. They help you understand typical CPCs, conversion rates, and CPA ranges, giving context to performance that might otherwise look alarming.

After three months, your own data becomes far more valuable. Your audience, offer, and funnel are unique, and your numbers will be too.

Strong PPC is about knowing when to follow the market and when to trust your own data. Use benchmarks early, trust your campaigns later, and avoid decisions based on incomplete information.

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The Battle

Jamie Leckie

Joseph Williams

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taplio

The Battle

Jamie Leckie

Joseph Williams

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Joseph Williams's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJoseph Williams's LinkedIn Performance