Welcome to Beyond the Paid!

Welcome to Beyond the Paid, the official website for Melissa Mackey.

I’ve been in the search engine marketing space since the dawn of Google Ads (formerly AdWords) in 2002.

While I haven’t blogged on this site much recently, here are links to my recent articles in industry publications:

You can find my latest writings on Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal, and up-to-date commentary on #ppcchat on Twitter.

Find me on LinkedIn too.

I’ve spoken at search conferences since 2010. Sign up to watch my session on PPC account health from SMX Next 2023, or read a summary of the session.

Related Posts:

How The Google Ads RSA Changes Affect B2B PPC

Google announced some changes to responsive search ads (RSAs) recently. Here's how they'll impact B2B advertisers: ▶ Ads might show just one headline, with the second headline at the beginning of the description. I have mixed feelings on this one … [Continue reading]

Competitor Bidding: Yay or Nay?

Competitor bidding in paid search: yea or nay? It depends! 🛑 My initial answer is usually nay, because most advertisers aren't ready to bid on competitor names. Competitor bidding can be expensive: ✳ Keywords automatically get low quality … [Continue reading]

The Case for Smart Display

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest post is by Kelsey Hadaller of Hanapin Marketing. Learn how to be successful with Smart Display campaigns! The rollout of Smart Display campaigns was announced by AdWords in April 2017. Nearly a year later, the … [Continue reading]

Trust Us. We’re Google.

Back in December, Search Engine Land ran an article called What You Learn From Talking With Google’s Largest Advertisers All Day, Every Day. Written by Matt Lawson, it’s an interview Lawson did with Google’s chief search evangelist, Nick … [Continue reading]

Keys to B2B PPC

This week’s #PPCChat on February 6 was all about B2B PPC, a topic near and dear to my heart. It was a great chat, with lots of helpful information shared. Here are a few keys to B2B PPC that came out of the chat. B2B isn’t the same as … [Continue reading]

Top 5 Facebook Ads Experts To Follow On Twitter

Here it is February, and I hope you all are full into the swing of 2018. I’m resolved to get back to regular blogging, health permitting. I’ve missed all of you. One of my goals in 2018 is to become more proficient in Facebook Ads. We’ve acquired … [Continue reading]

2017 Reader Poll

For the past 4 years, I've polled my loyal blog readers about what you want me to write about. I've loved hearing from you and seeing what topics are of interest. You all are the reason I keep writing, even when health issues make it challenging for … [Continue reading]

PPC Ad Test Settings: The Great Debate

PPC ad testing is a topic that’s near and dear to my heart. It’s one of the most fun aspects of managing PPC campaigns: learning what ad copy performs best. It’s always fun to try something wild and crazy and have it perform well, or to prove an … [Continue reading]

What Type Of Info Really Sells Your PPC Audience?

In previous articles on PPC audiences, I’ve talked about the importance of audiences, who is the audience, and audience segmentation. All are necessary when conceptualizing a PPC campaign that’s using audience targeting. But once you set up the … [Continue reading]