Kicking off the first of many UAE Digital Marketing Interviews for 2017 is Lukas Krejca who is deeply passionate about PPC and Performance Marketing. He’s been in Dubai for a few years, working with ROI Hunter where his main focus is performance marketing on Facebook. He also runs Dubai PPC which hosts regular PPC training sessions in Dubai – something he’s really enthusiastic about!
How did you get started in PPC?
I was maybe 13 or 15 when I touched Google AdWords for the first time. I had no idea what it was but a friend needed help and because I was spending lot of time on my PC back then, he asked me to help out. I ran AdWords for him on a few broad match keywords, increase some bids and wasted a few hundred dollars, then he kicked me out! Thereafter, I joined a digital agency in Prague, Czech Republic where I started to learn everything about digital. After 2 years I quit my agency job and started freelancing as a digital marketing specialist. I was helping clients with everything related to digital but very soon I realised I can’t keep track of all areas within digital and at the same time, I found that I enjoyed PPC the most. I started naturally focusing on that area and around this time, Facebook Advertising started. I wrote a few articles in Czech on this topic which helped me to establish myself in the local community. I started my own PPC training sessions and workshops and I hope to spread my love of PPC with many other marketers.
What do you love most about PPC over other aspects of online marketing?
The immediate impact on a client’s business. The immediate impact of your actions is so clear. Usually, when I do some testing, I can’t wait the following day to check the results. It’s quick and measurable which is very important.
What’s the biggest challenge with PPC in the region?
Poor client education which leads to poor performance of agencies. Many companies still don’t realise what performance marketing is, how to use KPIs – and I mean real KPIs, not CTR. Clients need to learn more about what is possible, how it should work, what metrics to follow and how. Most PPC spenders are using agencies and most of them have no real clue how their campaigns are really performing in terms of conversions. Very often, they don’t even have access to their PPC accounts. Basically, it is something that we saw in Europe 5-7 years ago!
Apart from the Google Keyword Planner, what other tools do you use to help you build PPC campaigns?
Speaking about AdWords, I use a few tools. For example, Open Refine is tool for analysing feeds or big bunches of data which has helped me a lot. For Facebook Ads, of course, I use ROI Hunter. And honestly, once I started working with ROIH, I fell in love with it as I believe it’s the best tool for the management of Facebook Ads. For FB Ads, it changes your life!
Where do you see PPC going in the region?
The quality of PPC services in the region will improve as the level of clients’ education rises. There are many young talented professionals in MENA and the unfortunately don’t always get a chance to excel in their roles. More opportunities should be given to young people entering the field and more on the job training is needed for the industry to improve in the region.
How do you handle Arabic PPC requirements?
For all Arabic campaigns I have done, the credit goes to my friend & colleague Islam who is always helping me with that.
Got any pro tips for anyone looking to get into PPC in the region?
I’ve got two tips: Come to our Dubai PPC meetup, talk to other PPC folks and start learning by yourself. Then, if you are really enthusiastic about PPC, come and work with us at ROI Hunter! 🙂
Learn more about Lukas Krejca:
Lukas Krejca is a Senior Account Strategist at ROI Hunter MENA which is a Facebook Marketing Partner. He is deeply passionate about anything related to performance marketing and this is carried across through his training sessions and the Dubai PPC meetup which he organises. He hails from Prague in the Czech Republic.
