I often get asked where a beginner should start in learning PPC. Rather than continue to re-find my list to DM someone, I decided to just write a blogpost so I could link to it, but also so others could have an easy list to send people to as well! If your cousin just got out of college and wants to begin a career in Paid Search Marketing, here are my go-to resources.I have divided them up into various sections, as seen below.

My recommendation is to not simply pick one resource out of the list, but many or all of them if you can swing it. What you will find is every course is a little different, every blog author has a unique take on things, and getting a well-rounded education on the different viewpoints of PPC is important and beneficial.Best wishes on your journey into my favorite field!

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List of Free PPC Training Guides & Whitepapers

• Hubspot (pdf) - The Beginner’s Guide to Paid Search: Using Paid Search to Compliment Your Inbound Marketing
• Search Engine Journal (pdf or online) - PPC 101: A Complete Guide to PPC Marketing Basics
• Cypress North (online) - Google Ads: The Complete Guide
• Discosloth - The Beginner's Guide to PPC Advertising
• Complete Google Ads Scripts Guide! - Nils Rooijmans
• List of Free SEO & PPC Tools - Louisa Ingelheim
• A Complete PPC Guide to Get More Bang for Your Buck - Klientboost

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List of PPC Books for Beginners

• Ponderings of a PPC Professional (Revised & Expanded): A Collection of Philosophical, Yet Practical, Observations to Help You Win at Pay-Per-Click Marketing - by Kirk Williams
• Join or Die: Digital Advertising in the Age of Automation - by Patrick Gilbert
• Digital Marketing in an AI World: Futureproofing Your PPC Agency - by Frederick Vallaeys

• Unlevel the Playing Field: The Biggest Mindshift in PPC History - by Frederick Vallaeys
• You vs. Google: The Very Unauthorized Guide to Google Ads - by Kasim Aslan, Patience Hurlburt-Lawton, John Moran
• Becoming A Digital Marketer: Gaining the Hard & Soft Skills for a Tech-Driven Marketing Career - by Gil and Anya Gildner

Older books, but still helpful in learning how PPC works.

• Ultimate Guide to Google Ads - by Perry Marshall, Bryan Todd, and Mike Rhodes
• Advanced Google AdWords - by Brad Geddes

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List of Free Google Ads Training Courses

We can't vouch for the updated nature of these, but are hoping to give you a list of courses to investigate.

• Optmyzr (ongoing free Webinars) - PPC Townhalls
• Paid Media Pros (ongoing YouTube Videos) - Paid Media Pros YouTube Channel
• SEMRush Academy with Joel Bondorowsky - PPC Fundamentals Course‍
• Hubspot Academy - Paid Search Advertising

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List of Fee-Based PPC Training Courses

We can't vouch for the updated nature of these, but are hoping to give you a list of courses to investigate.

• Ed Leake - God Tier Ads
• PPC Mastery - Advanced Google Ads Strategies

• Isaac Rudansky - Udemy - Ultimate Google Ads Training 2020: Profit with Pay Per Click

• Jeff Sauer - DataDrivenU - Google Ads Mastery Course
• Brad Geddes, and Others - Simplilearn - Digital Marketing Training Course(s)
• Multiple Trainers - ADWorld Experience - PPC Training Course Videos

• Optidge Digital Education Online - ODEO Academy
• Purdue University - Post Graduate Program in Digital Marketing
• Learn with Jyll - Inside Google Ads

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List of PPC Blogs to Follow

• The ZATO Blog
• Search Engine Land
• Optmyzr
• Tinuiti
• PPCHero
• Clix Marketing
• Paid Media Pros (Youtube Channel)
• Klientboost‍
• Creatopy Blog & Learning Hub (includes some really cool how-to & explainers)

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List of PPC Podcasts

• The PPC Ponderings Podcast
• Marketing'O Talk
• Paid Search Podcast
• PPCChat Roundup
• ppc.zone

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List of PPC Communities to Join (Free or Paid)

• Google Ads for Savvy Digital Marketers (Facebook)
• Elite Media Buyers (Facebook)

• Google Shopping Only (Facebook)
• ADMISSION - Common Thread Collective
• Foxwell Founders - (Slack)

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Finally, with a cautionary note:

Google Ads Skillshop - it's worth including a cautionary note here, simply because I find Google Ads has a bit of "propaganda" included in its training courses. The reason I think it's important to include additional educational sources rather than just sending newbs to Google, is because Google may communicate strong approval for a certain activity, that may not be as guaranteed as Google would lead a beginner to believe. It is sometimes difficult to know if it is actually a best practice used by an account manager, or simply something Google wants to be utilized more for their own benefits. Because of that, I think any beginner will find value in Skillshop, but should also use many of the other resources from people actually managing accounts on the ground level.