Hero Conf talks

Google Ads: a look ahead

Change is a constant in digital advertising, but this year’s AI advancements and privacy and regulatory updates put 2024 in a realm of its own.

In this talk, Ginny will discuss how these fundamental shifts have — and continue to — inform Google Ads product updates and how advertisers can position themselves for success in the year ahead.

PMax for lead gen: hacking PMax big ROAS

Performance Max (PMax) is a comprehensive, conversion-based solution that delivers clear, quantifiable results, particularly for e-commerce.

This presentation, geared towards account managers, will explore adapting PMax for lead generation.

We will address the common challenge of securing quality leads and why many give up on PMax for lead gen, offering strategies to overcome these hurdles and maximize return on ad spend (ROAS).

Additionally, we’ll explore tools and techniques to create a strong foundation for successful campaigns, ensure higher qualified leads, and discuss the critical role of visual content in driving success.

Boost your revenue with Facebook creative and copy best practices

LinkedIn ad settings and tactics you didn't know you needed

LinkedIn has recently introduced a range of innovative features, products, and metrics, many of which may have flown under your radar.

Join Andrea as she guides you through the latest updates, explains their significance, highlights what you shouldn’t overlook, and shares compelling case studies on early product enhancements

AdOps Alchemy: Paid strategies using AI that work & make $$$

Explore the confounding, and at times, paradoxical realm of Ad Operations in 2024, where AI can transform your ad campaigns into profit machines – or lead to frustrating challenges.

Join AIMCLEAR’s award-winning Director of AdOps, Tim Halloran, for data-driven insights on using machine learning to reimagine ad operations across Google & Facebook Ads.

Hear compelling case studies showing the risks of ignoring AI advancements and the potential for coveted KPI boosts when embraced.

Discover how to consolidate legacy campaign structure, better implement value-based bidding, and manipulate learning periods for rapid performance growth.

Paid strategies shouldn’t be flat packed

Join Phoebe to help you enhance your strategies to improve your PPC results as she shares her expert advice with a list of do’s and don’ts on layering platforms, audience and targeting strategies drawn from her extensive experience.

Phoebe’s multi-strategy advice is not just theoretical but practical and actionable.

So, get ready to level up your game and leave the flat pack structure to the experts at Ikea!

Laying the foundation for a successful PPC account

The future of AI for paid search is thrilling, but without the proper foundations in place, can lead to wasted spend and optimization nightmares.

In this track, Jessica will bring us Back to the Basics to lay the groundwork for a successful PPC account while addressing the most common mistakes most marketers make.

Learn how to become structurally confident in your paid search efforts to keep clients, and bosses, happy.

Winning in the “era of exclusion”: Proven strategies to optimize paid media campaigns

PPC is entering the era of exclusion – and it’s a tectonic shift for the industry.

Historically, PPC optimization has been highly curative and all about inclusion. For example:

What keywords should we include?
What audiences should we include?
What geos should we include?
What placements should we include?
But, with the evolution of broad match, smart bidding, and automated campaign types such as PMax, we now have much less control over campaign targeting than we did 5 years ago.

So in this new context, marketers need to fully embrace the “era of exclusion.” In practice, this simply means explicitly telling ad platforms to exclude keywords, placements, and audiences you definitely don’t want to target. The more extensive and clever you are with your exclusion audiences, the more you can drive up the overall ROAS of your campaigns.

In this talk, Chester Scott, VP of Strategic Partnerships at Lunio, will explore actionable strategies and exclusive data revealing how marketers can minimize waste and maximize conversions across PPC campaigns with bulletproof exclusion targeting criteria.

Prepping Video Campaigns for 2025

There are big changes coming to video campaigns in 2025.

This session will show you what those changes are and which ones you should choose to help your video campaigns start on the best foot possible.

As video action campaigns roll into Demand Gen campaigns, it’s important to know the differences and limitations of this change.

This session will also cover when you should choose a more awareness-focused campaign versus Demand Gen.

Marketing at the speed of culture and technology

In this presentation, Jason will review the four significant shifts that are transforming modern marketing and media.

And while most of these shifts are driven by advancements in technology and the evolving advertising ecosystem, they also require a shift in mindset, with a profound impact on how marketers engage with consumers and approach historical marketing best-practices.

Shifting the focus from keyword targeting to audience targeting

In this talk, Brittany will dive into the evolution of keyword targeting, highlighting the role AI plays, and explore strategies to effectively reach and resonate with your target demographic.

Attendees will gain valuable insights and practical tools for implementing tailored marketing approaches in the future landscape of digital advertising.

Customer-led and product-led landing pages that create trust and pipeline growth

In this talk, Tas will walk through:

1. The differences between webpages and landing pages

2. The key mistakes B2B SaaS companies make with their landing pages

3. How to craft landing pages that are customer-led and product-led (and therefore unique)

4. The core landing pages you need (there are only 5-6) and therefore easy to manage

5. Frameworks you can take and apply today along with a testing/optimization roadmap

AI for advertisers: work smarter, not harder in the age of automation

In this session, you’ll discover how to leverage AI for tasks like ad creation, real-time optimization, and hyper-personalized targeting to achieve peak ad performance.

Greg will provide actionable strategies to free up valuable time, boost productivity, and maximize campaign budgets.

This workshop is ideal for forward-thinking marketers who want to embrace AI and work smarter, not harder.

Join and unlock the power of AI for your digital advertising success!

7 steps to scale your content creation process in the world of AI

In this talk, Benu will be sharing how to drive engagement and growth by crafting high-quality, AI-enhanced content that resonates with your audience.

She will also share seven-step process for scaling content creation using AI, emphasizing quality and user-centricity to meet Google’s standards.

It includes identifying relevant topics, maintaining brand voice consistency, generating and optimizing content, establishing distribution workflows, and analyzing performance.

Integrating AI throughout this process enhances efficiency and ensures the creation of high-quality, impactful content.

Unlocking the full potential of AI in paid media campaigns

In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital advertising, striking the right balance between creativity and strategic insight is paramount. This session dives deep into the integration of AI in paid media campaigns. Discover how AI is not just a tool but a game changer that can significantly enhance the efficiency and creativity of your advertising efforts. After this session, you’ll be able to:

1. Crafting Effective AI-Generated Prompts: Gain insights into writing powerful AI prompts that maximize the creative potential of generative AI technologies, transforming how campaigns are conceptualized and executed.

2. Strategic Design of AI-Driven Creatives: Learn how to use AI to create ad content that is not only compelling but also perfectly aligned with the customer journey, enhancing relevance and engagement.

3. Optimizing Campaign Performance with AI: Explore methods to leverage AI for real-time campaign optimizations, driving better outcomes through data-driven decisions and predictive analytics.

AI holistic search: future-proofing your paid & organic SERP

Join Jeremy Hull, Chief Product Officer, Brainlabs North America and Travis Tallent, VP SEO, Brainlabs for an entertaining and engaging conversation as they take a futuristic look into the world of AI Holistic Search.

They will share their insights on how AI search experiences will integrate ads, PMAX will continue to be more dynamic, and how we can all utilize SEO data to enhance paid strategy.

Step out of the “stop-start cycle” for good and finally run profitable campaigns

In this talk, Aashna will speak about the RIGHT WAY to run Meta Ads – as in the end it’s not about spending more, it’s about spending smarter.

Advanced LinkedIn ads

AJ will teach you the five pitfalls that every LinkedIn advertiser falls into, along with how to get the lowest pricing from LinkedIn’s auction EVERY time.

You’ll learn about the ideal account structure for easy management & reporting, plus so much more.

AI-Powered Meta ads: taking performance to new heights

Akvile will share insights and strategies on how brands can utilize AI-driven tools and techniques to create more effective, engaging, and high-converting Meta Ads and increase their account management efficiency.

By leveraging cutting-edge algorithms, platform features, and data analysis, attendees will learn how to maximize their ad spend and optimize the customer journey with data-driven decision-making.

Ad Copy – Humans vs AI

Join us as we tally the scores of the head-to-head match between AI and human copywriters in the Title bout that could end society as we know it.

Has AI copy advanced in skill enough to outdo human capabilities?

See the outcome in this first-ever Pay-Per-View-Pay-Per-Click Title Copy Match.

Audience-first differentiation: paid search messaging that matters to your market

In the competitive world of paid search advertising, it’s a challenge to stand out. Ads face tight character constraints and often blend into a sea of similar offerings. Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) exponentially complicate control over messaging.

In this session Amy will teach you:

how to make your paid search ads not just different, but distinctly effective
how to get clear on your target audience (even if nobody gave you a brief)
how to affirm audience specific needs and desires within all the constraints of a Google text ad.

You’ll walk away with the exact process to take your ads from generic to magnetic.

Google Local Services Ads: everything we have learned in 3 years of running these for clients

In this talk Anthony will discuss everything he has learned in the three years he has run Google Local Services Ads for clients of his agency.

He will discuss how to maximize performance, pitfalls to avoid, creative strategies and hidden gems and will show some case studies across different accounts and verticals.

How to infuse AI to uplevel PPC performance

In today’s dynamic digital marketing landscape, staying ahead of the competition requires embracing cutting-edge technologies.

AI is rapidly reshaping the world of PPC advertising, offering marketers unprecedented opportunities to optimize campaigns, increase ROI, and reach their target audience more effectively than ever before.

In this session, Brooke will delve into the ways AI is revolutionizing every aspect of PPC campaigns, including:

Understanding the fundamentals of AI and machine learning in PPC
Harnessing AI for audience segmentation and targeting precision
Practical tips and tools to implement AI in your PPC strategies effectively

Evolving screens: YouTube's advertising journey from landscape to tv and shorts

In this talk, Cory will explore the evolution of YouTube’s video formats, from its traditional skippable landscape orientation to the introduction of vertical shorts and TV-compatible content.

He will delve into how YouTube has adapted its platform to cater to the diverse viewing preferences of its global audience, accommodating various devices and consumption habits.

Cory will analyze the impact of these changes on advertisers, and viewers alike, providing insights into the strategies behind YouTube’s advertising continued growth in the digital video space.

Through this presentation, attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of the significance of video format diversity in the era of multi-device, multi-platform media consumption.

Google Display Network to drive conversions

Join Damon as he dives into some proven strategies to help turn Google Display Network into a conversion machine!

From advanced audience targeting strategies, to learning how GDN can amplify Search wins, there’s something for everyone in this session on GDN.

Performance Max: how to 2x your ROAS

Duane is going to show you the process his team uses to scale clients with Performance Max.

We are going to focus on our shopping feed, where 80% of the work should be done. The difference between a good shopping feed and a great shopping feed, can make or break your ROAS.

This talk will cover the following:

Build a shopping feed that works for Google’s AI and tech
Understand why SKU optimization is the easier way to scale revenue
Tips on using automation and optional attributes to make your brand more profitable

Making performance media real for outside teams

In this talk, performance media professionals will hear different strategies for making metrics and results that excite us real for other teams.

Before we get into ROAS, MER, and our favourite acronyms, we need to make it real for our partners, clients, and other experts.

Find their why, and build the conversation from there.

Using compound marketing strategies in SEO and SEM

Kevin Lee will discuss the applications of compound marketing bridge across SEM, paid media and even SEO delivering improved ROI to every marketing channel.

Kevin will delve into how ad optimization and listings optimization combine with CRO, Conversion Value Optimization and LTV maximization to deliver amazing results.

Level up your PMax campaigns in 20 minutes

Let’s face it. Even though Performance Max campaigns in Google are supposed to be more user-friendly, they can actually be pretty confusing as well!

In this session, Kirk Williams, owner of ZATO PPC Marketing, will share practical tips for how to set up and organize PMax for success, and then how to optimize it as well.

Let’s ditch the high level basics and get right to the meat of money-producing ideas!

The data-informed PPC account structure

Sam will speak about optimizing pay-per-click (PPC) advertising strategies by leveraging data-driven insights to enhance the overall account structure.

Sam will cover the importance of organizing campaigns, ad groups, and keywords based on relevant data metrics such as user behavior, demographics, and performance analytics.

His presentation will dive into the significance of utilizing data to identify high-performing keywords, refine targeting parameters, and allocating budget effectively.

Sam’s presentation will emphasize the integration of data insights into the PPC account structure to empower advertisers to make informed decisions, enhance campaign efficiency, and achieve better ROI in digital advertising efforts.

Guiding dialog: strategic conversations in paid search

Sarah’s session will delve into the essentials of strategic paid search discussions with marketing teams and brands.

Recognizing the growing demand for strategy-focused conversations, attendees will learn to tailor their paid search conversations to better align with overarching business objectives.

From interpreting marketing briefs to building campaigns and delivering reports, Sarah will lead you through the key client touch-points that provide an opportunity for strategic alignment.

The focus of the talk will be on actionable takeaways, such as setting realistic expectations, creating impactful reports, and engaging in effective client communication.

The 3 paid media things people are doing wrong & how to fix it

Susan will distill the three biggest issues she’s seeing in auditing millions of dollars in paid media.

Learn what to start doing and stop doing in the current state of ad platforms.

Work smarter, not harder: GPT and automation hacks for modern advertisers

Join Fred Vallaeys, the most influential PPC marketer of 2024, for an incredible session packed with insights and practical strategies to transform your marketing efficiency through automation and AI.

What You’ll Learn:
– Finding and Fixing Scripts with GPT: Discover how to leverage GPT to identify and correct script issues, ensuring your automations run smoothly and effectively.
– Using Multimodal AI for Efficiency: Learn how to use advanced AI techniques to streamline various marketing tasks, saving time and enhancing productivity.
– Tool Demonstrations: Watch live demos of powerful tools that can automate repetitive tasks and simplify your workflow.
– Exclusive Workflows: Get an inside look at Fred Vallaeys’ personal workflows that have made him a leader in the PPC industry.

Get ready to revolutionize your marketing approach and unlock new levels of efficiency and strategic insight. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from the best and take your marketing game to the next level!

Double or nothing: bold vertical video strategies that pay off

Kyle will delve into the dynamic world of vertical video content.

Kyle’s expertise as an FCMO has fueled his passion for innovative video-based content strategies. Attendees will learn how to craft compelling vertical videos that capture audience attention and drive significant engagement.

Kyle will explore the latest trends and techniques in vertical video production, providing actionable strategies for maximizing the impact of marketing campaigns.

From understanding the psychology of vertical viewing to utilizing data-driven approaches for content optimization, Kyle’s presentation will equip marketers with the tools they need to take bold risks and achieve impressive results.

Unf*ck your Meta tracking – the expert Meta signals audit

Ensuring your Meta tracking is 100% maximized is a critical element in achieving advertising success.

In this talk, Brett will walk you through they key elements of the expert Meta Signals Audit that his firm, TagHero, provides to top brands and agencies.

Driving quality leads from social campaigns

Google Search is still what everyone wants to use for their lead generation strategy and that’s understandable. But what happens when your industry is prohibitively expensive, or too new for users to know what to search, or…it just doesn’t work for you? How can you drive your business forward with digital marketing? Social media marketing, no matter which platform, is bound to have your customers on it. You just have to find them and speak to them in a compelling way. In this session, we’ll discuss:

How to find your target audience on any social media platform.
Selecting calls to action that resonate with your clients.
Leveraging those audiences across platforms for greater insights & remarking.

Understanding key differences of Google Ads and Microsoft Ads

Microsoft Ads is an underutilized tool for many paid search managers and industries. Although they are very similar in nature to Google Ads, there are a few core differences in utility, functionality, and structure of individual accounts and overall platform structure.

In this talk, Megan will give an overview of the key distinctive features of the platform to help optimize Microsoft Ads to reach their full potential.

Making google ads and looker studio work for you

Looker Studio is the best dashboarding platform that no money can buy.

While it makes data visualization accessible, getting it to tell your story can be challenging.

In this session Josh will guide you through the process of developing your own Google Ads insights platform aligned with your business and campaign objectives.

• Getting started with Google Ads and Looker Studio

• Enhancing the data to tell your story

• Designing your dashboards to deliver actionable insights

How to use paid social and remarketing to boost ROI

In this session, Jamie will take a deep dive into the best practices for using paid social to boost marketing ROI.

Specifically he will show you how to organize your social strategy into 4 components for both B2B and B2C campaigns.

Don’t miss this session if you are looking to spike performance using social media remarketing and creative that converts.

Holistic search for brand and performance marketing excellence

Dustin, a seasoned marketing expert, will illuminate collaborative search strategies that drive brand retention and revenue.

You’ll learn how to seamlessly integrate paid and organic search with site optimization, email social, and other marketing channels to create a unified marketing presence that outperforms competitors.

Discover the methodologies, skills, and values needed to optimize and integrate search efforts for both short-term performance and long-term brand equity.

Come away with platform and process insights that enable effective multi-channel marketing for customer acquisition and retention, ensuring lasting business success.

From metrics to meaningful KPIs: a beginner's guide to automated dashboards

In this engaging and practical presentation, Cassie tackles a critical challenge for early-career marketers: transforming overwhelming data into actionable insights.

She clarifies the crucial distinction between metrics and KPIs and shows you step-by-step how to visualize that data in easy, automated dashboards.

Attendees will leave confident in their ability to streamline reporting operations, uncover valuable insights, craft impactful data-driven stories and ultimately make more effective marketing decisions.

Microsoft strikes back: a new bing

In this talk, Nate will be diving into the newest capabilities of Microsoft Ads and how to tap into and maximise performance across this channel.

As Microsoft’s largest Global Channel Partner worldwide, Diginius has the best expertise for both agencies and clients in this field, alongside some secret tips for success.