The Top PPC Books Every Marketer Should Read in 2024

PPC is a whole world in itself and anyone that’s serious knows that you have to keep learning to stay ahead of the game.

That’s true whether you’re a business owner, a director of advertising at an eCommerce company, or a junior marketer in a Facebook Advertising agency, that’s just learned how to access Amazon’s Advertising Console.

How many times did you start looking for a good book to read and got overwhelmed with all the choices out there? We decided to do some research and bring you a list of the top PPC books you should read this year, to improve your PPC chops. So here goes.

Ponderings of a PPC Professional

A Collection of Philosophical, Yet Practical, Observations to Help You Win at Pay-Per-Click Marketing

This is one of the most recent books on PPC advertising that was during the pandemic. Kirk Williams is an agency owner and marketing veteran who covers a lot of the most impactful aspects of PPC ads. T

his book deals with attribution, bidding rules, data and automation and has a few really relevant chapters on how to start and grow your PPC agency. Looking to become a PPC expert? This is the book to read.

PPC Made Simple

Pay Per Click Strategies For Dominating Google Adwords

Here’s one of the classic books in the world of PPC. This one is written by Michael H. Fleischner who’s written numerous books on SEO, PPC, and local marketing. It covers all the basics of pay-per-click advertising, like how to make a good converting landing page, do keyword research, and use Google Ads Editor. It’s perfect for a beginner who is starting from scratch.

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Unlevel the Playing Field

The Biggest Mindshift in PPC History

Unlevel the Playing Field talks about a concept called automation layering which means incorporating AI into key processes - bidding, targeting, and messaging. The idea is that by adding that automation layer by layer you can achieve the next level of profitability. This isn’t so much for the beginner but more for the advanced PPC professional looking for macro trends in the field.

Beyond PPC

Groundbreaking strategies for digital marketing & lead generation when pay-per-click won’t perform

Beyond PPC is a really practical and easy read and it’s super comprehensive. It deals with everything you need to know to launch PPC ads successfully. It goes over the sales funnels, A/B testing, LinkedIn B2B ads, Facebook Ads, and long-form content as an advertising strategy. It’s a very short read and gives you a quick breakdown of the main tactics every PPC consultant should know.

Objectives and Key Results

Driving Focus, Alignment, and Engagement with OKRs

Objectives and Key Results (OKR) is a business framework that helps organizations and marketing teams set better goals and increase their performance. It’s an agile method for managing teams, and getting things done, and has been applied to PPC marketing with fantastic results. This book is the official guide to help you implement OKR for your organization.

Digital Marketing in an AI world

Futureproofing Your PPC Agency

Another great read about AI in the digital marketing world. A lot of people are worried that artificial intelligence will replace marketing but the author of this book, a marketing veteran and one of Google’s first 500 employees thinks otherwise.

According to Frederick Vallaeys, marketing will also require human creativity and original ideas, and in this book, he explains how to get the necessary skills to make AI work for you to improve the return on investment (ROI) of your PPC campaigns.

The Beginner’s Guide to Google Ads

The Insider’s Complete Resource For Everything PPC Agencies Won’t Tell You

This is a great guide for beginners to PPC marketing. It goes over all the basics - keyword research, how to build a Google Ads campaign from scratch, how to manage and optimize ads, and automation & AI.

The book goes through the entire process of running a PPC campaign using a fictional company and has some fantastic examples of what to do and not to do along the way.

The Ultimate Pay-Per-Click Guidebook

A Peak Into Pay Per Click (PPC)

Here’s another quick reading. This handy guide focuses on how to run PPC for affiliate marketing campaigns. It’s really short and gets straight to the point.

Fully Booked (Previously Ask The PPC Manager)

$23.3 Million and 195,225 Online Bookings with Google Ads

David Rothwell stumbled upon Google Ads by accident in 2005. Since then he’s built a successful agency, made $23M for his clients, and has been able to live as a digital nomad and travel around the world. He’s put all of these marketing strategies into this one volume and everyone’s raving about it. Worth a read? You decide.

Paid Attention

Innovative Advertising for a Digital World

Here’s a book that’s more than just about online advertising. This one deals with communication theory, neuroscience, branding, and culture, to help marketers get into the heads of their customers and know how to garner the kind of attention they desire in the marketplace. It has a lot of practical examples from the likes of Sony, Red Bull, HP, and others.

Read Me: 10 Lessons for Writing Great Copy

No PPC ad is going to convert without good copy. And if you’re not a copywriter, here’s the book to get you caught up. It’s a super visual read with lots of images and examples of ads. It’s written by Gyles Lingwood, one of the leading advertising experts in the UK, and contains a ton of interesting examples. Check it out, it’s a fascinating read.

Ogilvy on Advertising

David Ogilvy is the world’s most well-known advertiser and ad agency owner who’s known as the “Father of Advertising”. This is his classic book in which he distills all of his wisdom on the subject. The book shows you how to create captivating ads, how to write copy, the “secrets of advertising”, and much more.

The Copy Book

Here’s another great read on the foundations of good advertising and copy. This book features essays and examples from the world’s 53 leading advertising experts. It reads like a magazine so you can pick it up, read an example, get some inspiration, and get on with your day. It’s a nice reference guide to keep around.

The Art of the Click

How to Harness the Power of Direct-Response Copywriting and Make More Sales.

The Art of the Click is another super helpful book for anyone that’s interested in copywriting. It provides some very practical tips and tools on how to write better copy for your ads and it’s helpful for any type of marketer.

The Complete Guide to Facebook Advertising

Here’s a great read on Facebook Ads that provides a good foundations for a beginner. It’s clear, straight to the point, and covers all the fundamentals. It does lack some examples and case studies but it definitely provides a good introduction into account setup, ad types, Instagram ads, Messenger marketing, hiring Facebook experts, and ads analysis and optimization.

The Beginner’s Guide to Advertising on Amazon

Don’t Waste Your Money on Poor PPC Learn the Insider Secrets and Dominate Amazon Advertising Today!

Amazon Advertising (formerly Amazon Marketing Services) is another area of PPC that has exploded in the last decade. It provides a great way for eCommerce brands to establish themselves in their niche. This guide covers all the foundations of Amazon advertising such as how to do keyword research, how to set up a successful campaign, optimize your ads, use negative keywords, and grow your daily budget.

Want to learn more about Amazon and eCommerce marketing? Check out our list of the best eCommerce courses to sign up for this year.

The Survival Guide to Amazon Ads

Here’s another great guide on Amazon Advertising (formerly AMS or Amazon Marketing Services). It’s geared toward more advanced users and covers topics like advanced keyword research, creating a list of keywords for each campaign, how to scale ads, optimize ads, create auto campaigns, and manage sponsored brands campaigns.

Amazon Advertising

Boost Your Sales with Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Lockscreen Ads with Amazon's Pay-Per-Click

Want to deepen your knowledge of Amazon PPC? This book is for you. It goes through every aspect of Amazon Advertising in depth including - understanding keyword match types, different forms of advertising such as Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, KDP ads, and even includes other marketing channels like social media, Bing Ads, conversion optimization, and search engine optimization.

Landing Page Optimization

The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions, 2nd edition

Here’s the first textbook on our list and that’s because this topic requires a textbook. There’s so much to say about landing page optimization, and if you’re a PPC manager or content writer you need to know how to design and optimize your landing pages for the best user experience and for maximum conversions.

Landing pages are crucial for all types of marketing including - search engine marketing, online marketing, and content marketing. In this book, you will learn it all.

Scientific Advertising

This is the most well-known advertising book of all time. Written in 1923, it’s still a masterpiece and contains timeless lessons in the art and science of creating memorable and effective ads. Anyone who is in advertising should read this. My CMO in a previous position swore by it and was able to grow our company to 8 figures.

Mastering Google Adwords

Step-by-Step Instructions for Advertising Your Business (Including Google Analytics)

Here’s another super comprehensive book on Google Ads. It goes through every step of creating, launching, and optimizing an advertising campaign - from keywords research to the type of campaigns you have, how to link to Google Maps, how to use Keyword Planner, how to optimize your landing pages, ad extensions, bidding options, and much more.

It also covers a variety of Google Ad types including Google Discovery Ads and search advertising campaigns.

Google AdWords for Beginners

A Do-It-Yourself Guide to PPC Advertising

Here’s another great guide on Google Ads. It’s written by a popular Udemy course creator and gives a pretty comprehensive overview of how to create and optimize Google Ads campaigns. It discusses keyword research, bidding, budget management, copywriting, and research. It’s short and easy to read.

The Pay-Per-Click Playbook

Build a Winning Lead Generation Game Plan: Featuring 101 Strategies to Improve Lead Quality, Optimize Search Engine Marketing Campaign Performance, and Increase Your ROI

This is a little more practical guide on all things PPC. It gives 101 “plays” or strategies you can implement to connect with the right audiences, gain more exposure, optimize your landing pages, better target potential customers, and improve your conversion rates.

Join or Die: Digital Advertising in the Age of Automation

Worried about automation and AI replacing us all? You should be. If you don’t use AI for your marketing campaigns you’re going to lose out to more experienced marketers and more forward-thinking brands. Here’s the book to read to get caught up on the incredible opportunity that AI presents in digital advertising.

Ultimate Guide to Google Ads

This one is another classic written by one of the most well-known Google Ads experts - Perry Marshall. It’s published by Entrepreneur Magazine (which is interesting) and has been delighting audiences with practical tips and online tools since 2000. Perry was one of the first people on the scene to teach Google Ads, and this is the 6th edition of his guide, so check it out.

Winning Results with Google AdWords, Second Edition

Here’s a book that goes through some of the top mistakes marketers make with Google Ads and how to fix them. It also provides a lot of cool examples and case studies to illustrate the main points and it’s a great read.

Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing: An Hour a Day

Now here’s a gem you won’t want to miss. It’s written by two super well-known marketers who have been published literally in every top marketing publication you could think of. It explains both the core concept as well as the leading trends in PPC today and goes in-depth into specific skills and strategies you should implement.

Advanced Google AdWords

This one is more for the advanced Google Ads practitioner (could you tell by the title?) and it contains advanced PPC optimization techniques, bidding strategies, and landing page tips to help you craft the perfect ads. Great reviews, published by John Wiley and Sons, in its third edition - it’s a solid resource.

Becoming a Digital Marketer

Gaining the Hard & Soft Skills for a Tech-Driven Career

Not sure you want to be a PPC marketer? Not sure you have the skills for the job? Then you should read this book.

Becoming a Digital Marketer contains two parts. The first part talks about the essential ‘hard skills’ like analytics, coding, search engine optimization, and keyword targeting, and the second part talks about the ‘soft skills’ which include copywriting, people skills, how to work in a team, etc. Both are essential to becoming a master PPC wordsmith.

How to pick the right PPC book

I know what you’re saying. Ben, this is a great list, but how do I know which one to start with? They all look good! Don’t worry, I got you. Here’s a quick breakdown of what you need to ask yourself to pick the right one.

What’s your channel?

PPC is very broad and you may be dealing with different channels. There’s Facebook advertising, Amazon PPC, Google Ads, Bing Ads, you name it. You should pick a book based on the advertising channel you’re dealing with.

What’s your level of expertise?

Are you a beginner or an advertising wiz? What’s the daily budget or the minimum budget you’re working with?

Looking for an overview or specific tactics?

You may be looking for a quick overview of a channel or you may be looking for specific advertising techniques to lower your advertising cost and maximize your marketing dollars. You don’t need to read a 700-page textbook to get the latest strategies for growing your ad campaigns.

By the way, a lot of these digital marketing books have eBook versions which you can view on your phone or mobile browser. A lot of business books also come in an audio format, so you really have no excuse if you’re on the go or running on your treadmill.

Recap

Got this far and still haven’t picked a book? Oh no! Scroll back up and go read something. And if you’re looking to hire a marketing professional or a PPC agency to grow your business, click here to get started.