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Unlevel the Playing Field: The Biggest Mindshift in PPC History
Today’s digital marketers all compete for attention with the same ad engine automations. In this seemingly level playing field, how do you stand out? How can artificial intelligence help you be better than the rest rather than simply fit in?
Your answers lie in automation layering.
In Unlevel the Playing Field , Frederick Vallaeys reveals how to combine the best of human creativity and machine efficiency to create winning digital marketing programs. This follow-up to Frederick’s first book dives into three key areas of search marketing—bidding, targeting, and messaging—to illustrate how automation layering can take your campaigns to the next
level of profitability.
Whether you’re an agency or an in-house marketer focused on e-commerce or lead gen, this book shows how to differentiate yourself in the digital marketing crowd with a new path to increased sales, improved returns, and the opportunity to make ad platforms work for you.
Your answers lie in automation layering.
In Unlevel the Playing Field , Frederick Vallaeys reveals how to combine the best of human creativity and machine efficiency to create winning digital marketing programs. This follow-up to Frederick’s first book dives into three key areas of search marketing—bidding, targeting, and messaging—to illustrate how automation layering can take your campaigns to the next
level of profitability.
Whether you’re an agency or an in-house marketer focused on e-commerce or lead gen, this book shows how to differentiate yourself in the digital marketing crowd with a new path to increased sales, improved returns, and the opportunity to make ad platforms work for you.
- GenresBusiness
262 pages, Paperback
Published January 14, 2022
45 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 5, 2023
After taking a four-year break from PPC marketing, I wanted to get back to basics by reading Frederick Vallaey’s book: Unlevel the playing field: the biggest shift in PPC history. The novel is a guide to help digital marketers learn about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Search Engine Advertising (SEA) and to stand out as an advertiser in a sea of averageness. During my time off, there were significant changes in Google Ads (apart from the name). And I was advised by many of my peers, experts in the field, to (re)begin my ad journey with this non-fictional volume.
My quick review of the book: if you’re out of touch with SEA, for whatever reason, this book might be for you. But if you’re a beginner, I’m not sure you should start here. Other resources - such as this course) will serve you well. However, if you want a more detailed review, please keep reading.
About the book
The novel consists of three parts:
Part 1 provides all the background information about machine learning (ML) in the PPC world. This includes the status quo of AI in digital advertising; how ML works; its advantages and disadvantages; and how you should interact with AI.
Part 2 explains how you can structure your campaigns, measure your results and report them. Further, Vallaeys provides tips to help you understand what most experts do to give them an edge over their competitors in deploying the above three digital marketing methodologies.
Part 3 is a deep dive into automation layering - automation that you can apply on top of Google’s AI (or Bing’s) to exert more control over your campaigns. The content covered includes a detailed explanation of targeting the right audience at the right time with the right message using automation layering.
Is the book helpful?
One of the best things about the book is its explanation of how Google’s ML works. Knowing how a tool is built provides insight into how you can use the tool to your benefit. Vallaeys uses smart examples - improving Google’s ML is like improving the design of a plane midflight; automation in Google Ads works similarly to an automated washing machine and dryer in your apartment - to help you make sense of the tool while illustrating how you can take advantage of the AI using automation layering.
He also shares numerous practical examples of fictional-but-savvy marketers using automation to edge out the competition. He covers various industries in these examples, including banking, retail, agriculture, and manufacturing, to name a few. His goal is to emphasise the multi-pronged benefit of using automation in different contexts and achieving your marketing and business goals.
A few chapters in the novel provide clear strategies on how to think, act and reflect in different situations. The advice is sound, which would probably take years to develop without the book’s assistance. Additionally, he offers tips and tricks on setting up your account, measuring success and reporting on your results to clients - suggestions that are quite advanced but useful to have at hand.
That said, the book suffers from Vallaeys’ constant OPTYMZR promotions. Apart from a few instances where the mentions seem appropriate, the persistent insertion of his PPC management tool borders irritation. The only time I’ve felt this level of annoyance was when I watched ‘The Internship’ - a 100+ minute Google ad (Why mention how fast OPTMYZR can help you develop RSA ideas?! A weird flex if you ask me*).
Who should read it?
Overall, the book is useful for those who want to keep up with the latest in SEA and prefer books over other forms of long-form content - podcasts, blogs, videos etc. And for those looking to reenter the PPC marketing space. But if you’re a beginner, this is not the book where you should begin.
My quick review of the book: if you’re out of touch with SEA, for whatever reason, this book might be for you. But if you’re a beginner, I’m not sure you should start here. Other resources - such as this course) will serve you well. However, if you want a more detailed review, please keep reading.
About the book
The novel consists of three parts:
Part 1 provides all the background information about machine learning (ML) in the PPC world. This includes the status quo of AI in digital advertising; how ML works; its advantages and disadvantages; and how you should interact with AI.
Part 2 explains how you can structure your campaigns, measure your results and report them. Further, Vallaeys provides tips to help you understand what most experts do to give them an edge over their competitors in deploying the above three digital marketing methodologies.
Part 3 is a deep dive into automation layering - automation that you can apply on top of Google’s AI (or Bing’s) to exert more control over your campaigns. The content covered includes a detailed explanation of targeting the right audience at the right time with the right message using automation layering.
Is the book helpful?
One of the best things about the book is its explanation of how Google’s ML works. Knowing how a tool is built provides insight into how you can use the tool to your benefit. Vallaeys uses smart examples - improving Google’s ML is like improving the design of a plane midflight; automation in Google Ads works similarly to an automated washing machine and dryer in your apartment - to help you make sense of the tool while illustrating how you can take advantage of the AI using automation layering.
He also shares numerous practical examples of fictional-but-savvy marketers using automation to edge out the competition. He covers various industries in these examples, including banking, retail, agriculture, and manufacturing, to name a few. His goal is to emphasise the multi-pronged benefit of using automation in different contexts and achieving your marketing and business goals.
A few chapters in the novel provide clear strategies on how to think, act and reflect in different situations. The advice is sound, which would probably take years to develop without the book’s assistance. Additionally, he offers tips and tricks on setting up your account, measuring success and reporting on your results to clients - suggestions that are quite advanced but useful to have at hand.
That said, the book suffers from Vallaeys’ constant OPTYMZR promotions. Apart from a few instances where the mentions seem appropriate, the persistent insertion of his PPC management tool borders irritation. The only time I’ve felt this level of annoyance was when I watched ‘The Internship’ - a 100+ minute Google ad (Why mention how fast OPTMYZR can help you develop RSA ideas?! A weird flex if you ask me*).
Who should read it?
Overall, the book is useful for those who want to keep up with the latest in SEA and prefer books over other forms of long-form content - podcasts, blogs, videos etc. And for those looking to reenter the PPC marketing space. But if you’re a beginner, this is not the book where you should begin.
March 31, 2024
Great for a seasoned PPC practitioner.
Have seen the material on training courses but interesting to see how it all fits and view changes over time through the lens of an ex-googler.
Must-read if you are a paid search specialist looking to be top in the field.
Have seen the material on training courses but interesting to see how it all fits and view changes over time through the lens of an ex-googler.
Must-read if you are a paid search specialist looking to be top in the field.
July 13, 2023
I guess its okay for the beginner trying to better understand how google ads work. However nothing groundbreaking.
September 9, 2024
Good ideas, but way too salesy
June 16, 2025
Even though Google and the Internet changes often, this book gives a great foundation for understanding how Google and other Internet ad platforms change.
January 31, 2022
Although plugging Optmyzr a few times (obviously), Frederick gives us insight into how AI and ML really work behind the scenes of PPC management and what the role of the human is and will be. Both theoretically and practically very sound.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews