Ginny Marvin on AI in search, PPC trends, and the evolution of Google ads

Ginny Marvin didn’t get into PPC because she had a good plan.

He got into it because he was ready to start again.

After years of working in print and advertising, Marvin found himself in a pivotal position. The first magazine he had helped launch, and decided it was time to go full digital.

That means going from a marketing director to an entry-level applicant.

• “I don’t know what I’m doing, so I’ll start at the beginning,” he recalled.

That reset eventually led him to search advertising, Search Engine Land, and later to Google, where he is now a Google Ads Liaison.

In this interview, Marvin looks back at how paid search has changed, what marketers no longer understand, and why the next phase of search will reward curiosity over control.

PPC is clicked faster than SEO

Marvin started on the SEO side of a small agency.

Then the paid search manager went on vacation.

He took on campaigns for a while – and soon saw the appeal.

Coming from print, where measurement was slow or sometimes impossible, PPC felt almost rushed. You can start, spend, measure and see the action immediately.

That speed changed everything.

For Marvin, PPC made the connection between marketing activity and business results much clearer than SEO did at the time.

Google won by moving faster

When Marvin entered the industry, Google wasn’t the only significant search player.

Yahoo was still the dominant force, and Microsoft was part of the mix. But over time, Google has moved on.

Marvin believed that the difference was the focus.

Google has continued to improve the product, introducing new features and iterating faster than competitors. It became very clear that Google is building on the needs of advertisers and pushing the industry forward.

The original PPC was painfully manual

Today’s PPC marketers may complain about manual labor, but the early days were on another level.

Campaigns are built between large lists of keywords, infinite permissions and granular structures. Marketers have spent hours creating keyword combinations and negative keyword lists.

It gave marketers a sense of control, but also forced them to build campaigns around how the platform works – not how the business works.

That, Marvin says, is one of the biggest changes in paid search: campaigns now naturally start with keywords.

Search Engine Land became the industry news site

When Search Engine Land was launched, Marvin was at the beginning of his search career.

But it quickly became the place people went to for search news, reviews and expert analysis.

What made it valuable was not just the reporting. It was a mix of breaking stories, contributed columns and practical insights from people doing the work.

For Marvin, Search Engine Land has played a major role in the growth of professionals across the industry because it makes it easier to share information.

One thing Marvin came back to again and again was the generosity of the search community.

From the early days, doctors shared what they were testing, what worked, what failed and what others should look for.

That culture of learning has helped define the industry.

It also boosted Marvin’s career, both as a journalist at Search Engine Land and now in his role at Google.

AI is not as new as people think

Marvin believes that one of the biggest misconceptions about AI in search is that it’s sudden.

Machine learning has been a part of Google ads for years, enabling changes like proximity, Smart Bidding and automation.

What has changed recently has been the speed of progress driven by major language genres.

AI didn’t come overnight. But LLMs have accelerated change dramatically.

Consumer behavior is changing search

For Marvin, the big change isn’t just what Google can do.

How people search.

The questions get longer and harder. People search with images, voice and multimodal input. Search can now understand intent without relying solely on typed keywords.

That means marketers need to think beyond the last minute conversion and understand the full customer journey.

Success still means business results

Marvin doesn’t think the definition of success in search has changed.

It still comes down to business results.

What has changed is marketers’ ability to measure those results and link campaign performance to business goals.

That makes data, measurement and first-party signals more important than ever.

The next 20 years will reward curiosity

When asked what type of marketer will succeed in the next phase of search, Marvin pointed to curiosity.

The best marketers will be those who continue to learn, observe customer behavior and adapt before they are forced to.

He compared it to mobile, where consumers move faster than advertisers.

The same thing happens with AI.

PPC marketers say they love change – until it happens

Marvin’s practical assessment of the industry was simple.

PPC marketers often say they love change, but many resist every big change when it comes.

His advice is to take a long-term view.

Many changes that sound sudden have actually been years in the making. Automation, AI, broad intent matching campaigns and omnichannel campaigns are going this way for a long time.

His advice: start exploring

Marvin’s message is not that all new features will be implemented immediately.

It is that marketers should not write things forever because they test them once in the past months or years.

Platforms are evolving rapidly. Skills are developing. What failed before may work differently now.

For marketers still clinging to old ways of working, the next phase of search will be difficult.

He is proud of it

Looking back, Marvin said he’s proud of the search community itself.

Its willingness to share, learn and support has made the industry stronger.

He also sees his role, both in Search Engine Land and Google, as a resource for advertisers.

• As he puts it, communication with “marketers, marketers” has always been important.