The “PPC Hero” conference on paid search advertising was a well-regarded event in the digital advertising industry — until COVID-19 effectively shut it down. After going dark during the pandemic, it re-emerged in January 2022 as “Hero Conf” (dropping “PPC” from the name) at the downtown Hilton in Austin, Texas. We attended, enjoyed it, and hoped it would continue.
It didn’t — at least not immediately. Hero Conf went quiet again after Hanapin Marketing, the Ohio-based PPC agency that had built the conference into the top paid-search-only event in the industry, was acquired by BrainLabs (London, UK) in 2020. Rumors circulated about its fate for several years.
Then, starting in September 2024, Brighton SEO — one of the top search marketing conferences in the world — added Hero Conf as parallel tracks in its US edition. The result is a combined SEO and PPC conference held twice annually: each spring in Brighton, UK, and each fall in San Diego. The second US edition was held September 22–24 at the Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego.
Conference Highlights
Although the conference name changed from “PPC Hero Conference” to “Hero Conference” in 2022, the San Diego edition marks only the second time since COVID that its sessions have focused exclusively on paid search advertising — specifically, Google and Microsoft Ads. Here are three sessions Steve found particularly worth noting.
Optimized Product Data: The Fuel Behind AI in eCommerce
Ben Riggle made the case that strong product feed optimization is the critical foundation for automated bidding-driven performance. Without clean, well-structured product data, AI-driven campaigns are working with bad inputs — and the results reflect that. A timely reminder that automation is only as good as the data feeding it.
Unlocking Success in 2025 with Microsoft Advertising
Nate Burke, CEO of Diginius (London, UK), walked through key differences between Microsoft’s paid search platform and Google Ads, and practical methods to exploit those differences for better campaign performance. Microsoft Advertising remains underutilized by many advertisers, and sessions like this are a good reminder of the opportunity that represents.
A Note on Diginius
Diginius dinner at Callie, downtown San Diego
Blastoff Ads has been partnered with Diginius since 2023 — we were the 300th agency selected for their Microsoft Ads agency support program, which has since grown to over 1,000 participating agencies. At the conference, we were invited to a dinner they hosted at Callie, a well-regarded Mediterranean restaurant in downtown San Diego. Good food, good conversation with fellow agency owners and Diginius partners — a worthwhile evening.
Beyond ROAS: Advanced eCommerce KPIs for Profitability
Paolo Vidali’s session tackled a topic that deserves more attention: the metrics that matter as much as, or more than, ROAS for eCommerce advertisers. Chief among them: LIFT, which — unlike ROAS — accounts for actual sales volume rather than just the ratio of revenue to ad spend.
ROAS is widely misunderstood, and its name doesn’t help. “Return on Ad Spend” implies it measures return on investment — but it doesn’t. It measures a ratio. An account can have an excellent ROAS while leaving significant revenue on the table, and a deliberately lower ROAS can be the right call when capital is available and sales volume is the priority.
There are also scenarios where ROAS is simply the wrong lens: early in a campaign turnaround, before optimization has taken hold; when a business is aggressively scaling; or when brand awareness is the goal. LIFT accounts for these nuances better. And on Madison Avenue, the equivalent metric has long been called MER — Marketing Efficiency Ratio — a framing that makes the concept somewhat clearer from the outset.
For advertisers managing eCommerce accounts, this session was a useful prompt to revisit which metrics are actually driving decisions — and whether those metrics tell the full story.
Summary
The sessions at the 2024 San Diego Brighton SEO / Hero Conference were strong across the board, as was the pre-conference training we attended. The conference organization continues to be excellent — logistics before, during, and after the event were well-executed. We’ll be returning in both San Diego and Brighton, UK going forward.
Topics for the September 2026 San Diego edition of Brighton SEO / Hero Conf are now being announced. We’re looking forward to it.
