How to Choose a PPC Management Agency

Although nearly 50% of small businesses run online advertising, pay-per-click needs to be clarified among business owners. If you need help with PPC (pay-per-click) and think you need help from an external agency, you’re in the right place! This blog will clear up the common misconceptions surrounding PPC and tell you what to look for when searching for PPC management services or an agency. 

Busting PPC Myths 

Some people may believe that having their PPC campaigns on autopilot can save them time and produce the same results, but this is not the case. As with most things in life, what you put in is what you get out, and although this phrase may sound cheesy, it definitely applies!

So if you want to try your hand at PPC, follow the detail-orientated process that PPC entails, along with the frequent monitoring and A/B testing (The method of testing two variables to see which has the best performance). 

“The only search engine I need to invest in for PPC (pay-per-click) is Google”, false! Although a whopping 92.7% of all global searches happen on Google, other search engines, such as Yahoo and Bing, are search engines that should be explored as well. These search engines come with less competition and may help you gain a better ROI (return on investment) and increase your CVR (conversion rate).

Let’s move on to budgeting for PPC, a considerably sized budget you can use for pay-per-click helps massively. However, throwing money at your campaign will not take it from zero to hero. Your budget for PPC depends on factors unique to your business, such as your strategy, industry and company size.

On average, small to mid-sized companies spend approximately $9000 – $10,000 on their PPC campaigns. However, according to Google, it’s estimated that every $1 spent on ads generates $8 in profits!  

Another misconception is that Google Ads and analytics are the same things. However, in reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Google Analytics is a tool that provides a detailed and in-depth review of your website performance and integrates with other platforms such as Google Ads, data studio and search console. Depending on the size of your business, you can get everything you need from the free version of Google Analytics, as the paid version (Analytics 360) begins at $150,000 per year. 

Now that you know about Google Analytics, you’re probably thinking about whether or not you should start using it. If you can analyse a lot of data and have the know-how to act upon the results, GA (Google Analytics) would be a great tool to use.

However, if this is not the case, Google Analytics takes time to set up and requires you to have the knowledge to maintain and use it effectively. If you don’t have the time to focus on this, why not look for a PPC management agency? 

Onto Google Ads, now that you know about GA (Google Analytics), understanding and making the separation between the two will be easier. 

A key difference is that Google ads are a paid search advertising platform used for PPC (pay-per-click). This is where the advertiser pays a fixed price for every click their ad gets for that campaign. Google ads are an excellent method of driving qualified traffic (users most likely to become customers) to your website, increasing the likelihood of them converting as they are already interested in the products or services your business offers.

Furthermore, Google Ads also allows you to deliver ads to your target audience via mobile and desktop, allowing your business to show up on the SERP (search engine results page) when your target audience is looking for services or products your business offers. 

Before I talk about what you should look for when choosing a PPC management agency, people often ask, “How do I get PPC on Google.” Here are the steps you need to take to run PPC campaigns on Google after setting up your Ads account.

1. Sign in to your Google ads account.
2. Click on Campaigns
3. Select New Campaign
4. Select the PPC advertising objective
5. Choose your conversion goals and click continue
6. Choose your campaign type and then proceed to the next stage

This can become overwhelming if you have no experience; if you still want to do your own PPC, I recommend you check out Google’s support page on creating a campaign. Here you will find a more in-depth overview of the types of campaigns available, tips on optimising your campaign as you go and relevant links to other pages that can provide you with helpful information. 

However, if you’ve read to this point and have decided your company would benefit more from a PPC management agency, check out the ROAR website to see how we can make your PPC campaign the ‘mane’ event.

What to Look For In a PPC Management Agency

Suppose a PPC management agency has partnerships with Ad platforms you use or want to use. Although there are different partnership tiers, an agency having any tier-level partnership with either Google, Microsoft, or Facebook indicates that they know what they’re doing and will provide you with a good quality service.

Furthermore, when a PPC management agency has these partnerships, it gives you the peace of mind that the people working on your account have completed platform-specific tests, meaning they are certified trained professionals, helping to deliver the best results from your PPC (pay-per-click) campaign.  

Big on Data: Another indication of a good PPC management agency is that they’re data-driven. With a vast range of marketing methods, it can quickly become overwhelming and expensive. Every idea must be tested, which involves spending money.

Therefore, when looking for a PPC management agency, ensure they’re big on data. Making informed decisions based on the data can help maximise your ROI (return on investment) by analysing the top-performing ads and discovering the right, valuable keywords.  We recently wrote a blog on negative keywords in PPC, check it out here.

Industry Experience: Choosing the right PPC management agency for your business can also depend on the industry in which you operate;. However, many marketing methods don’t require industry knowledge; look for someone with experience in your industry. For example, suppose your business is in the engineering industry.

In that case, it’s not to say look for a PPC management agency that has only worked in that industry. Still, an agency with past experience may benefit your company more as they better understand how to market the more technical services or products your business offers. 

Communicate: Like in all aspects of business, communication is a crucial component, and this is no different. Communication between yourself and your PPC agency regarding the progress of your campaigns should be completely transparent, as you should be able to see where your money is going and what results you’re getting in return.

A good PPC management agency will be happy to provide you with any information you want and answer any questions you may have. It’s important to note that an agency hesitant to provide information on your campaign’s performance is an agency you should stay far away from!

How to Work With a PPC Management Agency  

So, we’ve established what the agency expects; now, we must quickly touch on your expectations. The relationship between yourself and the PPC management agency must be two-way. 

Communicating your expectations and business goals is a great start, as this will allow the agency to develop a tailored and strategic plan to help meet those goals and expectations. With goals and expectations, it’s possible to deliver results, so if you have yet to decide what direction your business wants, chat with your team and set some goals! 

You’re not the expert, but luckily for you, the agency you’ve hired is, so make sure you listen and take on board with what they’re saying, as this advice will only help your business. However, this is not to say you can’t ask questions, keep in mind, ‘there’s no such thing as a stupid question.’ Asking questions will help you learn and know the ins and outs of your campaign. 

For more – download the free guide to working with a PPC agency.

Get in touch now, and take your PPC campaign to the next level with ROAR.