When it comes to getting help with managing your PPC advertising, it can be hard to know which option is the best for your business.
But, you don’t have to worry. Here’s everything you need to know about PPC management companies, including how they can help you grow and what to look out for when choosing one.
What do PPC Management Companies Do?
PPC management companies, or PPC agencies, offer hands-off solutions which may or may not appeal to you depending on your business. Your campaigns sit with experts that work on PPC day-in and day-out, and they know exactly how to make campaigns work to their full potential.
They cover things such as weekly reporting, identifying and replacing underperforming ads, analysing data, reviewing bidding strategies and more.
However, you’re not the only account they have to handle. PPC management agencies typically have a number of different clients onboard, which means they often use management tools such as Adzooma to manage, optimise and automate their workload.
There are many tools and features you’ll need in a PPC management agency. When you’re paying for a service, you will want the basics and some unique extras to make you stand out.
A PPC management company typically takes care of the following tasks:
- Keyword research
- The best PPC channels to target
- PPC monitoring
- Competition analysis
- Campaign optimization
- Split testing (A/B Testing)
- Cross-platform management
- Ad scheduling
- AI-led custom rules
What are the key things to look out for?
When choosing a PPC management company, you have to trust that they’re on their game and stay up-to-date with current trends and industry topics. A good way to do this is to check out their current ads and website.
How well do they sell themselves?
This will give you a rough idea of the quality of their writing and how they will promote your business. Do they have a blog? Is it regularly updated? This will show you how in tune they are with your specific industry.
Who are their competitors
Look at their competitors. Do they do things like competitor bidding? Doing some shopping around now will save you time and effort in the future.
How will they communicate with you?
It is also important to check how they will communicatewith you, do they understand your business? Will they help you achieve your goals? Do they offer 24/7 help? It is best to get things inline from the start to ensure you have a good relationship with them.
Customer service is an underrated but vital part of your search for the best management company.
Telephone and email are the most popular forms of communication. Telephone is more personal as you’re talking directly to a PPC specialist who can help you in real-time. With email, you can tailor exactly what you want to say, however it may take longer to get a response.
What is their level of PPC expertise?
You also want to look at the experience of the company. This isn’t necessarily how long they’ve been running, but rather the experience of the manager who will be looking after your accounts.
If you can’t get this information, feel free to ask as many questions as you like to help you make an informed decision.
PPC expertise takes time to develop, but it is important. There are some key things to look out for before signing up to a PPC Management company:
- What is the age of their business? Are they well established or relatively new?
- Have they won any awards? Management companies love to showcase their expertise with awards
- How much are they offering? Every management agency should offer the basics but lookout for cool features you might not have thought of.
Your own PPC knowledge
One of the main reasons you should bring in a PPC management company is to fill the gap in your PPC knowledge and/or to save time and money with account management. Ideally, you will need them to know more than you, so there is room for optimisation.
PPC Case studies
Another way to evaluate a management agency’s expertise is through case studies. Take into consideration the results, how the account was set up, how things progressed month-on-month, and areas for improvement.
Take a look at their previous clients and if they have any client testimonials on their website. Are they trusted by well-known companies and what have they had to say about their work?
PPC blogs
The best PPC agencies should also have a good quality, extensive blog. It’s the perfect way to exhibit their knowledge. They should have everything from original research to how-to guides.
Are they Google Ads Certified?
When a company has certifications from industry giants such as Google, Facebook, Bing and Amazon, it’s a great way to separate good agencies from the best PPC management companies.
Most agencies won’t have full certifications or only have one from Google or Facebook, however, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing – if you don’t use Microsoft Ads, a Microsoft Ads certificate won’t be a game-changer.
Something else to consider is the difference between being a Google Partner and a Google Ads accreditation. Individuals get certified rather than the whole PPC agency. Any member of Partners can earn a Google Ads certification and agencies get the badges.
However, on their own, certifications don’t equate to full expertise. Look out for a company’s certifications on their website with special edges on their pages.
How cost-effective is PPC management?
For small businesses, your budget is important. When it comes to outsourcing your work, you will need to consider the budget for your ads as well as playing the company to manage them.
The cost of PPC management companies are usually split into two categories:
- Separate ad spend + a monthly management fee
- A fixed price plan
Separate ad spend + a monthly management fee
Most PPC management services charge a separate monthly fee from your ad spend. So, you’d pay the monthly fee and pay for your ads directly.
With a monthly fee, you know how much you’re spending on your ads and a flat rate for campaign management.
Fixed price plan
This plan is usually aimed at smaller businesses and individuals with specific needs and smaller budgets – you get more control over what you spend, however the features can be limited.
The problem with opting for a fixed price plan that includes ad spend and a management fee is that you won’t know how much you’re paying for each. Reporting is important, so you can calculate your average spend and deduct it from your overall payment amount. This way, you will see if you’re better off paying for them separately.
Your choice between separate ad spend and monthly management fees and fixed price plans is down to your preference and budget.
What are the main benefits?
There are several benefits of using a PPC management company, with the obvious one being to save you time. If you’re no longer having to look at your ads, you can spend that time on more valuable tasks, which could be a whopping 31 hours per week.
Other benefits include:
- Saving money – you’re less likely to waste money when your campaigns are handled by professionals as they’ll be better clued up on where to spend your budget
- Accessing a wide range of services – this is particularly good if you may want help with other aspects of your marketing plan such as social media
- Peace of mind – if you’re paying an agency to run your campaigns, you know they’ll be done well
- Expertise when you need it – you can hire an agency to support you over a period of time, rather than recruiting permanent members of staff
How do you know when to use an agency?
Finding the right PPC management service for your business is extremely important. While a PPC management agency is one of them, there are other options available that offer a wide variety of advantages and disadvantages.
Let’s take a look at Jeff’s situation.
- Jeff is a 30-year-old business owner who runs PPC advertising campaigns to bring in new clients.
- Having worked for a large building company, Jeff recently decided to take the leap and start-up on his own. His Google ads are performing well, he’s begun spending money on Facebook and is considering Bing too.
- His main problem is that he doesn’t have the time to give his campaigns the attention they need.
- But, he knows he doesn’t have to do it all himself. And he’s aware there are experts around who know how to optimise his campaigns. He thinks it would be worth spending a bit more money on PPC if it meant the overall return on investment (ROI) was higher.
He has two options.
Some of his competitors make use of PPC optimisation tools. He knows this because their ads rank higher than his, despite the business owners knowing very little about PPC.
But, his friend who was in a similar situation found a PPC management company to take everything off his hands. He doesn’t have to worry about any of his accounts now but it was difficult to find one that suited his needs.
Examples of PPC Management Agencies
It can be time-consuming to scout around for the best PPC management agency, so we have put together a list of our top choices for you.
Panoptic Media
Panoptic Media prides themselves as a digital marketing agency that will understand your business as comprehensively as possible prior to working with you. Their approach is tailored to your business and offers a free paid search audit to prove that they can improve what you’re currently running.
Whether you are looking to increase leads, enquiries or sales, they will devise and implement a strategy that is second to none.
Receptional
Named one of the UK’s top 30 agencies by Google, Receptional offers a comprehensive checklist review of your Google Ads account completed by a consultant. This will highlight your strengths and weaknesses and opportunities for improving performance.
They will also help you plan and create campaigns that hit your goals whether it be generating more leads or making sales. Receptional will take their time to understand your aims and tailor their campaigns across Search, Display, Social, Video and Shopping, to suit your business.
Zelst
With years of experience, training and expertise Zelst will be a great paid search optimisation partner and deliver the ultimate in PPC management for your account. As a Google Ads partner, you can rely on them to run your paid advertising campaigns.
Using the latest analytical tools, Zelst will continually monitor, adjust and manage your campaigns to maximise ROI. They will also research your target customers, figure out how they are searching for you and tailor your PPC campaigns to suit your audience.
Lithium Marketing
Lithium Marketing will provide you with a specialist to manage your PPC campaigns who will spend time daily to deliver the best possible results for your advertising dollars spent on Google and Microsoft.
They offer specific services including manual and machine learning bid optimisations, quality score improvements, landing page design, competitor watches.
They are dedicated to your success and have up-to-date information about target sites and advertising packages. Lithium are committed to using their experience to make sure that your next PPC campaign is a successful one.
Space & Time
Space & Time’s PPC specialists will audit your existing accounts, targeting methods, keywords, advertising and landing pages. They will work with you to ensure that your campaigns are saying what your customers need to hear.
By using AI, they have smart tools, smart people and the inside edge to drive performance and hit your targets. Space & Time is a Google Premier Partner, so the latest insights and tools are at their fingertips. Your PPC campaigns will be monitored 24/7 with any issues being identified and addressed immediately.
PPC Management Tools & Softwares
There are plenty of tools and softwares that you can use as an alternative to PPC management companies. These alternative tools and software will help increase productivity, extend functionality and give you the best Google Ads Performance.
The purpose of PPC management platforms is to remove the tedious, time-consuming jobs that you don’t have time for. It would be ridiculous to search for every relevant keyword, analyse bids and find negative keywords by hand. So, here are some key tools and softwares available to automate and optimise your ads.
Here are some of the best tools available:
Adzooma
Adzooma is an award-winning ad platform that helps optimize your Google, Microsoft and Facebook Ads in one place. The platform gives you time to work through insightful recommendations in its Opportunity Engine, optimise your budget, and manage multiple advertising accounts on one screen.
Adzooma is currently offering $125 in Microsoft ads when you spend $25 when you join Adzooma for free. Click here for more information.
Cost: Free
Google Ads Editor
Google Ads Editor is essential for beginners who may not have the budget for a paid software. Google Ads Editor lets you work offline and make bulk changes, which helps with larger accounts. With it being a Google product, it’s easy to track KPIs, CTR, costs, position and conversions.
Cost: Free
Keyword Planner
Another free Google tool, Keyword Planner finds the perfect keywords to target in your ads and helps you plan out your bidding strategy.
It gives you bid estimates for every keyword, so you can test against your budget. You can search for terms related to your business and it shows you how keyword searches have changed over time.
Cost: Free
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is an essential part of the Google Ads funnel as it shows you how effective your ads are. It allows you to track where customers go on your site and how they engage with your landing pages. You can track conversions and make custom reports to show what needs to improve and what’s working well.
Cost: Free
PPC Protect
Click fraud is the fraudulent clicking of PPC ads to run up charges for advertisers and illegally waste their ad spend. PPC Protect can project your clicks from these fraudulent activities using specific fraud prevention algorithms and improve your campaign performance at the same time.
Cost: Plans start from $50 per month
ClickCease
Similarly to PPC Protect, ClickCease are a cheaper click fraud protection platform whilst offering 24/7 monitoring, conversion analytics and bot detection. They also block click farms and find out who is bidding on your keywords. You can see their ad copy and track their position daily, allowing you to improve your ads.
Cost: Plans start at £12 per month
SEMrush
SEMrush is known for its SEO features, but it excels in PPC management with features like ad builder, position tracking and keyword gap analysis. There is a lot you can do in SEMrush to optimise campaigns. You can analyse your competitors budgets and keywords, monitor ad copy and landing pages for possible improvements.
Cost: Limited features for free; paid plans start from £99.95 a month.
Quick Links:
- Top 18 Amazon PPC Management Tools
- Adzooma Review
- 5 Google Ads (PPC) Training Courses
- PPC Winner Review
Find your PPC match on Adzooma Marketplace
When it comes to choosing a PPC management company, it’s essential that you’re informed. You need to understand what you want your ads to do for you in the long run, rather than just because you need more time. This way you can be sure that the route you choose will help you get there.
Adzooma Marketplace is the number one platform that connects businesses with digital agencies, freelancers, consultants, businesses, training providers and software providers who have the experience and expertise they need, right at that moment.
What’s more, every single agency listed on Adzooma Marketplace has been vetted and examined to make sure that only the most trusted and qualified businesses are ever suggested to you.
If there’s one you like the sound of, send them a message while you browse to ask more about their services. It’s the fast-track way to improve your business.
Can’t decide between multiple options? Our brand new ratings and review system will help you compare service providers and make the best decision for your business based on real, authentic testimonials. See what other people have to say about PPC agencies before you choose them, eliminating time-consuming research.
Choosing the best PPC management company has never been easier.
