Finding the right PPC (pay per click) management company to help your business with internet advertising is a lot like discovering the right company for PR or marketing or advertising. You have to know what you are looking for and have a general idea of your goals.
Doing the due diligence to research PPC firms before you start a Campaign will go a long way toward the success of your online advertising. An experienced PPC management firm should be held accountable for measurable results and can help take pressure off your advertising and marketing team’s busy schedule.
It is easy to underestimate the level of effort required to manage and optimize a Campaign on a daily basis. If you do not have the time or experience, a PPC management company will make a huge impact that will outweigh any additional cost for professional management of your online advertising budget.Below are five suggestions on finding the right PPC agency:
- Having the right assets in place. As is true with any marketing campaign – online or not – you need assets to promote. For instance, is your service or product ready for “prime time?” What is the unique selling point that you want to convey – better, cheaper, faster? You need to think this through very carefully. Also, do you have a website? What are the conversion points on your website? You will usually need a customized landing page for any PPC campaign, so having a high quality website to support your PPC conversion goals will be essential.
- Is Paid Search right for my company? This is something you should ask yourself but it is also something you can run by your online marketing company or PPC management agency as well. Figure out if this is right for you and be aware of the following “red” flags: (a) Your target search niche is very small, or so new that no one’s searching for your product; (b) You haven’t evaluated the competitive landscape; and (c) Your website isn’t prepared to make effective use of the traffic you’ll be receiving.
- Fixing your assets: You might have a great product and good website, but even so, your agency may suggest changes to your website, creating a landing page or fixing up parts of the website to enhance your ROI. According to Moz.com, “Success in paid search is about much more than tweaking spreadsheets—you’ll need to create a cohesive and functional user experience from end to end, and that means some serious work on landing pages, ads, conversion rate optimization, data analysis, and selling the ideas to make it all happen.”
- Finding the right PPC Company: Naturally you want to work with people that are a good fit for your company– so ask the right questions up front so that you can decide if the agency is right for you. Here are a few examples:
– What is the turnaround on copy, art and other assets?
– Whose job is it fix the website or create the landing page?
– What kind of input will you be able to give?
– What is the approval process?
– What is the budget?
– What is the process for reporting?
- Stakeholders: PPC is not just a process of getting an ad online, but leveraging your existing client and customer base and knowledge of your target market and buyer persona to create the most effective campaign to maximize your budget. You want to choose a PPC company that is able to perform competitor research, A/B testing and a strong analytical approach to online advertising.