5 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a PPC Management Firm
So you own your own business, and you’re considering putting some money towards pay-per-click advertising. Maybe you’re completely new to PPC or maybe you’ve had a little experience and realized it is far too time-consuming and complex to attend to on a daily basis. Either way, be aware a mismanaged PPC campaign can be quite expensive, and considering how easy it is to get into the business, countless firms have set up shop to turn a profit without any intention of providing a reliable and professional service. To get the most of out your experience, here are five questions to ask before you hire a PPC management firm.
1 – How much do you charge?
PPC is one of the cost-effective forms of advertising available and a smart investment to make in your business. Pay-per-click campaigns make it possible to track everything, from keyword performance to click-through-rate, right down to ROI for every dollar spent. Despite these clear advantages, however, jumping into PPC without an idea of your budget limitations is a bad idea.
Get an idea of how much you can afford to spend per month in relation to how much you are willing to spend on each new customer, conversion, or sale. Communicate this to the prospective PPC management firm and then be sure their fees will not put you over budget. If you know what you want and what you can afford, a firm may be willing to work with you to arrange a fee structure that meets your needs. Do your homework.
2 – Are there any guarantees?
Guarantees in business can be good. They can make us feel secure, and they give us some sort of protection if and when something goes wrong down the line. But if a PPC management firm guarantees performance or success, run the other way.
There is no such thing as a guarantee of success in search engine marketing, although there are many companies who will tell you otherwise. Don’t listen. Whether you are dealing with PPC or SEO, there are many factors involved in success and what works for one company will not work for another. Get clear on the terms of your contract and go from there. Make sure your contract terms are fair, but don’t get fooled into believing there is anything that can be done to predict success.
3 – How will you demonstrate improvements?
This is a big one. One of the reasons you are probably attracted to PPC in the first place is because you want to improve your business – in the form of sales, clients, or more accountability in your marketing. Make sure your PPC firm is committed to the same goal. Ask about reporting frequency, campaign benchmarks, and performance metrics. Make sure your firm feels strongly about improving your bottom line and will demonstrate that to you in the form of tangible deliverables on an ongoing basis.
4 – How many people will handle my account?
If you ask a firm how many people are handling your PPC account and they say 3 or more, this should raise a red flag. Unless you are purchasing a more comprehensive media package, it should take no more than one competent account manager to handle your PPC campaign. In fact, it is preferred that one person handle your account so they understand the history behind it and can make informed and strategic decisions to improve your performance moving forward.
5 – Can I speak with some of your clients?
If you only ask one question on this list, let it be this one. One of the quickest ways to suss out a disreputable PPC management firm is to speak with their clientele. If you ask to speak to a firm’s clients and they are withholding, consider this alone a red flag and move on to your next prospect.
The kind of firm you want to work with should be more than willing to hand you a lengthy list of clients ready to give them rave reviews. Call a few clients on their list and ask for written testimonials. Do whatever you can to ensure the firm in question has a pool of satisfied clients.
