PPC agency service packages – What can you expect for your money?
Unfortunately it occurs more and more often that we run into frustrated online advertisers on various social media platforms who complain that they have paid to several smaller or larger PPC agencies for either PPC campaign management or other digital marketing services, and they are not getting what they expected, and are hugely disappointed…
At the same time, of course, the comments of PPC agencies appear immediately, and in many cases, depending on temperament and many other factors, they try to explain why the frustrated client is right or wrong.
In this blog post, we would like to show companies who are planning to advertise online, what service package they can expect from different types of PPC agencies, performance marketing agencies, or strategic digital marketing agencies.
Realistic expectations
Well, we don’t have to be experts with many decades of experience to recognize that conflicts and misunderstandings are mostly due to a single cause: digital marketing, but especially PPC campaign management, is still a kind of “black box”, meaning no one really knows what level of service they can realistically expect for a certain amount of money if they entrust a PPC expert or PPC agency to manage their online advertising because everyone says different things and there are lots of misleading information circulating on the air – unfortunately often even on PPC agency websites that pretend to be knowledgeable.
We want to sort this out now – so let’s see what types of realistic PPC agency or performance marketing agency services are available in the Hungarian market today? What kind of service level can we realistically expect from which supplier and what are the things we shouldn’t expect?
Low cost PPC campaign management service
Let’s declare something at the beginning: a low-cost PPC service is not a swear word and is not the same as a customer fraud! Such a service can also be totally correct if we communicate transparently what exactly is included, what is not, and what to expect in such a PPC campaign management package.
What should a low-cost PPC campaign management package include?
- The primary goal of low-cost PPC campaign management is to drive relevant traffic to the client’s website, as cost-effectively as possible. So it must include setting up and managing PPC campaigns at least on a level that is able to filter out typical “money-burning” mistakes and is capable of supporting key business goals.
- Given the specifics of performance marketing, an effective PPC campaign is unthinkable without a working conversion tracking – and we can’t set up many innovative Google Ads campaign types without it.
- A low-cost PPC campaign management package doesn’t necessarily have to include setting up a full Google Analytics or Google Ads / Facebook conversion tracking, but it should definitely draw attention to the critical importance of this and at least offer them as an optional service.
- Consulting: One should never expect serious consulting, especially strategic support, from a low-cost PPC ad management package, because they will be disappointed! However, it is definitely expected that the service provider will be informed about our business in at least a few questions. They should ask exactly what our business goal is, what we want to achieve with PPC ads, who our online competitors are, how we are better or different than our competitors, what messages we want to reach our target audience with – without this information there is no chance of setting up an effective PPC campaign at any level.
Forrás: Money illustrations by Storyset
Critical points and rip-offs at PPC agencies
As mentioned, a basic PPC ad management package can also be correct if it’s communicated transparently and correctly. Which is definitely a warning sign, if we get a quote for handling our PPC ads without asking us anything, and on the other hand, they offer a “complex solution” for the real value of a few hours of work a month.
In this case, 99% of the time, the PPC agency promises everything that sounds good because customers do not have an in-depth understanding of PPC advertising and “the customer can’t hold us accountable anyway” and unfortunately will be right…
As for the simplest defense against these types of scams, these two tips are very simple:
- On the one hand, let’s try to prepare a little in advance – there are many professional, free materials available – even WebMa’s ebook for executives ;-). So let’s invest at least a few hours in advance to be able to ask some meaningful questions!
- Have a professional PPC campaign brief summarizing the basic information – if you can’t put it together on your own, ask for expert help!
- A professional online marketing consultant can save you a lot of unnecessary time and money in just a few hours, even if you want to work with a “low-cost” PPC agency service provider in the future..
- Preparing and spending up to a few hours for online marketing consulting is the best possible investment and a guarantee that you won’t have to pay multiple times more than necessary in the future!
- On the other hand, in addition to professional online marketing themed questions, pay attention to telltale signs: if a potential PPC agency provider doesn’t ask us about our business, previous PPC campaigns, business goals, they don’t ask for access to website analytics – in short, they’re not interested in our company, they send us a template PPC ad management quote right away, we are definitely in the wrong agency to work with!!
Who is suitable for a low-cost PPC ad management package?
Surprisingly, there are many cases where even a basic PPC campaign management service is a huge step forward, especially after zero online marketing activity.
These can typically be PPC ads for industries or products with less intense online advertising competition, focusing primarily on local or very specialized areas.
For example, a rural small-town service provider – tire exchange in Szarvas, or flower shop in Kunszentmiklós. It may be a special service that has really little competition and isn’t very advanced online – but usually it’s needed to narrow location targeting in PPC campaigns to reach our goals. For example, there are a lot of ads in the search engine for renting a truck – you can see that we can narrow down the competition by specifying a location:
What can you realistically expect and what can you not expect from a low-cost (cheap) PPC campaign management service?
You can expect that
- They get to know and understand the basic information about your company and your goals
- They set up (typically for a fee) at least one basic web analytics (Google Analytics website analytics, Google Ads conversion tracking, remarketing)
- They build a small PPC campaign structure on an ad network (typically Google Ads / Facebook) with no major flaws
- They manage this at least once or twice a month, check the performance of PPC ads and fix any errors and the less effective impressions
- They provide a basic PPC campaign report at the end of each calendar month – with at least one short written / online consultation
- Grant access to your PPC advertising account – that is on your name! – this way, you can monitor your advertising budget and key figures.
What should you not realistically expect from a cheap / low cost PPC campaign management service?
- Setting up a complex online marketing strategy, meaningful online competitor research, online competitor analysis, complex strategic online marketing recommendations – it takes a lot more time to learn about the company and the market, as well as PPC campaign management and web analytics.
- Achieving meaningful business results in any highly competitive online advertising target market – in those areas, you have no chance to achieve your goals with a basic service (just like almost any complex, B2B lead generation task in the online space).
Forrás: Work illustrations by Storyset
Premium PPC agency service
Of course, there are many different levels of PPC agency service to distinguish between low-cost and premium PPC services, but for the sake of clarity, it is enough to see the difference between “low-cost” and “premium”.
What can you expect from a premium PPC agency?
Service provided by a premium PPC agency differs most from low-cost PPC campaign management in the depth of service level. At this level, the basic expectation is that they ask in detail about your business goals, the historical background of your company’s online marketing activities and to develop a relatively detailed PPC campaign strategy for you already in the bidding phase. (This should include the current situation, goals, recommendations and the exact level of service – preferably an estimated return on investment or a quick market overview.).
What else to expect from a premium PPC agency package:
- Expect a comprehensive, professional metering strategy and web analytics and conversion metering settings – this is the foundation for both effective performance marketing and substantive PPC campaign reports.
- Quality PPC agencies always provide detailed PPC campaign reporting – typically in Google Data Studio – which they also interpret for the client, making proactive suggestions for PPC campaigns for the next period.
- Although not a condition, it is a very encouraging sign if the agency has multiple, recognized certifications – such as the Google Premier Partner badge.
Strategic online marketing agency – online marketing outsourcing – online growth strategy
Compared to the “low-cost” and “premium” PPC campaign management services presented above, the so-called strategic online marketing agencies offer more and much more complex solutions.
If we choose the right service package, a strategic online marketing agency will help you set up your entire online growth strategy and provide complex online marketing solutions using various online marketing channels and tools.
Of course, if you only entrust them with the management of your PPC campaigns, you shouldn’t expect even the most professional strategic online marketing agency to set up a complex online growth strategy!
Basically, what you can expect from the service is what you have ordered from the relevant online marketing agency or performance marketing agency or PPC agency.
If you work with a strategic online marketing agency, you can realistically expect them to perform the tasks related to online marketing almost as an outsourced online marketing department and to actively contribute to the creation of an online growth strategy.
We’ll give one main piece of advice for anyone looking to outsource their online marketing or PPC advertising to an expert agency: at step zero, determine exactly how profound is the service you need from an outside agency:
- Low cost management of PPC campaigns
- Premium management of PPC ads (performance marketing agency)
- PPC campaign management with online marketing consulting
- Creating and implementing a complex online marketing strategy and online growth strategy (with specialization in e-commerce or lead generation).
Once you can see exactly what services you need for online marketing, you should look for an expert agency partner to do so. Don’t hesitate to ask for a recommendation from your professional contacts in the field, there is no better starting point than others’ recommendations!