At this point, you might be convinced launching a professional PPC campaign is what it takes to get your business to the next level. The problem is, as a busy business owner, you don’t have the time or energy to devote to learning how to optimize and run a pay-per-click campaign.
Now, you’re ready to look into hiring an agency to run your paid ads but there’s only one question: how much do agencies charge for Google Ads? You’re in the right place. In this post, we’re going to discuss what determines PPC management pricing, as well as other PPC campaign tips you won’t want to miss.
Before we get to pay-per-click management pricing, let’s explore PPC marketing in general. The more understanding you have about the concept, the more the pricing model makes sense.
What is a Pay-Per-Click Campaign?
Let’s start with the basics: what is a pay-per-click campaign? This type of advertising strategy involves paying a small fee each time someone clicks on one of your ads. Virtually every successful business with an online presence utilizes PPC campaigns, and it’s more important than ever to keep up with the competition.
For most businesses, a PPC campaign is just one component of their overall marketing strategy. They will also utilize SEO, content marketing, and other helpful methods. But when it comes to pay-per-click specifically, there are several advantages to this type of advertising.
First, you don’t pay anything unless your ads are actually clicked. That means if someone sees your ad but doesn’t engage with it, it won’t cost you anything. So, even if that first visit doesn’t get you a click, at the very least it can help boost your brand awareness.
PPC marketing is also beneficial because it can provide instant results. SEO can be incredible when it’s done right, but it will take some time to start climbing in search engine rankings. PPC, on the other hand, can start working for you right away.
Want to learn even more about the benefits of PPC marketing? Try this post next.
Important Steps for Launching a PPC Campaign
Keyword research will be the first, and one of the most important steps, in launching a PPC campaign. When you perform keyword research, you get an understanding of what your target audience is likely to type into search engines to find what they’re looking for. With this research on hand, you can create PPC ads that include these keywords.
But keyword research isn’t quite as simple as it sounds. While finding a list of keywords to use is a great start, your work isn’t done there. You will also need to consider things like search volume for that keyword and the average cost-per-click or CPC. Then, you can organize your keywords in order of importance and relevance.
In addition to the keywords you’ll include, you will also want to create a list of negative keywords. We have a whole post on how to use negative keywords in search campaigns here, but essentially:
“Negative keywords tell Google which keywords your ad should NOT be displayed for.”
With all of your keyword research done, it’s time to create a budget for your ads. (If you are outsourcing your PPC services, you will want to double-check that pricing includes an ads budget or if the fee is just for the services themselves).
Throughout all of this, don’t forget to keep an eye on your competitors. You don’t want to copy exactly what they’re doing, but you can use them for inspiration and motivation for your own campaign!
Next is one of the areas many business owners tell us they struggle the most with creating killer ad copy. Not everyone is a natural-born marketer or writer, and this part doesn’t come as naturally to them as others. Your ad copy needs to be engaging and effective, and include a compelling CTA (call-to-action).
Before you launch your ads, you’ll also work on things like ad visuals (if you’re using them), ad extensions, and more.
These are just some of the elements that go into PPC management. Do you want to see a bigger breakdown of what type of advertising takes? Read this next: What are Pay-Per-Click Management Services?
3 Tips to Improve the Performance of Your PPC Campaign
Once your campaign is launched, it’s time to focus on improving how it performs. Here are three strategies to improve the performance of your campaign.
- First, you’ll need to keep a close eye on how your ads are performing. That way, you can monitor their success. When you run A/B testing on your ads (which we always recommend), monitoring their performance will also tell you the results of your tests.
- Explore the iceberg principle in marketing.
- As explained by Andrei Tapalga: “Applying the iceberg principle involves trying to look at both the top of the iceberg (representing the problems seen by the decision-makers) and the submerged side of the iceberg (representing the problems seen by researchers and marketers).” We recommend looking at the entire post to get an idea of how you can apply this principle to your own campaign: The Iceberg Principle in Marketing.
- Utilize micro PPC conversion to break down larger conversions into smaller pieces. The ultimate conversion might be a visitor purchasing your product or service. A micro conversion, on the other hand, is all of the smaller pieces involved in getting them there (things like time on site, newsletter signups, scroll maps, for example).
We understand it feels overwhelming to consider everything that goes into PPC campaign management. From keyword research to ad copy creation to A/B testing and conversion monitoring, there are plenty of steps that go into a successful PPC strategy. We also know that’s why so many business owners turn to professional pay-per-click services to take this load off of their plate.
Learn More About Pay-Per-Click Management Pricing
As for what you can expect to pay for pay-per-click management pricing? You might not be surprised this number can range from about $500 per month to several thousand dollars per month.
Here are some of the factors that go into this pricing:
- The scope of the campaign (including how many ads it involves)
Whether you need new ads created or are simply managing existing ads - Your ad budget
- The purpose of your campaign (launching a new product or event or regular, ongoing advertising)
- An agency’s level of experience and expertise
Pricing also depends heavily on the fee model an agency uses to bill for PPC management. For example, some use a flat fee, others opt for performance-based billing, some charge based on a percentage of ad spend, and others use a hybrid model that combines some or all of these.
Regardless of what you’re paying, it might seem daunting to start investing in PPC advertising. But here’s the thing: when you work with an experienced and professional agency, the return on this investment will be well worth it. Time and time again, professional PPC management creates the kind of results business owners can’t get anywhere else.
Contact Blue Water Marketing for PPC Management Pricing
Investing in PPC services is simply a smart business decision. And it’s even smarter when you choose a great agency to work with! With that in mind, Blue Water Marketing encourages you to explore our PPC management services here. We are able to generate incredible results for our clients using our proven strategy, and we look forward to doing the same for you. But don’t just take it from us—click here to see a collection of case studies from our clients.
