Top 5 tips for Choosing the Correct PPC Partner

Finding the time and skill set to manage PPC ad campaigns internally can prove to be too much for some companies, which is why they turn to an external PPC agency to manage their online paid advertising. With paid search accounting for nearly 60% of UK online marketing spend, how can you ensure you find out which agency is right for your business?

Firstly, dig deep. Experience in your sector is important, however it is even more important that the agency can express a full understanding of the key search engines, aware of what buttons to press to get higher rankings and are also on top of any new developments that enter the online search world. Be weary of agencies that can talk the talk but can’t provide you with any real substance as they will focus more on drawing customers in using their large sales teams rather than investing in the technical teams who will actually do the hands on work. Always insist on meeting the actual team you would be working with and get to understand how they do things. You will ultimately work with these people, so you should at least be able to get along!

High standards is another vital factor to choosing the right partner. Ensure that the agency you are considering can work to strict time schedules and are happy to work to a set service level agreement (SLA). Knowing when you will receive meaningful, actionable monthly reports and when to expect status emails or calls, allows you to plan your time more effectively and progress can clearly be marked week by week. Knowing that there is always someone there for you to talk to regarding ad copy changes and additions to keyword sets, creates a level of professionalism you can trust.

Find out how much each agency is proposing to charge you in the form of account management, set up fees and any other regular or irregular costs. If one agency is considerably more expensive than the other press them into explaining what you will receive in added value for that extra cost and ensure this is also in your SLA. You don’t want to be surprised with any hidden fees that you were unaware of before signing the contract. So insist on getting all of your fees and expenses written down in full before agreeing to join the agency.

Before you sign on the dotted line, ensure that you own the intellectual property rights and can gain full access to your campaigns and historic information after your contract agreement is over. Hard as it may seem but the best thing to do is to assume you will terminate your contract at some point and imagine how you will want to move your campaign to another agency, as quickly, efficiently and professionally as possible. You don’t want to be faced with having to start all over again as the previous agency has denied you access to the account. If you do have to face this terrible scenario it will dramatically impact upon how search engines treat you which can materialise in the form of your quality score for the campaigns, which can take time and increased expense to recover from.

Finally, when choosing a PPC partner be sure to research thoroughly. There are plenty of PPC agencies out there, all of whom claim to offer a top quality service that will guarantee results. Spend some time researching into these companies in order to separate out the companies that really can provide you with an experienced service that compliments the products and services you are looking to promote.

If for example you work in the retail and retail display sector, obtain referees from the agencies and quiz these existing clients about the quality of service they provide and review any case studies that are available.

It’s prudent to invest the time in finding the right agency or partner for your business, like any couple would when considering a marriage. Because you don’t want to face a messy divorce if it all goes wrong and end up fighting over custody of the campaign.