It seems like every call we have gotten recently wants to know what to do about their Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. PPC can be a long-term and time-consuming endeavor. Business owners that are serious about having an online presence, and who want those efforts to lead to a stronger ROI, must realize the that PPC is not something to take lightly. For a successful PPC campaign, a great amount of time, effort and expertise is necessary. As the business owner/decision maker, one of your first decisions should be whether to hire someone in-house to run your PPC campaigns or to outsource it to an agency (hint, hint).
Whether choosing to stay in-house or hiring an agency to handle PPC, there are a number of things to consider. Here are key considerations to think about before making a decision.
Staying in house…
- The first step is to find qualified, trained employees. This can be difficult considering almost no colleges and universities offer courses in search marketing, let alone PPC. Also, the supply of people with a good working knowledge of the SEO industry is very limited. Most of the people who wind up in this field have learned it on their own and are more likely to want to go into business for themselves.
- When you do hire someone in-house, it is crucial to provide adequate training. Many agencies offer training and consulting services in which a person or a team is sent to your office to teach your people how to best utilize and maintain your PPC campaigns. This is another time-consuming and costly step that may be ineffective if your PPC personnel do not soak up the information quickly.
- Once the initial training is complete, your PPC team member(s) must continue investing time for education in PPC. Direct them to read the industry’s top blogs and forums on a regular basis. Consider sending them to SEM conferences like Search Marketing Expo, which can cost over $2,000. They also need to be encouraged to experiment with other aspects of search marketing (local, social, etc.).
If you don’t have the resources to hire a PPC associate full time and decide to hire an outside firm to handle your business’s PPC advertising, here’s what you need to consider…
- One of the most important things to do is check references. Receive a contact list of the agency’s current clients and talk to them about their experiences. Be certain the agency dedicates the time and the effort to their accounts and you can expect the same for yours. Because every agency has different strengths, there is no universal way to rate them but speaking with references is a start.
- You still have to oversee matters on a higher level to ensure your marketing plan benefits your business as hoped. Your outsourced agency should provide you with weekly, biweekly, or monthly reports showing the PPC campaign progress. You should also be communicating with a representative at the agency about steps that can be taken to improve your online advertising efforts.
- Discuss your online advertising budget and goals with the agency. Most agencies charge a flat fee, plus a percentage of your monthly PPC spend. When you and an agency are on the same page in terms of money and results, outsourcing your PPC advertising can be highly successful.
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