PPC Advertising is now a serious topic.
Or, Google Ads (formerly AdWords).
PPC is a great way for you to increase your sales if your product or service is solid and your business model is well-designed.
It won’t suffice to find the right agency to manage your Google Ads campaign.
How can you find the best Google Ads agency for your business?
Here is a list 8 important qualities that a Google Ads agency must possess:
- Qualifications
- Experience
- Tracking Reporting
- Pricing and Communication
- Strategy and Setup
- Tools
- Campaign Construction Account Activity
- Brand Culture
What is PPC and what is it? Why is PPC the next step in your business growth?
Let’s review the basics.
PPC or pay-per-click advertising is an online form of advertising that appears on search engine results pages.
As you probably guessed, the advertiser (i.e. A user clicks on your advertisement and pays a fee.
PPC is a fast and efficient way for potential customers to visit your website if done properly.
People are more likely than others to purchase what you offer
Google Ads: It is not negotiable
Let’s get more specific. All types of pay-per-click advertising can be described using PPC. PPC can be used across different platforms, such as Facebook and Bing. Let’s get one thing straight: Google Ads AdWords (formerly AdWords) is the most widely used PPC advertising system.
Google alone has received approximately $2.5 billion in five billion searches each day. It is the only place where internet users can ask any questions anywhere in the world.
These users use the search engine to get an instant answer. It doesn’t matter if it is an advertisement, as long as they use it to help them on their journey.
This is a comparison to PPC advertising via social media.
While social media is used by millions every day, many people aren’t looking for solutions. Instead, they scroll through vacation photos, catch up with friends, and share their thoughts. Sponsored ads can distract and take up space (often irrational scrolling).
Google Ads should be your primary focus when advertising online.
Here’s The Thing…
PPC advertising and Google Ads, in particular, should be a full-time jobs. It is an integral part of digital marketing.
Google Ads cannot be managed, optimized, or strategized by you alone.
You need to search for the best Google Ads agency.
What about an in-house PPC Advertiser?
Some companies prefer to hire their PPC manager, while others prefer to work with an agency.
Do you have any questions? Here’s a quick review:
The Good: In House PPC Managers
You can have PPC managers in-house for your company. They work only for you.
These PPC managers manage most digital marketing efforts (SEO, email marketing, content creation).
A PPC manager in-house can help owners understand the business’s perspective. He or she will become a member of the team and take part in all important meetings.
Managers in-house of PPC
One person cannot manage all aspects of digital marketing (PPC SEO and email marketing) successfully.
Every area of digital marketing requires different levels of expertise. You must keep learning and staying current on all the latest strategies and changes to be successful in PPC advertising.
Most business executives won’t prioritize training when it comes to their budget. This is especially true for PPC managers who need to continue learning.
A PPC manager in-house can also be a long-term investment.
PPC Agencies
Businesses might worry that a PPC agency won’t understand the brand’s complexities like an employee in-house. A reputable PPC agency will ensure that they are familiar with your industry.
It is crucial to research your competitors so that you can identify what makes your brand stand apart at the beginning of your relationship.
An excellent PPC agency can be part of your team just like an in-house PPC manager. There are however some differences.
- PPC agencies are experts in their fields. They receive ongoing training to stay on top of their competition.
- They compete with each other like PPC agencies. This means they know what other agencies are doing, and they use the most current tools to keep up.
- It was also mentioned that an agency employs you without any salary and benefits.
Are you sounding like a PPC Agency? Make sure they are a Google Ads Agency.
Google Ads is the best tool for finding a PPC agency. Google Ads specialists are a must for any PPC agency.
Google Ads is their bread and butter. There are no exceptions.
Where can you find the best Google Ads Agency in your area?
Let’s look deeper at these 8 essential characteristics!
First up: Qualifications.
1. Qualifications
Reviewing their qualifications and experience is the best place to start when searching for a Google Ads Agency. You can do this right from their website.
What should I ask?
Are They Google Ads Certified?
Did you know that Google is the most used search engine on Earth? It is vital for any potential PPC agency to become Google Ads certified.
What’s a Google Ads Certification?
Google gives a Google Ads certificate to individuals who have shown their proficiency and expertise in online advertising, specifically Google Ads.
You must register in the online training program Academy To Ads to earn a Google Ads certification.
This program evaluates advertisers’ knowledge of Google Ads basics, advanced and basic. To earn the badge a Google Partner or Premier Google Partner, a PPC agency must be Google Ads certified.
Why they are needed
A Google Ads certification is required to prove an agency’s Google Ads knowledge.
Google Ads certification shows credibility in an industry that is full of inept online advertisers.
What certifications are they eligible for?
A certified Ads agency will pursue further education and certifications.
A Google Ads certification is not required, but any agency you’re considering must have a demonstrated commitment to growth.
2. Experience
The ideal Ads agency will have not only the right qualifications but ut also impressive experience with proven processes and track records (we’ll talk more about this later).
They can show you powerful case studies!
Digital marketing is an impressive process, no matter how well-planned.
An agency may be able to show you step-by-step instructions to increase your revenue and leads. But, it is important to not place too much faith in an agency until you have seen past successes.
An agencies study can be a great way for agencies to showcase their proven processes.
These reports highlight clients or projects and identify the problem/goal of the client. They also suggest a solution by the agency and implementation.
A high-quality agency with high-quality processes will have a track record of success in each case study.
Have they worked in your industry before?
Spoiler alert! It doesn’t have to be “yes.” “
While experience is valuable, a good PPC company should be able to show you clients or industries that are similar to yours.
Are they a PPC Marketing Agency or Do they “Do It All em>”?
“Agencies that claim they can do everything (think SEO and PPC as well as content marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing). Print media, CRO. Web design.
Wrong.
PPC is the same as any other tradecraft.
Being a content writer and SEO expert is the only way to be the best PPC agency and content writer.
An optometrist claiming to be able to eat with foot pain or other dental problems would not be trusted.
Beware of agencies that claim they can do everything.
3. Tracking and reporting
Let’s talk about tracking for just a second.
To convert website visitors to customers, improve visibility and reach your company, and optimize digital marketing strategies, your PPC agency needs to collect a lot of data
Expect regular reports from your PPC agency. These reports will show you what’s happening behind-the-scenes, and the results.
Remember:
Agencies that don’t track can’t report on what they don’t.
It’s essential to ensure that your future PPC agency has solid tracking procedures. They gather monitor, sort, nd analyze all data on your website and campaigns to earn more about your customers and increase your sales.
Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager are the most popular tracking tools. (We’ll be discussing these platforms in a second) Many PPC agencies claim they use these tools.
I’m a warning:
Bad agencies track improperly.
Terrible agencies won’t track (seriously).
Yes. Some PPC agencies don’t keep any records. Because they don’t know if their work is producing results,
It’s difficult to see how these agencies keep taking money from clients.
Bad agencies can also track incorrectly. They might have tracking tools but they don’t use them correctly.
The data piles up without anyone taking action.
This is an example of why “pretend to track” can be so troublesome.
Let’s say that an agency receives a PHP update from a client. This causes a small error to be inserted onto the client’s website. The agency doesn’t monitor the metrics so this tiny error could cause lost information for days, weeks, or even months.
Whoops.
When you’re looking for Ads agencies, it is important to ask questions regarding their tracking methods.
Are They Using Google Analytics?
Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager are, as I mentioned, the best tools to measure metrics.
Google Analytics collects information about the website’s interactions. This includes the most visited pages, the number of visitors on any given day, their origin, and the pages they visited.
What can Google Analytics do with this data?
Marketing tags
The marketing tags are code bits that collect information about website visitors and their behavior.
A snippet of code sent to Google Analytics servers by a visitor to your “About Us” page.
These code snippets can be used to track basic information, such as bounce rates. These “vanity metrics” are useful but don’t show you the full picture of what happens to a visitor to your website.
This brings us to the next question:
Do They Also Use Google Tag Manager?
To track more specific actions, such as form submissions, you would need hundreds upon hundreds of custom code fragments. This task would take a lot of time for a developer.
Google Tag Manager can help you (and show why your future agency shouldn’t be using Google Analytics alone).
Google Tag Manager acts as your virtual developer. This allows for more precise tags to be coded, which reduces the risk of human error. Digital marketers can now focus on the data that interests them.
Both of these are great ways to track digital marketing efforts. But, it is unlikely that any reputable PPC agency will only use Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics.
Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics have different attribution models.
Attribution models can be used to analyze the impact of touchpoints and visitor conversion rates.
There’s a lot of jargon.
A Touchpoint refers to any interaction your visitors have with your site.
- Clicking on an advertisement from Google
- Scroll through a page of your website
- Complete a form
It’s not about whether people interact with you, but if it increases your conversion rate.
If I say Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager have different attribution models, it means the two platforms rank touchpoints differently.
Google Analytics states that an attribution model could be:
span data ID=”99 The set of rules that determines how credit will be allocated to sales and conversions at touchpoints in conversion paths. “
Google Analytics should be used by your PPC agency.Ca piche?
Can they set up a complete tracking system to measure their progress?
We have just talked about the importance of tracking actions on websites with Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. This is not all.
An Ads agency should have a comprehensive tracking system in place to help you reach your goals.
Your PPC agency should keep track of
- Complete the form
- Chats
- Purchases
- Device types used
- Particular pages
- Predictive indicators (download whitepaper, for example)
- Calls
- Manual conversions are also possible.
Google Ads Conversions Trackable
Here’s how to think about it:
A customer clicks on an ad for your product or service and makes a purchase. However, there are not many sales.
Customers will wait longer before giving you money.
This could be reading your website pages, or taking a break before clicking on an ad.
What are the other conversion points?
When a potential customer calls to learn more or uses your chat feature to ask questions,
These are the smaller, more difficult-to-reach pieces of information that help you see the larger picture of your campaign.
What does the Conversion mean to you?
Each phone call, each form fill, and every online chat is not a conversion.
But, very few agencies keep track of these actions and tend not to consider them automatic conversions.
I don’t know if this is you, but I have spent more than 30 seconds talking with businesses over the phone and never bought anything.
Sometimes, these calls can be quite the opposite of sales: customers calling to report a problem.
What’s the problem? Some contacts may not be converted. There is a lot of diluted data.
These conversions are difficult to track.
Google Ads Call Tracking process
- Record every incoming call
- Every conversation is reviewed
- You can manually enter the conversion information into Google Ads
Tedious? Yes. As accurate as possible? Yes.
How Can They Measure The Real Profitability Of Campaigns?
In other words, will they allow (and encourage you) to disclose your total revenue number to track campaign profitability?
They don’t care about the money that their campaign is making
These will track your important actions.s?
A tracking system that doesn’t keep track of the actions you care about is pointless.
Personalize your reports to highlight important metrics for your future PPC agency.
Do you have a hard time deciding what actions are most important? While metrics like conversion rate, cost-per-click, and position are important, ultimately it should be sales and leads that matter.
How many sales did the campaign bring in? What number of leads did it generate? That is the goal of digital marketing.
What is their reporting process?
Now we know what Ad agencies should be tracking. We need to make sure that their reporting doesn’t get sloppy.
Reporting should be simple in theory. It should be easy to understand and can be easily compared to your Google account.
With Google Data Studio, your agency can create a clear and readable monthly report.
Bad agencies will conceal conversions behind vanity metrics that aren’t relevantYour agency must keep track of important actions.
Your agency should provide this report.
We’ll talk about transparency and communication in a second. First:
Do They Use Proprietary Dashboards and Reporting?
Google Data Studio is a completely free tool that can connect to your Google Analytics account. This allows PPC agencies to create custom, honest, and easy-to-understand reports.
Agencies may use a platform like Swydo. It tracks your Google marketing metrics and then reports them. It can pull data from other sources, such as Facebook.
You should not trust agencies that claim to have their reporting tools.
They may also leave out vital information.
You should find it easy to compare your Google account with your monthly reports and to see them.
A reporting system that is proprietary to your agency will not make you look good.
4. Communication and pricing
By hiring a PPC agency, you are committing to a relationship. Honesty and communication are the keys to success in any relationship.
An Ads agency that lacks communication skills but has the necessary experience and qualifications, is not considered “the one.” “
Don’t let heartbreak ruin your life.
How Often (and Clearly) will they communicate with each other? How Often (and Clearly!) will they communicate with each other?
For those who are just starting to get to know Ads agencies, their communication skills will likely be excellent. They’ll respond quickly, keep you updated, and make you feel comfortable.
What should you expect after you sign that contract agreement?
It is important to understand your expectations for communication early on.
- How often do you plan to contact one another?
- Can they call you or email you?
- Have questions?
- Do they communicate too often, making it tedious?
- What do they expect from you in terms of communication?
How much work will you have to do?
Your efforts will make your PPC campaigns a success. It is therefore crucial to know what and how much work your PPC campaigns will require.
It is also important to know how much work your PPC agency will do
Establishing expectations early will make your long-term relationship more successful.
Do you have a primary contact (i.e. An assigned Client Manager)
No matter how big or small your PPC agency is, it’s important to know there are people you can speak to about your concerns.
It is important to have a dedicated client manager. This person will know all about your company, goals, and marketing strategies.
Do They Charge Reasonable Prices?
It’s natural to get excited about finding an extremely affordable agency But, a low price almost always means low value and a high commitment
What do you think about it? What work are you expecting from your agency
They should be at the very least monitoring your campaign daily, optimizing every month, and using the latest software.
Consider all of your time, effort, and commitment.
How much would you pay to do the same job? It is important to understand how hard it takes.
You might want to ask why they charge so high.
Do they want you to sign a long-term contract?
Yahoo used to be the epicenter of the internet.
What’s the point? Things can change.
It’s possible that your campaign could change. Google might change its rules.
You don’t want your company to tie you into a long-term contract, no matter the reason.
Is it possible for potential agencies to guarantee success?
You don’t have to, so why would you make such a commitment?
We move on to the next point if they promise or give a guarantee.
Can they offer guarantees or promises to you?
It’s tempting to believe in an old-fashioned guarantee.
A PPC agency that promises immediate results or increased revenue is not the right choice.
Google Ads agencies cannot be trusted and do not guarantee results.
They don’t know anything about you or your campaign.
A great Ads agency will promise the world and deliver.
Are their prices clear? What is it?
You may be curious about the pricing structure for your agency.
Let’s first look at a list that shouldn’t be added to the price.
- Search, display, and GSP
- Professional copywriters create ad copy
- Remarketing campaigns
- Remarketing via social networks
- All campaign calls are evaluated and scored
- Import these calls into Google ads
- Google Analytics Creation
- Google Tag Manager Creation
- Conversion action creation
- Keyword research
- Competitive research and targeting
- Continual AB Testing and Optimizations
Your agency must be completely transparent with its pricing.
Let me explain:
It is important to have a complete breakdown of the costs. It is important to know how much of their pricing is used for copy creation. All the services listed above must be included. Are they trying to charge more for add-ons or other extras?
They should also be transparent about what they can do and cannot. The landing page design is fine, but video production must also be disclosed.
You can pay an hourly rate if you have an in-house PPC manager.
PPC agencies are like an attorney. Your Ads agency can be compared to an attorney if you have an urgent need.
Will You Take Full Administrative Control of Your Account?
The best ownership structure to run a Google Ads Agency
Transparency is essential. Transparency is key.
As you can see, if your PPC company claims ownership, they may have to move your campaigns and data to another agency. This will mean more work and time.
Your Google account should only be yours. You can create campaigns and track progress on the platform as a guest.
5. Strategie and set up
How did they get to know about you?
Signing up will allow you to share all the information with agencies.
- Are you required to complete lengthy questionnaires?
- How many questions will they ask?
- These questions can be used to drive revenue.
- Do they rely upon your research or conduct their research?
An agency that spends little time and energy learning about your company won’t be able to create the best campaigns.
Can They “Diagnose Before they Prescribe?”
Without knowing your business, your agency shouldn’t suggest a strategy for your Ads campaign.
They will have the ability to solve your PPC problems by asking you a million questions and doing independent research.
Clear expectations should be set by agencies regarding campaign strategies.
It should work. It might not. What are the possibilities? It is the best option for you.
It is easy to understand how it works. A doctor won’t prescribe unless they fully understand the patient.
Why would a PPC agency offer an advertising solution if they don’t know your business?
Are They Looking to Review Your Current Campaigns?
An agency that looks beyond the important background information and starts from scratch is lazy.
There may be many hidden solutions to your campaign. Both problems and areas that could be successful should be avoided.
Make sure to check the foundation before you tear down your entire house.
Are They Making Use of All Google Ads Offers
Basic paid advertisement with Google Ads was once the best way to sell online.
Make sure your future Ads agency uses all Google Ads’ options including Smart shopping Campaigns, responsive Ads and.
Smart shopping is essential for eCommerce entrepreneurs.
Smart Shopping campaigns include more than just placement ads. These ads can be displayed across all Google networks including YouTube, YouTube, and Gmail.
These ads can be seen in more places, but they are also shown to specific people Shoppers who are very interested in your product.
These are called “Smart” campaigns because they can be placed on any other website that has display ads with Google. They actively seek out people interested in your product.
If your potential agency doesn’t take advantage of Smart Shopping or responsive ads, it’s time to move on.
Are they account managers or strategists?
Your account will be managed by your agency every day, making them “account managers”. “
They should also be the strategists at your campaign’s core. This means there must be research, optimization, and intention behind every campaign.
Find out what makes potential agencies stand out from account managers or strategists.
6. Tools
Tools and software are all essential, but not all.
It is crucial to ask these questions:
Which tools and software are they using — and why?
How do you make sure your agency uses the right tools?
Here’s a quick overview:
1. Click Fraud Software It’s not necessary! Google has you covered.
Find out why your agency claims to use click fraud software. They could charge more.
Google should detect fraudulent clicks, and refund you within the time that an outside program takes to notify you.
2. Advanced Software for Competitive Analysis
This is what you need! This is kind of…
This is a comparison of data from your competitors using competitive analysis software such as SpyFu or espionage.
This is a great tool to see what your competitors are doing, which landing pages they use, and what keywords they are targeting.
This software should not be used to copy competitors’ campaigns.
Understanding the activities of your competition is important, but it is only the beginning.
7. Campaign Building and Account Activity
Google Ads is not something you need to know. This is the job of your agency. However, you should be familiar with the basics of campaign structure as well as how active your agency should appear on your account.
These questions might be helpful to you:
What do their campaign structures look like?
The best Google Ads campaign structure
Campaigns that are easy to understand at a glance can be created by the most skilled agencies.
This is how keywords are organized into themes. Each campaign has its focus and purpose.
It should not be difficult to see the campaign’s purpose by simply looking at them on an interface.
This is an example.
Take, for instance, a dishwasher manufacturer that launches an Ads campaign.
Their goal? The whitepaper explains how to maintain dishwashers.
The copy of the campaign should include keywords about dishwasher maintenance and whitepapers.
This campaign will appear on the dashboard along with other campaigns that have different outcomes.
It sounds complicated but it’s really about organization and structure. An agency running a whole campaign on one account there is a red flag.
The Campaign can be customized
You should ask your agency to tailor the Google Ads campaign that they create to meet your needs.
Avoid using templates and cookie-cutter strategies. You’re not a friend of cookie cutters.
Are these activities in your account?
If you have hired an agency, you can view the history of your Google account.
This is how it should look.
Your account will see regular changes.
You may not need to make any changes if your campaign is performing well. This is particularly true for campaigns that are optimized. Your PPC agency should make at least 100 changes every month to your account.
Can they review search terms on at least a monthly basis?
While they’re at it, could they update your match types or negative keywords?
8. Culture
Are we still here? It’s official!
Now we need to talk about relationships.
Even though it may seem like a small thing, it is crucial to get to know the people you work with to make your PPC campaigns a success.
These questions should be asked potential PPC agencies during an interview:
- What do you want in a business partnership?
- Who are you able or willing to work with?
- What do you look for in an employee?
These questions will help determine if you are a good fit for the Google Ads agency you want to hire.
What’s Next?
Congratulations! Congratulations! Kobe Digital is here to help you with the intricacies and nuances of PPC marketing or Google Ads.
Could this be us, too? Maybe!
Maybe not.
We believe in helping people. We believe in helping people.
Give us a call. We are glad to help you.
