What Are PPC Services and Why Do You Need Them?

What are pay-per-click services? Why are PPC services important? And how do you choose a pay per click vendor or consultant? Let’s take a closer look at these questions so you can decide on the best way to get pay-per-click services for your business:

• What are PPC services
• Why are PPC services important
• How do you choose a PPC services vendor

What Are Pay-Per-Click Services?

Pay-per-click (PPC) services help organizations manage their PPC advertising programs using a professional PPC or search engine marketing (SEM) expert. The overarching goal of these services is to help you get the best return on your advertising dollars.

PPC services apply to all online advertising platforms, such as Google and YouTube. But there are more.

Pay per click services can help you determine and reach the goals of your ad program, such as:

• Increased web traffic
• More leads
• Increased sales
• More in-store visits
• More phone calls
• Better brand awareness

A PPC service should also help determine which ad formats deliver the best results. They do this through a process of testing and analysis. These formats might include text ads, banner ads, mobile ads, YouTube sponsored video ads, and product shopping ads (to name a handful).

Many businesses hire outside vendors even if they have an in-house PPC expert. PPC service providers may or may not be certified as experts in different advertising networks. The most common accreditations are Google Ads Partner and Microsoft Advertising certification.

Why Are Pay-Per-Click Services Important?

PPC services are important because running a successful PPC program isn’t easy. PPC advertising is a complex, full-time job. With the right PPC expert on your side, you’re better positioned to solve problems you’ll encounter and get a better return on ad spend.

The importance of managed pay-per-click services has grown along with the growth of digital advertising. eMarketer estimates that digital ad spending accounted for half of total media ad spend worldwide in 2019 and is estimated to reach $384.96 billion in 2020.

When it comes to pay-per-click ads, paid search captured 43.9% of total U.S. digital ad revenue, reaching $54.7 billion in 2019 according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

Example of PPC ads dominating top of Google search results

Paid search presents a lot of opportunity for growth and also a lot of opportunity for wasted ad spend. Consider that some reports show that 61% of Google Ads spend is wasted. And some of the most expensive keywords in Google Ads are in the $50 per click range.

Without keeping a tight rein, you can blow through your budget fast.

How Do You Choose a Pay-Per-Click Services Vendor?

When hiring a PPC services provider, keep in mind criteria like experience, reputation, approach, performance and what other marketing services they provide.

Advertising networks change rapidly, and keeping up with those changes is a full-time job. As a result, many organizations find they get better results by working with a pay-per-click services vendor.

If you decide to hire, keep in mind that you can choose how to structure your partnership. Some options include:

• A full-service PPC management program to manage all your PPC programs for you
• A PPC audit of current PPC campaigns to develop recommendations that either you or the vendor can implement
• Setting up a PPC program if you don’t already have one
• PPC training so your team can take it over at some point

As mentioned, there are several factors to consider when hiring a PPC services provider. Here are some to explore …

Experience

Steer clear of consultants that are getting started and agencies that have only recently added PPC services to their suite of offerings. Look for vendors that are recognized experts in the field.

Also look at the experience level of individual team members. For example, here at Bruce Clay Inc., our SEM experts have no less than 10 years of experience in their field.

Also, as big as the Google Ads network is, it’s not the only ad network. So you want the consultant or vendor to have experience with different ad networks and formats.

The vendor should be skilled in ad strategies for different devices. After all, mobile now accounts for over half of search traffic worldwide.

Reputation

Look for a reputable company with a proven track record. Talk to your colleagues and look for the following trust signals:

• Google Partner status
• Microsoft Advertising certified professional
• BBB accreditation (in the U.S., or equivalent elsewhere)
• Solid list of previous or existing clients
• Positive online reviews and testimonials
• Active online presence

Approach

What is the vendor’s or consultant’s approach to PPC? For example, here at Bruce Clay Inc. we focus on cost-per-action (CPA) optimization management. This means maintaining your budget while lowering the cost for each click in proportion to the return on that item.

The person or team you hire should be able to clearly outline their approach to PPC services, like how we’ve done here on our PPC services page.

Goals and Performance

If the PPC services provider does little more than ask for your Google Ads login to get started, that’s a red flag. No one can deliver good pay-per-click services unless they understand your goals to start.

Likewise, you want to know how they will report on their progress in reaching your goals and also how responsive they will be along the way.

More Than Just Advertising Services

This qualification is more of a bonus. But it can be helpful to choose a vendor that offers additional digital marketing services beyond pay per click. After all, PPC does not exist in a bubble. All of your digital marketing services should work together towards common business goals.

That way, as your company grows, your existing vendor can continue to meet your needs. That’s better than having to hire an additional person or team and get them up to speed.

At the end of the day, for many companies, pay-per-click services are a necessity to competing and succeeding in PPC advertising. So consider your long-term advertising and business goals, and decide what makes sense for you in terms of how you engage an SEM expert.

If you’d like to discuss how we can help you increase your targeted PPC traffic, conversions and revenue, contact us for a no-obligation quote.

Bruce Clay is founder and president of Bruce Clay Inc., a global digital marketing firm providing search engine optimization, pay-per-click, social media marketing, SEO-friendly web architecture, and SEO tools and education. Connect with him on LinkedIn or through the BruceClay.com website.

See Bruce's author page for links to connect on social media.