PPC Agency in Toronto, Serving North America

How to get the most out of your PPC Agency

We wrote about the duties and value of a PPC agency here. In this page we’ll discuss how you can get the most out of your PPC agency, which is key to getting great PPC results!

The client (you) / agency (us) relationship is crucial. As with most relationships, how you view it and what you put into it will determine the benefit. If you are investing in PPC with an agency, you’ll likely want to know how to get the most out of your investment.

As a PPC agency that has been around the block and seen our fair share of relationships, we’re delighted to share the following advice with you to help you prosper with your paid media agency.

Treat them as an extension of your team: most paid media agencies like to have a sense of purpose beyond their mechanical duties. They like to be a part of your journey and success. If your mindset is one of a client and a vendor, with a transactional dynamic keeping your agency kept at arm’s length, it’s likely that your agency will be less motivated and productive.
Give great direction, but don’t micromanage: you are the visionary owner of your company’s marketing direction and it’s important that you provide excellent direction, briefing and feedback to your PPC agency. Be careful not to overstep the mark to micromanagement. Don’t try to do your PPC expert’s job for them or question their every move. It’ll demotivate them.
Be patient and understanding, yet firm: you, as the client, are the ultimate authority in this relationship. Use your authority wisely. Give patience when it is asked for, and understand that all humans make mistakes and no agency is perfect. This is not to say your patience should be limitless, as that would lead to your being taken advantage of. Be firm when you need to be, and communicate in a constructive manner when you feel things are off-track.
Be on top of your deliverables: when an agency’s job is to produce results for you, it’s critical that you deliver your end of the bargain to them. If they need a response, a piece of feedback, a sign-off, an asset, or anything else from you in order to do their job, please prioritize it. An agency can become frustrated when they are hand-cuffed by not getting what they need from a client.
Pay your bills, on time: as service-based businesses, PPC agencies rely on clients paying for their time and expertise. If your service has been delivered satisfactorily, please ensure that your business pays your agency on time consistently. Causing cash-flow issues for your agency is a sign of disrespect, intentionally or not, and will also be a needless distraction for your agency to resolve when they should be entirely focused on serving you.
Make a conscious effort to be a great client: at every opportunity, ask yourself how you can be a great client for your agency. Ask yourself, what can you do to be their number one client? How can you go above and beyond to ensure they are set up for success on your behalf?
Recognise and reward excellence: like dogs, PPC agencies respond well to praise for good work. This doesn’t mean that an agency should be showered in gifts or praised for simply doing their job. An occasional recognition of effort and service goes a long way in motivating your extended team, especially if they have gone above and beyond for you.

We hope this provides a useful education or reminder to you. In the next section below, we’ll discuss whether or not you have the right paid media agency in place.

Do you have the right Paid Media Agency?

There are millions of paid media experts and agencies in the world, many of whom are bad actors. Unfortunately, this means that they deceive and take advantage of trusting businesses like you. They’ll seek to impress you and promise the world, but taking your money is their only concern. They can be hard to differentiate from genuine PPC agencies, and can often only be identified after they have been engaged.

As we learned in section one, a huge amount of the client-agency dynamic success depends on you. With that being said, you’ll want to ensure that you’re putting the effort of being a great client into the right PPC agency.

Let’s explore whether or not you have the right PPC management agency for your needs by identifying which questions you should regularly ask yourself.

Is your ROAS positive? If the answer is yes, it’s a positive sign that you’re working with the right PPC experts. It’s not a guarantee, though. Good overall PPC ROAS can mask hidden inefficiencies or mistakes.
Are they delivering on promises? Take a moment to think about the expectations that were set pre-engagement regarding results or deliverables, as well as ongoing promises made. Are they usually met, or constantly broken?
Are they qualified? Do they have the relevant experience, qualifications and accreditations to service your needs? Can they prove this where applicable? For example, with industry case studies or proof of their Google Partner status. Please keep in mind that PPC is very diverse, even if it seems like one discipline, there are many areas of specialization. It is common for an agency to take on a request from a client that they are not equipped to deliver on, because they don’t want to appear weak or lose the business. As an example, at WSI Paid Search we don’t offer Google Hotel Ads as a service. Technically, it’s part of PPC and Google Ads, but we don’t specialise in this particular area of Google Ads so we don’t offer it.
Are they maintaining their standards? If the standards of delivery, results, communication or effort are dropping over time, it’s a sign that your agency may be taking you for granted or growing complacent.
Are they proactively blowing your mind? True paid media experts should be blowing you remind with results you never imagined possible, and new experiments you had never considered.
Do you have a good relationship? Do you trust each other, and find yourselves on the same wavelength more often than not? Does your interpersonal relationship transcend that of client and PPC agency? This doesn’t mean you need to be best friends and become over-familiar, but if you have a strong relationship and mutual success it’ll set you up for success through good times and bad.
Did you ‘win’ your commercial negotiation? Let’s say your PPC agency asked for a monthly fee of $2.00 and you negotiated them down to $1.00; who is the real loser here? If you ‘won’ your negotiation of your agency’s fees, you are actively telling them that you don’t value their time and wish to reduce their profitability. As a rule of thumb, we and many other PPC agencies seek to earn one dollar of profit for every one dollar spent on cost of delivery. In this case, you’re essentially asking your agency to work for free or very little profit. Furthermore, if your agency let you negotiate their pricing down, what does it tell you about them? It tells you that they either inflate their pricing in anticipation of negotiation which brings their integrity into question, or, they’re not very good at their job and don’t mind working for basement prices. Is this the type of agency you wish to entrust the success of your PPC investment to? At WSI Paid Search we have universal pricing for all clients and we never negotiate. This isn’t because we’re inflexible – it’s because we know our value and don’t inflate our pricing.

It’s important to recognise that a great agency might not be the right PPC agency for you. It doesn’t make them a bad actor. There could be cultural, geographical or other irreconcilable differences that simply mean you’re not a great fit for each other. Equally, an agency that was once suitable for you may not stay suitable forever. Your requirements could change over time, and so could their ability to meet your requirements.

Should you manage your paid media in-house, or with a PPC agency?

We believe that every business investing in paid media should have a strong internal marketing team that is supported by an external PPC agency, to one extent or another.

In some cases the external support may be more consultative and educational, and in others it may be full-service and done-for-you, depending on the depth and expertise of your internal resources.

If you’d like to request a free and no-obligation PPC audit or consultation from us, we’ll be delighted to answer your questions and offer our advice for your unique requirements.

PPC Agency

PPC Agency in Toronto, Serving North America

How to get the most out of your PPC Agency

Do you have the right Paid Media Agency?

Should you manage your paid media in-house, or with a PPC agency?

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