Pay-per-click (PPC) is a marketing strategy where businesses only pay when customers click on their ad. Though it may sound simple, PPC strategies take time and effort, which is why many look to outsource these tasks.
PPC outsourcing involves entrusting your PPC strategy into the hands of third-party experts. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about PPC outsourcing — what it is, how to outsource it, its benefits, and more.
Table of Contents
What Is PPC Outsourcing?
PPC outsourcing is a method of hiring outside parties like specialized PPC agencies or freelancers to create and manage PPC campaigns and ads on a business’s behalf. The rates of these services vary depending on the type of supplier and can range from pre-built PPC packages to tailored PPC campaigns.
With the global PPC software market expected to reach $28.62 billion by 2027, many businesses are turning to experts to navigate these platforms and scale their PPC campaigns effectively. The goal is to spread the word about the brand, as well as generate more traffic, and ultimately, increase profits.
How To Effectively Outsource PPC in 5 Steps
Let’s look at the five key steps you should take to successfully outsource your PPC strategy:
- Establish your PPC campaign objectives
- Choose the right ad platforms
- Set clear communication guidelines
- Determine a realistic paid media budget
- Monitor and analyze the PPC campaign results
Step #1: Establish Your PPC Campaign Objectives
Before you launch any campaign, you should clearly define your goals for PPC advertising. Are you aiming to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or close sales? Without clear goals, you won't be able to use the ads efficiently and to your advantage, even with the help of a PPC outsourcing professional.
Step #2: Choose the Right Ad Platforms
The second step is to choose your PPC platform. While Google Ads is the most popular choice, it may be too costly for some businesses. Consider other platforms such as Facebook, Bing Ads, or AdRoll. Each serves a unique purpose and targets different audiences, displaying your ads in various locations.
Step #3: Set Clear Communication Guidelines
Effective communication is essential for the success of any outsourced PPC management campaign. Establish your communication channels and strategy from the start. Decide how often you'll connect with your PPC management provider and when you expect to receive PPC reports and updates.
By setting these guidelines, you can stay informed about the campaign's progress and offer feedback to optimize its effectiveness.
Step #4: Determine a Realistic Paid Media Budget
PPC campaigns can be a significant investment, so it's crucial to establish a realistic budget. Discuss your budget constraints with your PPC provider and ensure they can deliver results within your limitations.
However, keep in mind that a larger budget doesn't always guarantee better outcomes. With careful planning and optimization, you can achieve impressive results regardless of how much you invest.
Step #5: Monitor and Analyze the PPC Campaign Results
Regularly monitoring and analyzing your campaign's performance is vital for optimizing your strategy and maximizing your ROI. Your PPC vendor should provide regular reports and insights into campaign performance, including click-through rates, conversions, and other key metrics.
Use this data to make informed decisions about your campaign's targeting, budget, and ad copy to improve its overall effectiveness.
Who Should Outsource PPC Management?
You may know how to outsource PPC, but is it the right choice for your business? Here’s a list of businesses that can greatly benefit from outsourcing PPC management:
- Small businesses: Starting off on the right foot can set the tone for a startup’s success. PPC campaigns are a great way to spread the word about a new product or service, especially on social media. Leveraging experts who know how to navigate these platforms doubles the chances of success.
- Marketing agencies: Many businesses outsource their marketing to specialized digital marketing agencies. However, these companies don’t always have the capacity to provide every advertising task, which is why marketing agencies also outsource some work, like PPC management, to other agencies.
- Marketing directors: Larger companies also need effective PPC marketing. Marketing directors manage these tasks, but hiring and training new employees can be time-consuming and costly. Outsourcing PPC allows them to tap into a specialized talent pool while saving the company a few bucks.
6 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Outsourcing PPC
To be 100% sure PPC outsourcing is the right choice for your business, ask yourself these questions:
- Do you have any PPC experience?
- When do you want to launch your PPC campaigns?
- What’s your budget?
- Are you pressed for time?
- Do you know how to work with PPC tools?
- Are your competitors ahead of you?
1. Do You Have Any PPC Experience?
If someone on your team already has experience with PPC, it might be best to keep the activity in-house. This is especially true if your business focuses on a single product or service in one location. In these cases, in-house PPC advertising is a good place to start.
However, if you want to take your PPC campaigns to the next level, you may require a specialist with advanced training and relevant experience. For example, if you’re aiming to enter new markets or significantly increase brand awareness, you'll need more than just basic skills and knowledge.
2. When Do You Want To Launch Your PPC Campaigns?
Campaign delays can come not only from training current employees but also from the time it takes to hire a new team member. Outsourcing PPC is far more efficient, as it allows you to begin immediately. All the expert requires is information about your company and your advertising objectives to put your PPC marketing strategy in motion.
3. What's Your Budget?
If your monthly PPC budget is under $500, it is unlikely you would be able to afford to outsource PPC. Determine whether it is worth increasing your budget or if you prefer to keep your efforts limited for now and outsource in the future when you have more funds available.
Look into statistics, such as how many new customers you can potentially get or the average ROI, to guide your decision.
4. Are You Pressed for Time?
An in-house PPC manager must be able to devote sufficient time to PPC marketing. Daily or weekly monitoring is essential, which could be an issue if a person you allocate to do this also has other tasks.
In such cases, outsourcing PPC advertising is the better option. Your employees can focus on other tasks, while the experts craft quality PPC ads. This way, you save time and allocate your human resources to other important parts of your work.
5. Do You Know How To Work With PPC Tools?
If you hire a professional, you won’t need to train your staff to use complex PPC tools. While some tools are free, others require payment, adding to your costs if you choose to manage PPC in-house. AdEspresso, WordStream Advisor, and Unbounce are examples of such tools. However, when you work with an expert, you only pay for their services, and they handle the necessary tool subscriptions.
6. Are Your Competitors Ahead of You?
Are your competitors excelling in paid search? Do you frequently see their social media ads? Have their ratings or followings grown while yours remain the same? These are all indicators that you need to increase your PPC efforts, and hiring PPC experts is the best way to do it.
An outsourced PPC specialist can analyze your competitive landscape and see where you’re going wrong. They will use this information to improve your PPC campaign management, helping you stand out among the top companies in your niche.
5 Benefits of PPC Outsourcing
Outsourcing your PPC campaign is generally more advantageous than doing it all in-house. Here are key outsourced PPC benefits you can expect:
- Quicker campaign results
- Superior PPC expertise
- Better cost-effectiveness and ROI
- Up-to-date paid media techniques and knowledge
- High-end tools and resources
1. Quicker Campaign Results
Working with an agency that understands all aspects of PPC is a major time-saver. If you run a PPC campaign on your own, it may take longer to see results. You'll have to spend time figuring out how to adjust and improve your campaign, which can also produce additional expenses.
In contrast, a PPC agency will often have years of experience with PPC campaigns. This means it’ll know what to do, when to do it, and how to accomplish it with your particular campaign, allowing these experts to achieve results much quicker.
2. Superior PPC Expertise
One of the key advantages of outsourcing your PPC campaigns is gaining access to specialized expertise. PPC agencies have often been in the industry for years, giving them a strong understanding of how paid advertising works. This experience allows them to implement effective strategies more efficiently.
PPC companies not only know the best industry practices but have also tested various approaches and strategies over the years to determine what truly works.
When choosing a PPC agency, look for the Google Partner or Google Premier Partner Badge. This certification indicates that the agency excels in using Google Ads, the primary platform for running PPC campaigns.
3. Better Cost-Effectiveness and ROI
Outsourcing PPC services is, in the long run, more cost-effective. You are bound to make mistakes when managing a PPC campaign on your own. As PPC requires a financial investment, these mistakes can be costly. Using a PPC agency reduces the risk of costly mistakes.
Because of their expertise, PPC providers know how to adjust the campaign for better efficiency right from the start. They manage your campaign so that it maximizes your budget while delivering higher ROI.
If you want to avoid unnecessary trial-and-error, you should consider outsourcing to a PPC company.
4. Up-to-Date Paid Media Techniques and Knowledge
PPC firms stay current with the latest trends and techniques in paid media. Working with an agency allows you to incorporate the most cutting-edge PPC methods and trends into your campaign so you can better engage your target audience.
5. High-End Tools and Resources
PPC agencies have access to advanced tools for monitoring and managing PPC advertising. Some of these tools come at a premium price and provide insights into the performance of a campaign that is far beyond any free tool that your in-house team may be using.
Outsourcing PPC vs In-House PPC: Which is Better?
If you’re still thinking between in-house and outsourcing PPC, here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons for each option to help you make your final decision.
Outsourcing PPC: Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Access to specialized expertise: PPC vendors have extensive knowledge and experience running successful campaigns. They keep up to date with the latest trends, algorithms, and best practices, which can translate into better results for your business.
- More time to focus on other business activities: Outsourcing your PPC campaign frees up your team's time and resources, allowing them to focus on other essential business activities, such as product development, customer service, and sales.
- Cost-effective: Outsourcing your PPC campaign can be more cost-effective in the long run, as you don't have to hire, train, and manage an in-house team of experts.
Cons:
- Less control: Outsourcing your PPC campaign means you have less control over the day-to-day campaign management. This can be a concern for businesses that want to be more involved in the process.
- Less knowledge of your business: PPC vendors may not have a deep understanding of your business's unique challenges, opportunities, and goals, which can lead to less effective targeting and ad copy.
- Risk of choosing the wrong vendor: Choosing the wrong PPC vendor can lead to wasted time, resources, and money. It's essential to conduct thorough research and choose a reputable, experienced vendor to work with.
In-House PPC: Pros and Cons
Pros:
- More control: Running your PPC campaign in-house means you have complete control over the day-to-day campaign management. It can be more suitable for businesses that want to be more involved in the process.
- More knowledge of your business: In-house PPC experts have a deep understanding of your business's unique challenges, opportunities, and goals, which can lead to more effective targeting and ad copy.
- Flexibility: In-house PPC teams can quickly pivot campaigns and strategies as business needs change.
Cons:
- Limited expertise: In-house PPC teams may not have the same level of expertise as specialized vendors. This can lead to less effective targeting, ad copy, and overall campaign performance.
- Resource-intensive: Running a successful PPC campaign requires significant resources, including a team of experts, software tools, and advertising budgets.
- Difficulty staying up-to-date: PPC algorithms, trends, and best practices change rapidly. In-house teams may find it challenging to stay up-to-date with the latest developments.
Outsourced PPC Takeaways
Outsourcing a PPC campaign is a delicate process that requires careful consideration. Evaluate your PPC campaign goals, budget, and overall business capacities before you choose to dive into the process.
Once you’re ready, it’s only a matter of finding the right agency to help you reap the benefits of an effective PPC campaign. Browse through DesignRush's massive directory of PPC specialists or reach out to our team. We can help you identify the best agencies for your campaign needs.
Outsourced PPC FAQs
1. Why outsource PPC?
Outsourcing your PPC campaign can be wise for businesses looking to maximize their advertising budget and save up on costs, as you don't have to hire, train, and manage an in-house team of experts. Moreover, partnering with a specialized vendor lets you access expert knowledge and experience in running successful campaigns.
Doing this can translate into better results for your business and more time for your team to focus on other critical business activities.
2. Why should companies use PPC?
PPC can be a game-changer for businesses looking to reach their target audience, generate leads, and drive sales.
With the ability to target specific audiences based on location, interests, and online behavior, PPC campaigns can result in higher conversion rates and better ROI than traditional advertising methods. Additionally, PPC campaigns are easily measurable and can be optimized to improve their effectiveness.
3. What should you look for in an agency when outsourcing PPC?
The first thing is always expertise — you want an outsourced PPC company that knows what it’s doing. Next, check the platforms they’re using and whether there are some references or online feedback about their work. Finally, ask for the price and compare it with their competitors.
4. How much does outsourced PPC cost?
The cost of outsourcing PPC depends on the company you choose to outsource your PPC advertising to. Usually, the average is around $2,000 to $5,000 a month. Most companies prefer to use the subscription model, while others accept per-project payments.
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