How Much Does PPC Management Cost?

Written by Rosie Wait on 09 November 2023.

Pay-per-click advertising is a powerful tool used to boost your company’s online presence and drive more traffic to your website. The potential for PPC campaigns to get exceptional results is widely known but this leaves the question: How much does PPC management cost? We understand that cost is a significant factor that needs to be considered when contemplating using Google Ads as a strategy. Costs will include both management costs of using an agency and the budget that you decide to put behind the ads.

In this article, we will explore:

What you can expect from PPC management services
The structure of fees
What to look for in a management company
A typical PPC management price

PPC management cost: A breakdown

So we know PPC can be hugely effective. But how much should you expect to pay for PPC management to get the desired results? Let’s first look at the different types of fee structures.

The most common fee structures you will see in the market are:

Flat fee

A flat fee is a monthly figure that remains the same every month. No hidden costs and no conditions. This is the most common form of management cost and gives you predictability, allowing you to manage your budget effectively with no surprises.

Percentage of ad spend

This type of management cost works on a commission basis where the agency you work with will receive a percentage of your monthly ad spend. The percentage will typically range from 10-20% For example, if your monthly ad spend was £2,000 then your agency would expect to receive £200-£400.

Performance-based fees

This type of fee structure means you are only required to pay for the leads that your agency brings in. While this might sound very appealing, if your agency is not credible or trustworthy, you may find that the leads you end up paying for are low-quality and don’t convert to a sale.

How much should you spend on PPC management?

There is no straightforward answer to this question. It all depends on what is included in the price you pay.

Before seeking the help of a digital marketing agency, it is important that you understand what to expect from them and the results you should see.

Strategy

The first and most important step any credible agency will take is to build a marketing strategy for your business. This will include:

Identifying keywords with volume and the right intent
Setting out optimisation objectives
Determining bid types
Coming up with creative recommendations
Creating custom audiences
Writing compelling ad copy
Setting up ad assets
Analysing existing traffic

Campaign buildout

Once you have approved the proposed strategy from your agency, the next step for the agency will be to create your campaign buildout. This service should include:

Advising on how to optimise landing pages
Ad copy creation
Negative keyword lists
Ad Extensions
Account Optimisation
Remarketing setup
Conversion and tracking setup
A/B testing setup

Optimisation and reporting

Setting up and enabling the ads is not the end of the journey. Google Ads management is an ongoing process that includes learning and development as you begin to see what works and what doesn’t. Ongoing optimisation includes:

Improving Quality Scores to bring your cost-per-click down and relevance
Adjusting bidding strategies. This is an increase or decrease in your bids to allow you to show your ads more or less frequently
Updating negative keyword lists to ensure your ads are as targeted as possible
Creating new Ad Groups to target specific keywords that you unearth from the search terms triggering ads
Conversion rate optimisations. This is the process of optimising your account with the aim of raising your conversion rate
Further keyword research and development
Changing keyword match types as and when needed
Creating reports

This list gives you the bare minimum of the services that you should expect from an agency and explains why it is not advisable to go for the cheapest option (where an agency probably only oversees performance but does not work to improve it). The lowest you would expect to pay for PPC management should be around £450 per month to ensure you’re really getting the levels of attention required to get good results. The amount, however, is very much dependent on the size of the account.

Any agency offering prices that seem too good to be true, probably are just that. By investing in an agency that will elevate your business by driving more quality, targeted traffic to your website you will get your money’s worth and then some!

Is PPC management worth the price?

Google has 86.64% of the worldwide market share. This makes it the most popular search engine in the world. With a statistic like that, it’s no wonder that Google is the most popular place to run ads! It is also worth bearing in mind that 65% of customers click on PPC ads taking potential customers directly to your website.

Let’s take a closer look at just a few of the many benefits of PPC and discover how it can help you take your business to the next level.

You don’t pay until they click

As the name suggests, PPC (pay-per-click) advertising means that you will only be charged when a user takes action by clicking on your ad. This makes a huge difference in lead generation. Effective optimisation is the key to reaching your target audience. By filtering out the irrelevant search terms and keeping your keywords targeted, it means your potential customers will see your ad, click through to your website and convert.

SEO vs PPC

Both SEO and PPC aim to get your website to appear on the first page of the search results. SEO focuses on driving organic traffic to your website through the optimisation of your website and online content. PPC is the use of paid ads with the same goal. Whilst SEO is an important asset to your business, it is not a quick fix.

Imagine yourself working towards taking your driving test. You take months of regular lessons before you are ready to take your test. It’s taken a long time but you pass. The next week, a friend decides to learn to drive. He books a two-week intensive driving course and passes his test shortly after. The result is the same as yours but he got there a lot quicker! PPC is exactly like booking that intensive course. You will start seeing results as soon as those campaigns go live!

Analyse your results

PPC - like any channel - can have its results and performance analysed in both the Google Ads platform and Google Analytics which helps when it comes to optimisation. Google Analytics offers access to a wealth of metrics such as:

Traffic sources. This is very useful as it gives you the number of visits to your website from each source and how much impact each channel has had
Conversions
On-site engagement
Comparison data
Average session duration
Number of users and sessions
Organic vs paid sources
Bounce rate
Average pages per session

Knowing how to interpret valuable data collected by Google is essential in improving the quality and performance of the ads on an ongoing basis. No agency can know what will drive the best results the first time around. The process is a learning one. Without the metrics, you cannot learn what’s working and what isn’t, and so you can’t make informed decisions about where to focus efforts and where to cut back.

How to choose a PPC management agency

We understand how important cost is when choosing to pay for a service. But other contributing factors should inform your decision when selecting the right agency for you;

Services

You may only be looking at a PPC service at the moment but it is worth considering an agency that covers a whole range of digital marketing services. This is because when you see the success of your PPC marketing campaigns, you may then want to look into other services like SEOservices like SEO, and the approach to both should always be combined.

Communication

Communication is key. An agency needs to get to know you and your business. They should take the time to understand your business goals and the services you offer. You should also feel comfortable asking them questions and find it easy to collaborate.

Experience

It is important to thoroughly review an agency’s testimonials and case studies as solid proof of their successful track record. If you are sceptical about how cheaply they are offering PPC management, it may be down to a lack of experience and qualifications. It is worth looking into the certifications they hold, how long they have been in business and if they are participating in further training and qualifications to keep up with the ever-changing world of digital marketing.

The different types of ads

PPC can be overwhelming. Let’s break down the different types of ads for you.

Search ads

The best of the search ads appear at the top of the results page and are labelled as “sponsored” (which can be tricky to spot!) whilst blending in with the organic content listed. They are keyword-focused ads so your PPC agency will carry out keyword research to determine the best search terms to drive quality and targeted traffic to your website; traffic most likely to lead to a valuable conversion.

Video ads

You may have noticed the video ads before you watch a YouTube video which currently stands as the most popular video platform for paid video ads. Users are tracked using pixels. They’re great for selling a product to help visually outline the benefits, as well as for use in How-to guides.

Shopping ads

Shopping ads use images to showcase a brand’s products and the amount they cost. They will also offer snippets such as ratings and the name of the product which helps inform the potential customer’s buying decision.

Local service ads

Local service ads enable you to promote your business on Google and receive leads directly from potential customers. These leads are generated through your ad and manifest as phone calls and messages.

Display ads

Display ads are showcased on third party websites and use images, videos and text to advertise services and products. They come at a fraction of the cost of search ads but generally result in a poorer quality result. This is because the targeting is generally not specific enough. One such example of display advertising is banner ads. The content on these ads is designed to correlate to the host website so they are aligned with the target audience.

Enlist the help of a PPC management agency

At Beyond Your Brand we go far beyond the expectations of our clients. We understand digital marketing and what is important and that is where our focus lies. We get you the results that matter. It’s as simple as that.

Our PPC wizards will get to know your business inside out and create show-stopping content and eye-catching PPC ads to drive more of the traffic you want to your website.

If you would like to discuss PPC management, contact us today.