A checklist for finding the right PPC consultant
So you have decided to start using PPC as part of your marketing plan, and need help from a professional. How can you find the right PPC consultant?
Over the years, PPC has remained a popular way for advertisers to find and convert customers. But what is it?
‘PPC’ is pay-per-click, a form of internet marketing where you pay each time someone clicks on one of your ads. Think of it as buying visits to your website, rather than earning them organically.
One of the most popular forms of PPC is search engine advertising. This lets you bid to have your advert shown in a search engine’s sponsored links when someone searches for a keyword that relates to what you do or sell.
The great thing about PPC is that it can give you results immediately. Unlike SEO, which can take months or years of hard work to pay off, a PPC campaign can send visitors to your website within minutes.
And according to the statistics, PPC ranks highly out of all forms of online marketing, with as many as 20% of advertisers saying it delivers the highest ROI out of any digital marketing strategy.
But like any form of marketing, your results will only be as good as your strategy and the implementation of your strategy. And if you are not an expert in PPC, this means hiring an expert.
So how can you find the right PPC consultant to help you create and run effective PPC campaigns? There are many people offering pay per click consulting, but not everyone will be right for you. To help you fid the person or agency who can deliver the results you need, we’ve put together a quick checklist.
1) Choose a PPC consultant who specialises in your channels
There are several platform you can use to run your PPC campaigns on: search, social, programmatic, shopping, or multi-channel, and it is important to work with a PPC consultant who understands and has experience in the channel you are interested in.
So when looking for a PPC expert or agency, check that they have sun successful campaigns on the channels that you need. If not, it may be worth looking elsewhere.
2) Choose a PPC consultant who loves data
When it comes to successful PPC campaigns, the devil is in the detail. And the detail is data. Data and analytics are essential in planning, reviewing and tweaking PPC campaigns, so you really need an expert consultant who is passionate about data.
A great PPC consultant will know exactly how to use data to come up with creative ideas for your campaigns and increase your return on investment (ROI). Plus they’ll have data from previous clients to draw on to inform your campaigns at the planning stage.
When looking for someone to work with, ask them how they measure the metrics in their campaigns, and what tools they use. It’s also important to find out what kind of data and results they share with you and how, as you’ll want to have visibility over your campaigns.
3) Choose a PPC consultant who is familiar with local search
If you are a business looking for customers locally, you need a PPC consultant who understands local search.
In recent years there has been a huge growth in mobile searches for phrases like “___ near me today/tonight” and “open” + “now” + “near me.” We also know that as many as 60% of smartphone users have got in touch with a business using search results, and 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information.
And if you want to ensure that you pick up some of the business available through local search you need a PPC consultant who can get your ad seen for the right keywords.
To check whether you are speaking to someone who can help, ask them what local PPC campaigns they have worked on, and the results they have achieved. Find out how they approach local search campaigns, and how they can help you reach the people who want or need what you sell locally.
4) Choose a PPC consultant who can run mobile campaigns
Speaking of mobile searches, it is no secret that many more of us are using our phones to access the internet these days. So it is essential you work with a PPC consultant who is experienced in (and has success in) running mobile optimised campaigns.
They’ll need to know how to create ads that work on mobiles, as well as understand how people search on mobile, to ensure your ads work with the evolving search and social algorithms.
So when looking for a PPC consultant, ask them what mobile campaigns they have run, and the results they delivered. Find out too how they create ads for mobile (and how this differs from desktop versions), and whether they provide or can help you with ads and copy that are optimised for mobile.
5) Choose a PPC consultant who is great at keyword research
And finally, the strength of your PPC campaigns will depend on the keywords you focus on. Choose the right keywords and you’ll get your ads in front of people ready and willing to buy what you offer – or join your mailing list (depending on the goal of your campaign). Bid on the wrong keywords and you’ll just be wasting money.
So make sure you ask any PPC consultant you are considering working with about their keyword strategy. Find out how they decide which keywords to focus on in a campaign, and what keyword research tools they use.
You might also want to ask about the strategies they have run for clients with a similar business or goal to you, and how they measure the success of keywords.
Be thorough in your research
Hiring a PPC consultant is a big decision, and one you need to take the time to get right. They’ll plan and run your campaigns and manage your budget, so you need to trust they know what they are doing and will deliver the ROI you need.
We hope this checklist of things to consider when hiring a PPC consultant will help you make the right decision for you.
Photo by Corinne Kutz
