Toll Free: 1-877-695-7388

GTA: (647) 699-2838

Search Engine People
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • CRO
  • Display
  • Blog
  • Why Us
  • Contact
  • Join Our Team
  • Get A Quote

Toll Free: 1-877-695-7388

GTA: (647) 699-2838

In-House vs. Outsourced Pay-Per-Click Management

Nick Supapol | November 13th, 2013
Tweet35
Share13
Share
Pin
48 Shares

Inhouse-V-OutsourcingTorn between keeping your pay-per-click in-house or outsourcing management to a Search Engine Marketing company?

To help with your decision, here are some advantages and disadvantages you should consider.

In-House Pros

Dedicated Employee

Being able to quickly connect with someone in the office has its perks. If you constantly need ad copy messaging updated with new offers and pricing or urgently need a last minute report, being able to quickly connect with your PPC manager is helpful.

Employee Accountability

In-house PPC managers are ultimately responsible for the success of your online advertising efforts. When optimizing the account and bringing forward recommendations for improvement, your company's best interest should be top of mind. Since the account's performance can have an influence over employment, salary and advancement, you would expect him or her to do their best to exceed your expectations.

Understanding of Your Business

No one knows your company better than you. At the same time, you should expect all of your employees to have a solid understanding of how your business operates, core competencies, unique selling features, and most importantly, your customers.

In-House Cons

Finding the Right Fit

Having to find and hire your own PPC manager isn't always easy. It's common for people to talk the talk during an interview, but fail once they are put to the test. Established Search Engine Marketing companies have people and processes in place to attract and hire the right type of talent, with the right level of experience.

Covering for Days Off

Although your PPC campaign is likely active every day of the year, employees need their time off. With only one person in charge, you can put campaign performance at risk. Hopefully you can lean on another employee or yourself to monitor and implement account changes in their absence.

Losing Your In-House Manager

Hiring and getting someone new up to speed can be a lengthy process that could jeopardize your online advertising efforts. Not to mention this takes away from your time!

Outsourcing PPC Cons

Bandwidth

It's normal for PPC specialists working at agencies to manage more than one client's advertising. Although client hours are allocated based on depth of project and management fees, it's common for outsourced management to result in fewer hours of working time on your account. But, its really more about quality over quantity!

Working with the Right Company

There is a level of risk that comes with handing your pay-per-click campaign over to an agency. To help weed out the bad from the good, look for signals like certifications, affiliations and awards.

Outsourcing PPC Pros

Accountability

I know, accountability was listed as an in-house pro. But, just as an employee is responsible for the success of your advertising, agencies are also measured on your campaign's performance.

Experience & Expertise

These are possibly the biggest reasons why you should consider outsourcing PPC management. From account structure to conversion optimization and everything else in between, agency PPC specialists are true experts.

Continuity & Knowledge Sharing

It's typical to have more than one person assigned your account when working with an agency. Usually, you have a PPC Specialist (or team of specialists) executing the strategy, plus an Account Manager handling day-to-day communications and administration. A Lead Strategist or Project Manager would also oversee all activity to ensure your objectives are being achieved.

Passion

You should deal with someone who has declared pay-per-click their discipline. Working as a PPC manager in an agency isn't just a job, it's a profession. Although passion doesn't replace skill, it undoubtedly enhances it.

Agency Support

Search Engine Marketing companies benefit from dedicated agency support and vertical specialists who assist in everything from escalating ad approvals to providing competitive insight and access to new targeting tactics.

Advertising platforms are constantly releasing new beta features for testing new targeting methods. Since a client's success is an agency's top priority, you can be assured pay-per-click management companies will try anything and everything to stay ahead of the competition. Though not every new tactic is a good fit for every business, working with a credible agency can help ensure your account is eligible to be opted in when appropriate.

Cost

Employing someone full time can be more expensive than outsourcing your campaign management to a Search Engine Marketing company. Typically, a PPC management fee is 15% of the total monthly media spend.

For instance, if your monthly spend is $10,000, then your PPC management fee would be $1,500 per month. A number of additional factors including the depth of the project, media spend and the client-agency relationship can result in management fees as low as 5% of monthly media spend. Pretty reasonable if you ask me!

Regardless of in-house or outsourced management, you should have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve through pay-per-click. Be sure to set clear, quantifiable goals and objectives that you can measure success against.

Tweet35
Share13
Share
Pin
48 Shares
Posted in PPCTagged google advertising, pay per click company, pay per click management

About the Author: Nick Supapol

Nick Supapol leads the PPC team (and is consistently the #1 ranked ping-pong player) at Search Engine People.

5 thoughts on “In-House vs. Outsourced Pay-Per-Click Management”

  1. Ron Hutchison says:
    November 13, 2013 at 10:08 am

    Terrific read. Well said Nick !

    1. Nick Supapol says:
      November 14, 2013 at 7:41 am

      Thank, Ron

      Glad you enjoyed it!

  2. Shockley says:
    November 13, 2013 at 1:30 pm

    Great post, Nick! Well thought-out pros and cons.

  3. Maureen McCabe says:
    November 13, 2013 at 11:51 pm

    This blog should be used as an appendix in EVERY marketing proposal sent to a prospective customer.

    The PPC skill set requires synergy and economies of scale… a bunch of PPC guys (and gals!) interacting… that’s why I have had an agency manage my ads since 2010.

    1. Nick Supapol says:
      November 14, 2013 at 9:00 am

      Hi Maureen – Thanks for the great comment.

      I couldn’t agree more!

Comments are closed.

Recent Posts

  • Maximizing Your E-Commerce Sales:
    A CRO Audit Guide
  • Movin’ On Up! Why Migrating to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Should be a Priority
  • A Year in Review: The Digital Marketing Trends That Defined 2021
  • The Basics of Video Marketing
  • Just How Much Do Google Reviews Impact Your SEO Ranking?

Categories

  • Analytics & ROI Analysis
  • Company News
  • Content
  • Conversion Optimization
  • CRO
  • Display Advertising/RTB
  • Email Marketing
  • En Español
  • En Français
  • Inbound Marketing
  • Lead Nurture & Marketing Automation
  • Local Search
  • Marketing
  • Mobile
  • Partnership Marketing
  • PPC
  • PR
  • SEO
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Web Design

Additional Posts

SEO on Images in WordPress

How to Optimize Your Images on WordPress

November 12th, 2013 | by Eileen Lonergan

8 Facts Backed By 18 Stats To Convince Your Boss To Put Money Into Mobile Marketing – NOW

November 11th, 2013 | by Richard Eaves

8 Essential Mobile Marketing Considerations

November 11th, 2013 | by Chiko Noguchi

LET'S TALK

Need more information or want to get in touch?

Get in touch!
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Display
  • Blog
  • Why Us
  • Join Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Local SEO
  • Small Business SEO
  • Enterprise SEO
  • International SEO

LOCATION

1305 Pickering Parkway,
5th Floor Pickering, L1V 3P2

PHONE

Toll Free: 1-877-695-7388
Greater Toronto Area: (647) 699-2838

Social

© Search Engine People Inc. 2023 – Canada’s Top Digital Agency
© SEP 2023 – A Search Engine People Company | Privacy Policy

Search Engine People