Pay-per-click advertising is not as straightforward as it looks, and many businesses underestimate what it takes to deploy a successful campaign. Now that’s not to say it’s impossible but rather to highlight the importance of working with the experts.
PPC agencies have the necessary talent and experience to hit the ground running. They deploy strategies that work and extract data to improve performance. In addition to this performance, agencies will generate reports that provide insights that can help refine and improve the process.
But what are these key insights that you should expect?
This article will discuss key insights that enable PPC agencies to outperform and help businesses achieve the best return on investment.
The Key Insights You Want from Hiring a PPC Agency
PPC agencies oversee all aspects of paid advertising for their clients. As a result, they research the market and develop strategies to outperform competitors. Agencies identify the best keywords and implement bid strategies that will help preserve and protect the budget. They also have expertise with copywriting, web design, and every other task you might associate with a digital marketing agency.
But what makes a PPC agency stand out? According to Digital Authority Partners, reporting is critical, and results will always tell the story. In other words, weekly or monthly reporting should provide insight into progress and whether or not the agency is delivering on the initial objectives of the campaign.
Let’s take a look at five key insights you want from hiring a PPC agency:
1. Ensuring PPC Strategies are Working Toward KPIs
Use metrics to determine progress. Key performance indicators (KPI) refer to metrics that measure this progress, and this tracking is critical for a PPC campaign. Here are a few KPIs that you will note from reporting in a PPC campaign:
Click-through rate (CTR) – This is a percentage that shows the number of users who click on the ad compared to the overall number of users who see the ad.
Conversion rate – Conversions refer to the percentage of users that take the desired action (e.g., make a purchase) compared to the number of users that click.
Customer acquisition rate – This refers to the ”cost per lead” and calculates the return on investment (ROI) and the average cost of gaining a new customer.
It’s necessary to know how to audit a PPC campaign. Without this process, it’s impossible to tell if a marketing campaign is indeed on course. In addition, PPC agencies use these KPIs to track progress and ensure existing strategies work toward the initial goals.
2. Investing Time and Money in the Right Platforms
It would be great if every business could excel on every platform and day. However, this is simply impractical, and both time and money limitations will often dictate just how many places in which a business can/should advertise. But which platform should a business use? It depends on many different factors.
For instance, paid ads on search are best for producing traffic and lead quickly, and paid social ads are often more affordable. But more than one strategy is needed for long-term success with PPC ads. Therefore, making data-driven decisions about which platforms make the most sense for the goal is essential.
3. Increasing CTA and Qualified Leads
Are online users genuinely interested in the ad? A successful PPC campaign depends on quality leads, and critical insights can help attract more qualified leads. Unfortunately, the click-through rate will also suffer if ads are not set up or optimized correctly.
With reporting to hand, PPC agencies can refine the keyword strategy to ensure more accuracy with targeting. They can also take advantage of data by taking to task with things like improving ad copy or creating a landing page. These strategies can enhance lead quality, leading to higher conversion rates.
4. Design and Implementing the Most Effective Visuals
PPC agencies also use insights to pay attention to the more minor details, which can make a big difference, often related to design and visuals.
For example, many businesses seem to have more success with conversion rates on desktop than mobile. Unfortunately, this is often a visual oversight and the fact that a website is either poorly designed or not responsive enough for mobile devices.
Working with a PPC agency can help businesses identify these key areas that need attention. They have the skills and expertise to act on this information and create visuals that will lead to bigger and better results across all devices.
5. Spotting Trends and Changing with the Times
Digital marketing trends are constantly changing; the same is valid with PPC ads. New tools and formats emerge while old ideas die hard. AI and machine learning are also changing the PPC landscape, and businesses need to stay relevant.
Big data is helping advertisers solve problems, and relevant information enables PPC agencies to refine the targeting process in particular.
While some of these changes might be obvious, many trends are slow to emerge and require data and a close eye to spot. Monitoring progress and generating reports is often the only way to take this task and make the most of the available data.
Final Thoughts
Working with a PPC agency is the only way to ensure the best return on investment for paid advertising. Of course, many factors can destroy a budget or render a campaign a failure. Still, critical insights can help avoid such instances.
With this in mind, reporting is essential, but what a PPC agency does with this information matters. The best agencies can also simplify and convey information so businesses can better understand complex insights. Indeed, PPC is not straightforward, but a PPC agency can make it look that way for you.