Pay-Per-Click (PPC) management is the process of overseeing and managing a company's PPC ad spend. These are often strategies and ad buy while minimizing the overall expenditure. This may be done by the e-merchant or vendor themselves, or a dedicated specialist company may be hired to manage PPC buys on their behalf.
PPC management is generally seen as an evolving art where perfect optimization is not possible but is still the objective.
What does a PPC agency or specialist typically do?
Effective PPC management revolves around several interconnected subjects:
Keyword analysis: Discovering and targeting specific keywords and search queries being entered by likely leads for a company.
Channel strategy: Google AdWords, Bing Ads, affiliate networks, and paid social media placements are some of the channels to consider for PPC marketing.
Monitoring: Monitoring search term reports closely to learn which keywords/queries are most often used, to focus their buys on the most common searches.
Keeping an eye on overall ROI and using that as a guideline to dictate the amount paid and scope of ad buys.
Competitive analysis: Keeping an eye on tactics and strategies utilized by competitors is key — and time-consuming. For example, deciding whether to compete directly by bidding on the same queries, or instead targeting queries a competitor is overlooking (competitive gap).
Negative match: Optimizing ad spend by filtering out users who match a category that makes them unlikely to convert. A high-end fashion retailer, for example, might limit their ads to users in the top 10% of earnings. A physical business, like a restaurant, would limit ads to those within close geographic proximity.
A/B Testing: Constantly split testing is one of the most effective methods for optimizing PPC ROI. Text, graphics, and other display variables can be used interchangeably to find the most effective method.
Who Should Hire PPC Management Company?
While some companies may baulk at the added expense of hiring experts to manage their PPC campaigns, in many cases it can pay for itself by increasing efficiencies.
Good candidates for hiring a PPC Management company include:
Anyone new to online advertising.
Companies lacking an in-house advertising team.
Small firms without sufficient manpower to effectively oversee PPC.
Organizations are unable to afford the sometimes-expensive database and software systems needed for optimal PPC management.