How Much Does PPC Management Cost? Considerations When Choosing an Agency

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising has rapidly become fundamental for businesses’ digital marketing strategies. Its effectiveness in driving immediate, targeted traffic to websites is undeniable, making it a crucial component for businesses competing online.

However, managing PPC ad campaigns is no small feat. It involves constant monitoring, strategic adjustments, and a keen understanding of advertising trends and consumer behavior. As such, businesses often seek professionals to help them create and manage effective PPC campaigns.

This article covers the costs associated with PPC management, its pricing models, influencing factors, and knowledge to help you understand where your investment is going.

What Are PPC Management Services?

PPC management services are creating, controlling, and improving pay-per-click campaigns and meeting the client’s goals. Managing PPC campaigns requires first-hand experience, SEO, and market knowledge, so many businesses approach agencies specialized in PPC campaigns.

A PPC management agency takes care of all the ad process, including:

• Keyword research.
• Content creation.
• Copy redaction.
• Audience segmentation and targeting.
• Bid system.

The marketing manager and the PPC management team are involved in developing accurate ads for each platform you use – Google, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Twitch, etc. Each has different standards and strategies that help your business succeed. It’s up to them to apply the strategy correctly. 

To help you understand, the ads you see on Google before search queries trigger organic results, while Facebook’s appear due to audience segmentation.

PPC Management Pricing Model

You must consider three PPC pricing models when using a marketing agency. Each adjusts to your preferences and ensures your PPC budget is used accordingly.

Percentage of Ad Spend

A PPC agency charges a percentage of your total budget spent on ads, that’s how the ad spend pricing model works. This is a standard pricing model that you can find online. The amount goes between 10% and 20% of the total budget. However, some agencies charge less depending on the ad investment’s size.

For example, your business has $35,000 allocated monthly for ads. A PPC agency could charge between $3,500 and $7,000 per month.

Pros:

• Intuitive and easy to follow.
• Your sales scale as the advertising spend grows as well.

Cons:

• You pay more as you invest more in ads.
• An agency may be incentivized to request more budget to increase their pay rate.

Flat Fee

The flat fee is a monthly fixed rate PPC agencies charge you for their services. This payment model is aligned with businesses that spend money on ads constantly or those with a small budget.

The best example is an agency that charges you $3,000 to manage your ads. This is a fixed amount that will be maintained over time. You should also discuss if the payment of the ad is included in the cost.

Pros:

• Steady monthly expenses in ads.
• Budget-friendly for small businesses.

Cons:

• Doesn’t have incentives for agencies.
• It may require constant revisions as businesses grow.

Based on Performance

This model is based on consent. You need to establish the meaning of “success” so you can pay the agency properly. The payment comes with a performance bonus.

Some success metrics you can determine are Conversion Through Rate (CTR) or Impressions.

For example, you set a $2,500 base budget, but the parties agree on an extra 25% if sales increase by 10% each month.

Pros:

• It gives incentives to agencies to overperform.
• Allows businesses to get better results in a short time.

Cons:

• It may be expensive for small or medium businesses.
• Requires clear and understandable metrics.

There are also other PPC models in the market, like milestone-based or per hour. However, the ones above are the most used.

Which PPC Model Should You Use?

The PPC model you should go for is the one that fits your business’s goals and budget. This means you have to consider in which stage you are. Are you a startup, a medium-sized company, or a corporation?

Here are the PPC models you should use according to your answer:

Startups And Entrepreneurs

Percentage-based payment. You could find an agency that allows you to pay a percentage of the total budget spent on your ads each month. 

You only would have to pay setup fees once and then 10% or 20% of your money allocated.

You could also pay a fixed monthly fee if it’s cheaper. You’d have to discuss terms and conditions with the agency.

Medium Businesses And Corporations

Medium and large companies could use flat fees or performance-based models.

Fixed prices allow you to establish a clear budget for ads each month. You must include the platform fees and the agency’s payment here. 

The downside is that flat fees are more expensive than other methods.

On the other hand, performance-based models give the agency incentives to make the best out of their ads. They will try to prepare the most compelling copies, clean graphics and try multiple segmentations to find the best results.

However, you have to include a base fee and then an extra that will be the bonus in case of meeting KPIs.

PPC Services Included

PPC management services cost money, that’s clear. Some will be included in packages, and others will come as extra.

So, here are the common services that PPC management agencies include in their offers:

PPC Competitor Analysis

A trustable PPC agency should include a competitor’s analysis to discover three main things:

• Correct competitive keywords.
• Proper audience segmentation.
• Other companies’ estimated budget.

You must understand how competitive your industry is to prepare an accurate strategy that allows you to stay ahead, gather customers and create a steady cash flow. 

Copywriting

The copy is the message you include in your advertising and briefly explains what you want to tell the audience.

They must have three attributes:

• Compelling
• Attention-Grabbing
• Enticing so people click on them

A specialized agency will know how to craft copies that persuade and inform your target audience and increase your CTR.

Ad Designs

This is what your audience will see in your ads. It improves your copy’s impact and visually showcases your product or services.

The content is optimized for conversion and ensures readability. 

Bid Management

The average PPC costs change depending on how competitive your industry is and the keywords chosen to retarget your audience.

PPC experts will know how to create a bid strategy to maximize the PPC ad spend value.

PPC Campaign Strategy Creation

A PPC campaign won’t work without a strategy. The agency should prepare a comprehensive and clear plan that explains the steps and processes to follow by the PPC specialist.

Most PPC agencies include this in their monthly management fee. Yet, others charge an additional fee for it.

PPC Management Software

A specialized PPC agency has multiple management tools to set up, track and modify ads. They should provide clear insights about them and what you can expect when running PPC campaigns.

Reports

PPC reports are meant to provide you with information about your business. This is how you know how much you spend on ads and their detailed results.

A good agency will provide clear, intuitive documentation so you know you’re not wasting money.

Optionals

There are additional services that an agency could provide – even if they’re not PPC-related – if they have them among their offer:

• Landing page design: It helps with UX and UI and ensures the leads that enter the sales funnel are received by a well-designed landing page. It should be clean, fast, intuitive, and responsive while providing access to all important website sections.
• Website copy: This is the text that goes on your landing page. It must have clear CTAs, be compelling, address the lead’s pain points, and more.
• Seach Engine Optimization (SEO): Some agencies offer organic traffic optimization for your website along with PPC: This is a top-notch combination as you can get the best of both worlds: paid and organic traffic. If done properly, you’ll increase your impressions, CTR and conversions.

What Is PPC Advertising?

PPC, or Pay Per Click, is an online advertising model used in marketing strategies where the publisher pays a small fee each time someone clicks on their ads. What you’re doing here is paying for targeted views on your website, products, or landing pages in the hopes of getting a profit.

PPC uses specific keywords and segmentation to accurately estimate who may want to see your ads and then show them to them.

They come in different sizes and shapes, such as:

• Text
• Banners
• Videos
• Images
• Mixed

They all depend on the platform you’re using and the ad budget and goal.

PPC Platforms Available

There are multiple platforms available for you to do PPC ads. Each has its characteristics. Here we’ll mention the most used advertising platforms for a business:

1. Google Ads: Previously known as Google Adwords, this platform uses the Google Search Network and Google Display Network with target keywords. You use the selected terms to appear in the search results, and people will find you when they search for that specific keyword. 
2. Meta Ads: This combines Instagram and Facebook. The platform uses audience segmentation instead of keywords to show your ads to your audience. They have a strict content policy that you must comply with to publish ads on their social media. Meta users see an advertisement of approximately 3-5 organic posts, so you may get an idea of how this results.
3. Youtube Ads: Youtube advertising takes part along with a Google ads campaign since the search giant bought the video platform. You can run ads according to market, affinity, demographics, and other aspects similar to traditional Google ads. 
4. Twitter Ads: Twitter ads are not as traditional as other platforms but are still a way to find customers. You can create targeted ad campaigns and find people ready to buy. Your ad copy will be seen as a natural tweet shared throughout the user base. This is only available in the US.

There are other platforms available such as Microsoft advertising, that you can also use to post ads. However, the ones above are the most used for their average cost and benefits. 

Is PPC Important?

The PPC service offerings are essential because they boost brand awareness and generate high-quality leads through paid advertising.

It also gives you the following benefits:

• Get faster results than if posted organically to appear in search engine results.
• Track reports that show real-life reports.
• Make data-driven decisions.
• Get an ROI in the short term if done correctly.
• Access for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

In fact, according to current data, running effective PPC campaigns increases your brand awareness by up to 80%. This enhances your lead generation and helps you reach thousands of people in the short term.

And with its ability to track inbound leads and get key performance information, you can improve the ad campaign in many ways or even optimize the total ad spend.

How Much Does PPC Cost?

There’s no straight answer to how much a PPC ad costs. It all depends on multiple factors that we’ll explain later. However, you could follow three standard models, and they can be found on all platforms.

Cost per Click

The Cost per Click, or CPC, refers to a PPC pricing model that charges for every click your ad receives. The cost of every interaction varies depending on how competitive your industry, keyword, or audience is, but generally, it can go from $0.10 to $100 or more.

Cost per Mille

For this case, the cost is for every 1000 impressions. The price changes according to the same factors above, but generally, it may start from $2.

Remarketing

When the client’s PPC campaigns include retargeting, they reach out to people who have clicked on your ad but have converted.

The cost of this strategy starts from $0.66.

Elements to Determine PPC Pricing

You already have a PPC pricing model to follow, but other elements will modify how much PPC costs at the end of the month.

Expertise

The more expertise is required to develop a PPC campaign, the more it would cost. Agency pricing models change based on how much research, remarketing, and other strategies are necessary to ensure the ad placement works.

For example, the PPC efforts for a national campaign differ from those for an international one.

It also differs if the PPC specialist only has to use one platform or more.

Keyword Research

Keyword research makes your campaign more expensive. Highly competitive terms will require extra resources, time, and better segmentation to create the ad’s content and copy.

At the same time, the client will also need extra capital to bid more.

Competition

Your competition matters as well. The more companies there are in the same industry and market, the more difficult it will be for you to connect with an audience.

You’ll have to use more budget to get the expected result.

Ad Campaigns

You won’t prepare only one ad and get sales. You must run A/B tests and try multiple ads to know what works.

An agency could charge you for the number of ads you want to prepare monthly or the resources they allocate.

Ad Types and Quality

Consider if you’ll run text ads, banners, video ads, or other types of advertising. This will change the number of people involved in the process, making it more expensive.

For example, a simple Facebook ad may require a graphic designer and a copywriter, but a Youtube ad might also need a video editor and actors.

The more complex the campaign, the more you’ll have to pay.

Platforms Used

There are multiple PPC tools to publish ads. Specialists usually handle one or two simultaneously – that’s why they’re called specialists. If you need someone to manage more than one PPC account, you may have to pay more for those extra resources.

Estimating Prices According to The Business’ Size

Even though there is an established price range for paid ads and the elements that make PPC account management more expensive, there’s still a subjective aspect: the business’s size.

Charging $1,000 to a startup is not the same as doing it to a multinational company. The first may see it as an out-of-budget option and the latter as a cheap generic one.

Why? Because of the value proposition and job difficulty.

So, when dealing with these situations, the best choice is to establish a price range according to the type of company you’re dealing with, especially considering that businesses use part of their revenue in ads.

Check the following monthly ad spend rates:

• Startups or entrepreneurs: $200 to $999 per month.
• Small business: $1,000 to $9,999 per month.
• Medium-sized business: $10,000 to $299,999 per month.
• Enterprise: Varies, but could apply the prices above.

You could consider these suggestive prices when finding an agency to manage your PPC accounts. Yet, they could change according to the abovementioned elements.

Either way, you must have resources to allocate a budget for campaign management if you don’t have an in-house. And as you grow, you confirm that the statement “Businesses make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on Google Ads” is true.

Hiring an Expert PPC Agency

GamerSEO is a marketing agency specializing in PPC strategies that adjust your marketing budget and deliver clear and substantial results.

Contact us to understand how we can make your PPC strategy worthwhile. We have market specialists that use A/B testing and prepare personalized segmentations to reach your target audience through smart bidding strategies.

Give us a call to get started!

How Much Does PPC Management Cost? The Bottom Line

PPC management and understanding its costs is a complex task. It demands skill and insight, with financial stakes that can significantly impact your business. 

PPC is not just an expense—it’s an investment in your business’s digital future that could benefit sales, search engine optimization results, and overall brand status.

PPC management costs don’t have to be a question mark in your budget when you know how PPC pricing works and which deal you made with an agency. 

So, whether you’re considering hiring an agency or training an in-house team, the value and impact of your investment will now be crystal clear.