When it comes to implementing a PPC strategy however limited or generous your budget is, brands should have someone who has a deep knowledge about the intricacies of PPC campaigns for greater business impact.
With regards to hiring PPC specialists they either get an in-house PPC person or a PPC agency.
Both options of course have their drawbacks, but you should carefully evaluate each depending on your business goals and constraints.
Hiring An In-House PPC Specialist
The main advantages of having an expert in-house are having someone placing full focus on your business and an expert working solely on your business. Unlike an agency with more than one client, an in-house PPC expert’s knowledge and experience is at your disposal. To add, having someone dedicated to your account brings a higher level of focus that allows them to notice patterns and issues more closely.
These also work to benefit your business during peak period when things break down and need attention instantly. An in-house PPC person can react to sudden changes in the market such as a competitor being suddenly aggressive in its ads, during such instances hiring someone exclusively can allow your business to revise tactics or even completely overhaul your existing strategy in less time.
If you also have in-house experts for different marketing functions, having someone for PPC in-house is great for building synergy and unleashing value from teamwork. As an example, SEO and PPC can collaborate on which keywords need a paid ads boost and which paid campaigns can be scaled back depending on SEO rankings.
While hiring an in-house expert sounds an excellent option, all these benefits of course come at a high cost. This is true as with any in-house employee as you have to figure in life insurance, health coverage, long-term disability insurance, dental plans, dependent care assistance, tuition reimbursement and retirement plans. All of these on top of a base salary.
And before you could pay the salary, you have to go through the process of hiring. With this process it could take from a few weeks to several months, even a year. As this would entail figuring out the specific skillset and attitude you want out of an employee, you have to take your time. It’s not just the expertise you are after, but also his soft skills and interpersonal skills. After all, your PPC specialist won’t work isolated from other people in your business.
Outsourcing To A PPC Agency
A PPC agency has all the expertise at your disposal, the saying “two heads are better than one” applies here. You basically have a team of experts with experience possibly spanning different industries and several years.
With an agency you are freed up from the task of hiring and supervising an employee, which saves up time and energy for you. You won’t have to sort through applications and resume’s in search for that “perfect PPC specialist.” You can save hours of interviews and follow up calls as the agency handles this for you.
The cost of hiring an agency is also possibly lower than having an in-house specialist as you won’t have to deal with regulatory benefits for a full-time employee. To add, training is not a problem as you can immediately hit the ground running with a specialist from an agency.
Although an agency may save you tons of time and money, there are some kinks that have to be ironed out with an agency-client relationship:
- You have to be clear with your goals and targets, such as revenue, ROAS, spend, etc.
- Communication process should be fully fleshed out in case there are issues with the account
- Number of hours billed and what type of work are billable or not
Also, PPC some agencies mostly work with companies that have a greater than $10,000 monthly budget. This means that the agency option is possibly out of reach for most companies. As such, this budget consideration should be brought up with your CFO or finance manager.
Know Your PPC and Performance Marketing Goals
In summary, there’s no straight-cut answer as to which avenue you should choose when it comes to hiring a PPC expert. It all boils down to your constraints such as time, budget, resources, training, and as well as your marketing goals.
Reach Out To POPXOP
If you’re interested in learning more about improving your PPC strategy, reach out to us and we’ll gladly help you out
