Google is trying to get more businesses to run Google Ads campaigns themselves, yet the advice and support it is giving to campaign managers is drastically deteriorating. Sarah Atkinson, senior search marketing consultant at Podium, explains why agencies still deliver the best PPC results.

You’re an in-house marketer, doing an excellent job of managing all aspects of marketing your business including your digital channels. Chances are, when it comes to managing your PPC campaigns, you deal with Google directly (if you have the time to answer their not-infrequent calls, that is).

A couple of years back, the customer service from Google was excellent: you would have a dedicated Account Manager who would keep you up-to-date with the newest features; they would take the time to really get to know your business and help you build your pay-per-click strategy with your core goals and customers in mind.

Fast-forward a couple of years and this couldn’t be further from reality. Instead, your ‘Account Manager’ seems to change every other week, has no idea what your business is actually about, and reads their advice from a script. Their very obvious goal is to encourage you to increase your budget and spend more money to improve your performance, even though your campaign may not be set up to deliver the best, most cost-effective results.

Why is this the case? It appears that Google is automating as much of the Google Ads platform as possible which would encourage many businesses to cut out the middle-man (agencies like us ☹) and have Google ‘do all the work’. It is even running ad campaigns of its own to convince businesses to take this work on themselves. You may save money on agency fees, however it will cost you in the long-run and we promise your results and leads will suffer.

Here’s why you should still work with a Pay Per Click specialist:

Change is inevitable

Google likes change. Whether it’s removing a key feature such as average position, or adding new features like dynamic search ads, the Google Ads platform is constantly evolving. Have you got the skills to recognise what the changes mean for your campaign? And more importantly, have you got the time to learn?

Managing PPC campaigns is labour-intensive: it requires a lot of time and attention and hiring an expert can give you the peace of mind that you are consistently evolving your strategy in line with Google’s changes and ensuring that you’re staying ahead of competitors.

Two heads are better than one – seven are better still!

As well as having a dedicated PPC specialist, working with an agency means you also have access to a whole team of experts in other areas. We’re very quickly able to identify whether you should also be focusing your efforts in other areas and advise which channels will give you the best return. Working with a range of industries with different budgets gives us the confidence to advise you effectively.

We will manage your budget efficiently

We understand that you may be set to a tight budget for your PPC campaign and Google’s advice of increasing your budget to improve performance doesn’t quite cut it. Instead, our approach at Podium is to work with what we’ve got and to ensure we are maximising your current budget before suggesting an increase. More often than not, we’re able to identify ways to cut down on wasted clicks and refine your campaign to ensure you’re receiving relevant traffic that converts well.

Leave it to the experts

We’re Google Ads certified and continuously improve our skills to ensure we can deliver the very best results for our clients. Due to the competitive nature of the industry, as an agency, we have to keep ahead of our game and ensure we prioritise learning. We really know what we’re doing when it comes to managing successful PPC campaigns. Don’t just take our word for it:

“We have engaged with Podium for almost 12 months to raise the business profile, increase traffic to our website and ultimately to increase sales! The response has been fantastic, and we have found the team at Podium very responsive, creative, appropriate at identifying suitable methods and campaigns and a pleasure to work with!”

-Packaging Works

Have we convinced you to save time and money and get the best ROI on your PPC campaigns? Well then, give us a call on 0191 466 1455 or drop us a line at hello@www.onthepodium.co.uk

Back