Top 3 Reasons You Need a New PPC Agency (And How to Find One)
You are probably reading this because you’ve had a niggling doubt or maybe what started as a little uncertainty has grown into full blown concern. It doesn’t matter where you are on the scale of wariness to downright distrust and suspicion, if your gut is saying that something isn’t right with your PPC agency, you should listen.
Afterall, you have put your faith, money and, at the risk of sounding melodramatic, the fate or fortune of your business in the hands of someone else. This is not said to scare you but rather to reinforce how important your PPC campaigns are and the difference that a strong relationship between agency and client can make. Successful PPC campaigns can see businesses bloom with more people than ever wanting to purchase your goods or services, poor ones can mean throwing good money after bad.
So, once again – if you feel something is up, you should take that seriously. There are many different reasons why you might have doubts, ranging from simply not seeing the results you are looking for to having a blazing row with the receptionist because your analyst is always ‘not available right now, please call back another time’ (the blood boils just at the thought).
This article isn’t here to dwell on that though, we want to guide you onwards to a more positive future.
There isn’t a definitive list of bad signs and any attempt to list them all off would be a long, pointless and arguably misleading task. In this article we want to arm you to be truly able of navigating myriad of PPC agencies and finding the right one for you: it is not simply about identifying the bad ones but the one’s that aren’t for you. It can feel good to be validated in your anger and frustration but sitting in those feelings won’t improve your PPC. We are not here to say, yes that is a good enough reason to walk away. The doubts are already there and it is far more useful to unpack the issues to see where the problem lies. We need to go to the next step.
By grouping common problems into three loose categories, you are better equipped to understand why that agency isn’t right and what you need to look for next time.
By simply glancing at this article, you may feel inclined to dismiss these reasons as obvious, overly broad and even unhelpful. However, once you start thinking about your own problems in this manner they probably do come down to one of these three reasons and you can be more confident when you go out to find the right PPC agency.
So, let’s get started.
Reasons why sometimes PPC agencies are not the right fit
They are a bad agency
We are starting off bold and blunt with this one. Some agencies are just bad – they don’t care about your results and will just burn through your money until you have had enough.
In our experience, there are a few red flags that can be spotted fairly easily: agencies who deliver one-size-fits- all solutions, who regularly overpromise and who fail to communicate in any meaningful way. If this sounds like your agency, then leave.
Frankly, no matter if you have happened to have a few good results or if it is still better than when you were managing in house, it is a waste of money. By choosing to work with a PPC agency, you are paying so-called experts who should deliver consistent, stable growth, anything less is not worth it. It may seem harsh but we know well that PPC campaigns flourish when guided and nurtured with care, time, strategy and knowledge.
Another more difficult to spot but nonetheless problematic red flag is a lack of transparency, especially when it relates to pricing and budgets. This may once again come down to a lack of communication, e.g reluctance to share budgeting strategies, but it can also take the form of hidden fees and a lack of reporting.
There are no excuses for bad agencies and there is no reason that you should put up with them. Later in this article we will talk about how you can avoid getting entangled with such agencies and put your trust in a good agency that will never do any of the things listed above.
They simply don’t have the specialist knowledge you need
Industry knowledge can make all the difference in a PPC campaign and is something of an unsung hero. We have seen it make all the difference, especially if you are working in an industry with lots of nuances and particulars.
It is upon reflecting on the advantages that come with industry that you can truly appreciate how damaging one-size-fits-all approaches are. Take a look at these statistics:
While there is an overwhelmingly positive attitude towards PPC, you can see just how much these simple data points change depending on the industry. This is the sort of knowledge that helps you better analyse and strategize – imagine only having Ecommerce experience for example and then seeing the CPC (cost per click) your legal ads approaching $7!
Moreover, just think about how much detailed and specific knowledge you need to create and optimise a campaign:
- Who is your audience? What appeals to them?
- Where is your audience? What platform? What advertising format? How to combine different formats to be strategically reach them at different moments in the sales funnel?
- What are the latest trends in your industry? What would your audience expect you to know and understand?
- Finally, as mentioned above, what does success look like? What are the metrics that are the most useful in understanding how your campaigns are doing? How do other campaigns in the industry do?
This list could undoubtedly be longer, however even now it demonstrates just how many things you need to consider. It can also be easy to take this knowledge for granted and assume that everyone knows what you do and your agency might not – that is an issue. Without experience in your vertical, it is highly unlikely that a PPC agency will have sufficient information to launch a successful campaign that reaches who it needs to, in the right way at the right time.
You might be shaking your head thinking, ‘that’s all well and good but I work in – , no agency is going to specialise in that.’ However, an agency doesn’t have to focus entirely in on your industry vertical but simply have experience with other clients that they can apply to your campaigns.
Of course, it isn’t easy to get that insight into an agency’s other clients and level of experience. Our PPC Matchmaker program will ensure that you agency has all the specialist knowledge you need, more on that below.
There is just a general lack of understanding
There are a few nuances to this heading. Firstly, it should be understood that this doesn’t mean a lack of communication but rather that despite your and your agency’s efforts, you simply don’t see eye-to-eye. Secondly, there is a good deal of cross-over here with the point immediately above, however, this is a bit broader to allow for instances that simply don’t come down to a lack of knowledge.
A lack of mutual understanding can sometimes be hard to identify but feel very frustrating. It can of course just happen because that’s life and sometimes things like that happen.
However, there are two underlying problems that some might dismiss as unimportant when choosing a PPC agency which can act as a barrier to mutual understanding.
The first is agency size. Big or small – there is no right answer. The direction you choose to go depends on what you need to get out of your agency. Do you feel your campaigns would benefit from more advanced tools, partnership incentives, more resources and probably a wider variety of expertise? Then a large agency is probably for you. Meanwhile, if you are looking for detailed tailoring, unique advice and a more cost-effective results, then a smaller agency is likely to be for you.
It may seem insignificant but heading in the wrong direction can be a massive inhibition to you being able to get the most out of your agency – which is what we want!
The second is agency location. Location could be very important strategically for the management of your PPC campaigns, for example a local PPC agency has the edge when it comes to local audiences. However, location is also reflective of your communication style. If you feel more comfortable developing a close, face-to-face relationship with your agency then you should look locally. Likewise, if you are happy to conduct your business remotely then you can look further afield.
Once again, this is not about whether or not the agency communicates regularly, it is about how they communicate and how much you understand one another. If they fail to answer emails, never send reports and you have only ever had one phone call with them, then they are a bad agency. End of discussion.
Lack of mutual understanding can be difficult to navigate but you should go with your gut. If you simply feel that your agency doesn’t understand you, then that should not be ignored.
Help! I need a new agency!
So for one of the reasons listed above or perhaps for some other reasons, you have made the difficult decision to leave the agency you are working with. One of the most common things we hear from businesses is just how daunting choosing a PPC agency is. It is one thing to take the plunge for the first time but quite another to find another agency after one has let you down. We want to make this better.
The Diginius PPC Matchmaker takes the guesswork out of finding a PPC agency. After finding out a little more about you and your business’ needs and wants, we’ll find you your perfect PPC agency among our trusted agencies. Decades of experience has given our team valuable insight into the world of PPC and we know just want makes a good agency/client pairing.
As part of our Microsoft Partner Program, we work with over 900 agencies worldwide but it is only after having been thoroughly vetted that they can participate in the program. We take our responsibilities to you very seriously and can guarantee that there is no risk of being matched with a bad agency. We just don’t hold for such nonsense.
Our program goes a step further too. During an introductory call, we will get you to tell us all about the way you work, how you communicate, what industry knowledge is needed and much more. This means that when we pair you up, your agency will be on the same page as you with no risks of them lacking the specialist knowledge or failing to understand your business and brand.
Likewise, we are first and foremost as SaaS company and all of our agencies are equipped with our innovative Diginius Insight software, an all-in-one marketing platform to develop effective strategies tailored to your needs.
There is no catch! What’s more, if after meeting with the agency you think we’ve got it wrong, we will go back and try again until you are happy.
What is not to love!
Our website is full of information about us, the Matchmaker program as well as resources on choosing a PPC agency. However, if you would rather have a chat with a member of the team, email grow@diginius.com.
