In last week’s post we looked at seven important questions to ask a prospective pay per click agency. This week, we’ll cover seven more questions with appropriate answers.
1) Who Will Be Working On The Account?
Ideal Response: A professionally certified and senior employee or a team of certified individuals led by an experienced employee. Appropriate certifications would include Google AdWords Qualified Individual certification, with specialization in Search, Display, or Monitoring and Reporting.
2) How Much Will I Be Involved In Your Process?
Ideal Response: Search marketing firms vary in transparency, communication, and need for client involvement. Find a team that matches the involvement you are looking for whether you want to be updated daily, weekly, or monthly. Also, consider if you want to be involved in the keyword selection process or the ad writing process, and the level of control over spending, targeting, and creative decisions you wish to give the agency.
3) What Contracts Do You Offer And Can I Opt-Out?
Ideal Response: Contract lengths and terms can vary substantially, so be sure to match up an agreement that is aligned with your needs and preferences. You might find that a three-month, six month or annual contract better suits your needs, however you should also weigh how a longer commitment to the right agency can help to mitigate higher fees that are commonly associated with shorter-term or month-to-month.
4) What Kind Of Results Can You Guarantee?
Ideal Response: An agency that is truly interested in building a long-term, results-oriented relationship will realize that this is a trick question. Beware of any agency that makes specific promises in regards to results and ROI. The best guarantee that you can get is that an agency will communicate frequently, over-report to your needs and be able to speak to goals that are aligned with your ideal performance.
Read more in the full white paper: How to Choose the Right PPC Agency
5) What Makes This Agency Different?
Ideal Response: Honest and distinct differences such as expertise, innovative team training, industry conference activity, industry recognition and familiarity with other segments. Make certain that paid search is what your agency of choice is best at, not just a line item on a long list of offerings.
6) What Industries Do You Typically Serve?
Ideal Response: Diverse clientele; clients similar to your business or type of business (e.g. ecommerce, non-profit, etc.). Whether you are B2B or B2C company, the agency should have ample experience in both industry types.
7) Can You Provide Me With A Case Study?
Ideal Response: Past client work that shows not only the firm’s process, but also the accomplishments. It is not out of the ordinary to ask for proof of past performance and the case study should include a clear history of how the account expanded and how the PPC goals were achieved and built upon.
