Whether you’re ready to move agency or just starting the process of finding a PPC management team to work with you, your ultimate need is always the same - to find the best PPC management possible.

But how do you go about it?

There are a number of ways of establishing the best PPC management agency for you. Begin by asking yourself what you’re really looking for - and to do that you need to understand your own organization from the inside out. There’s really no point looking to a well-established, slick agency that has its own rule book for running PPC if you’re the kind of maverick, disruptive company that likes to spot gaps in the market and surge to fill them. The most likely outcome will be that you’ll never establish a strong partnership and within a year you’ll be looking for a new agency to work with because your flexible approach just won’t mesh with their structured system.

Other things to factor into your internal analysis are the nature of your team and how you choose to work together. Start-ups and SMEs often have an intense process that means team members rely on each other to supply specific elements, one person will be the painfully honest one, another will come up with all the crazy ideas etc. If your PPC agency needs to handle this kind of internal dynamic, it’s important that you recognize it exists and can alert them to each team member’s ‘role’.

Be clear also about how much help you want. Some agencies are essentially tweakers, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Fine tuning established PPC is an important task in itself. Other organisations, like TEA Software, commit to offering you a coherent services that covers optimization alongside deep data on conversion rates and revision of landing pages. Unlike tweakers they will have their own ideas about how to make success happen and will pitch you improvements in various areas of your online presence that will benefit your bottom line. Intensely hands-on entrepreneurs might struggle to receive this kind of input at first, so if that’s you, it’s better to be upfront with a potential partner.

Paid search success - key criteria

It’s really important to communicate your business expectations and to plan accordingly. If you’re intending to be the kind of organization that quadruples its revenue in a year or so, or has the aim of becoming a market leader within five years, you need to be upfront about that with your partner. You also need to accept that if that’s your goal, you’re going to hear suggestions from your PPC management team that will stretch your business - and as long as those suggestions are in line with your stated intention and the data backs them up, you’ll need to take them seriously. Don’t make the mistake of claiming to be aiming for the stars and then act like somebody dawdling along in the slow lane. Similarly, make sure that if you’re really committed to rapid success, you’re not given potential partners the impression that you’re a ‘business as usual’ client.

Many organizations hunting for the best PPC management will already have in-house specialists who’ve been doing the work the business is planning to outsource. If that’s the case for you, make sure you take your in-house talent into account when choosing who to work with. For example, a company that already has somebody who’s totally embedded in the organization’s creative ad copy, they might find working with a single specialism agency like JumpFly just right for them. Jumpfly has a clear focus on Google AdWords and Bing Ads, which means that having your own in-house copy specialist could give you the balance you need. This kind of hybrid approach can make the transition to a PPC agency easier. On the other hand, if you want somebody to take an overview of every part of your web business, a partner like TEA Software can help you explore, update and refine each part of your e-commerce offering so that it works seamlessly together to give you the ultimate online presence. Whichever approach is right for you, it’s good to understand that the transition will take a little time and require a new vocabulary.

New channels require new approaches. For some entrepreneurs, it’s the opening up of a new channel that drives the need to find a PPC partner to work with. It’s a tricky balance to work out exactly how much your current expertise can translate over into a new channel, sector or business opportunity and how much you need to bring in a partner who has the relevant experience to ensure success. One way to establish your need is to ask yourself how big the new aspect is likely to be in a year’s time - if the issue is simply one of adjusting to new ways of doing things, you may want to try some in-house help first but if you’re looking at a new channel that’s going to be a substantial contributor to your business success, it’s probably better to ensure that every part of the process from launch to establishment is handled in a way that is likely to guarantee the results you’re hoping for. Agencies like FUZE focus on breaking down silos created by different digital channels to create something they call integrated marketing.

TEA software takes a different approach entirely - by drawing data from human activity rather than simply examining the relationship between a client’s advertising spend and conversions, TEA gives a measurement to the irrationality of human action which allows their clients to direct their budget in the most productive and financially rewarding directions.

When it’s time to move PPC agencies

There are several reasons you might be starting to think that you’re not getting the best PPC management possible:

• Your current PPC agency hasn’t delivered the financial value it promised. When your advertising budget isn’t producing the results you were led to believe possible, it may be time to explore working with somebody new.
• The agency you’re working with is out of its depth. This happens when new channels emerge, when disruptive technology affects your business or even when a completely new approach to PPC, like TEA software, alters the entire landscape of PPC management.
• Your business is stagnating. It’s easy to get blinkered, and while we often think that working with an outside agency will ensure we keep developing innovative ideas and receiving fresh approaches, it’s just as easy for a well-established agency to settle down to business as usual. Sometimes you want a really new idea, a totally clearsighted view of your business and its potential and that’s the time to look for a new PPC partner.
• You need to be moving faster. This is especially true for start-ups whose success can outstrip in-house activity and even move beyond your ‘starter’ PPC agency. Knowing when to scale up is a crucial ingredient in giving your business the chance to fulfil its potential.

Choosing your PPC management partner is a big deal. It requires clarity about your own needs, understanding of what the various PPC agencies have to offer and an imaginative leap to guess whether they will still be able to service your business in the medium term, so you don’t over invest in a partnership you’re going to outgrow.

Whilst it’s something you won’t want to rush, it’s also likely that you’ll have a limited time in which to do your research - online ventures move fast, both up and down, and your business will probably have a narrow time frame in which to make the choices that lead to optimal growth.

Innovation is vital to success in the PPC field and TEA software’s remarkable new approach to creating data from human activity, alongside its definitive approach to click fraud, makes it an organization that doesn’t just offer the best PPC management, it’s a company that has moved the future of PPC into a new arena where it stands alone.