Should You Run Your Own PPC Advertising?

If you are running your advertising on Bing Ads or Google Adwords, you may wonder if it is worthwhile to hire an expert to take over your advertising. A lot depends on your budget and how much time you have to educate yourself. Here's a decision matrix to help you decide:

1) Do you have at least $500/month to spend on advertising plus management fee?

If no, then manage your advertising. Paying someone to manage your account could take up half of your budget.

If yes, then continue to question 2.

2) Do you have the time to manage your account?

If no, then look for someone to hire. Having an expert with time to watch your account could benefit your advertising. Skip ahead to "Evaluate."

If yes, then continue to question 3.

3) Do you keep up with new updates to PPC?

If no, then look for someone to hire. I and other experts live this stuff and we'll make sure your account takes advantage of all the new features. Skip ahead to "Evaluate"

If yes, then you can continue with your own advertising. But if you decide to hire an expert that's not wrong either. It's up to you!

Evaluate: It's very important when you hire someone that you make sure they are making a positive difference in your account. Compare your results (number of conversions and cost-per-conversion) before and after. Make sure you include the management fee in the analysis. If you were spending $1,000 for 10 leads on your own, and an expert comes in and generates 11 leads for $1000 plus $250 management fee, your expert is doing something better than you, but not enough better to justify the management fee. There are a lot of experts out there who work hard to generate positive results for their clients. There are also a lot of experts out there who know just enough to sound good, but don't really care about their client's results. So make sure you evaluate them continuously, but don't make any judgments until enough data is collected so you can tell the difference between a random slump and poor management.

If you are interested in hiring someone to manage your PPC, please contact me. Mention this post and I will give your account a free audit and give you realistic expectations for how much I can improve your account. Then you can make a rational decision on whether you are better off with me managing your account or on your own.