Business owners today know that online search ads produce results, generating leads for products or services. While Google Ads are the primary avenue due to Google’s dominance as a search engine, ads on Bing, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and other channels can also provide valuable exposure and lead generation.
These ad platforms are in continual change so active management of the ad account is vital if the marketing dollars are to produce a worthwhile return on investment (ROI). There are three ways that digital advertising can be managed:
- Self-Management within the Company. If you’re a small business or a start-up, you may have experienced managing your own ad account. Perhaps your company has grown and you’ve hired an in-house digital campaign manager. The positive side of self-managing your online strategy is a deeper understanding of your industry’s trends, brands and products. However, the time needed to stay current with changing digital features and best practices all falls to that person instead of being spread across a team of specialists. Your cost for in-house digital management may also be higher when you include the cost of hiring, training, salary and benefits.
- Digital Campaign Freelancers. In today’s work-from-home environment, it’s easy to find a pay-per-click freelancer, an individual who will build and manage digital campaigns. For an hourly rate usually between $20 to $150 per hour, he or she will manage Search ads, display, video or CTV/OTT streaming video ads. Other fee structures might be a percentage of the ad spend, often 8 to 15%, or a flat monthly fee. If you hire a freelance PPC specialist, you may find a wide range of experience overall or within your industry. There’s likely no oversight of that person’s results, other than the business owner; no one is comparing the freelancer’s results to other clients’ results.
- Digital Ad Agencies. Advertising agencies that have specialized knowledge in online or PPC campaigns are another option. Typically, these digital agencies are familiar with multiple platforms such as Google Ads, Bing or Microsoft Ads, social media campaigns, and programmatic/display campaigns including streaming video ads. Agencies often have teams focused on search or display advertising, with supervision of staff and the results being produced for clients. Some agencies work in a single vertical, such as with dental practices or attorneys. That may mean more specialized knowledge or it may mean cookie-cutter campaigns with only the name of the business or location changed, something that could reduce Quality Score and increase the PPC cost. Some agencies have contracted terms, often a year; if your online conversions or cost per conversions aren’t ROI positive, some agencies will still hold you to the contracted term.
In today’s business world, finding a digital campaign management strategy that fits your company needs is key to generating results from your ad dollars. At Ad House Advertising, we work with companies across the United States in business verticals including home services, automotive, health, finance, and retail.
Unlike most ad agencies, we do not contract for a set term; our results provide the basis for long-term client relationships. Since 2007, we’ve managed digital campaigns as well as traditional media, website development, graphic design and video production. Having in-house staff lets us serve the needs of each client, cost-efficiently creating the marketing for each company’s growth. If you’d like to discuss your goals and digital ad campaigns, we’d love to talk!