How Much Does PPC Management Cost in 2024?
PPC management costs between $500-$10,000 a month or more depending on the number of ad campaigns you’re running, how many competitors you’re bidding against and the person or agency managing your PPC ads. This translates to about $6,000-$120,000 a year for small and mid-sized businesses.
The cost of PPC management services can also vary depending on the provider’s pricing model, like whether they offer a flat fee, an hourly rate or performance-based services. This PPC management pricing guide is going to break down the different PPC pricing models, average cost-per-click (CPC) and more.
How Much Does PPC Management Pricing Cost?
PPC management pricing costs $500-$10,000 a month or more depending on how big your ad budget is and the cost of the service provider, with PPC ads costing $0.11-$0.50 per click and $0.51-$1.00 per 1,000 impressions on average on platforms like Google Ads and Microsoft Ads.
How Much Does PPC Cost Per Month?
PPC costs $500-$10,000 per month, but let’s look at some of the independent factors that contribute to that monthly cost.
| Metric | Cost |
|---|---|
| Ad Spend | $500-$20,000 per month (varies) |
| Average Cost Per Click (CPC) | $1.62 / click |
| Average Cost Per Mille (CPM) | $3.12 / 1,000 impressions |
| Remarketing | $0.66-$1.23 / click |
| PPC Management Tools & Software | $15 to $800 per month |
| PPC Management Services Cost (Agency) | 12% to 30% of ad spend per month |
| PPC Management Services Cost (In-House) | Varies |
The Average CPC by Different PPC Channels
The PPC ad platform you choose can also influence the cost of PPC management. Google and Microsoft Bing are the two most popular platforms that businesses use to run PPC ads.
| Ad Platform | Description | Competitive Level | Average CPC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search Network | Text ads that appear at the top and bottom of the Google search result pages | More competitive because the majority of companies focus their advertising budgets on this network | $2.69 |
| Google Display Network | Visual ads that appear on other Google sites like YouTube, Gmail and thousands of other partner websites and apps | Typically less competitive than Google Search because you’re showing the ads to an audience that’s less high-intent | $0.63 |
| Microsoft Advertising | PPC ads that display on Bing, Yahoo!, and DuckDuckGo search engines | Less competitive because most companies focus their budget on Google Ads | $1.54 |
| Facebook Ads | Visual ads that appear across Facebook, Instagram and other partner websites and apps | Less competitive because you’re targeting by interests and demographics instead of search behavior. | $0.44 |
| Remarketing Ads | Text or visual ads that specifically appear in front of a warm audience of people who’ve already seen or engaged with your business | Can be less or more competitive depending on how big the audience is and how many competitors you have trying to reach the same audience | $0.66-$1.23 |
5 PPC Pricing Models
There are 5 different PPC management pricing models that charge PPC management fees in different ways. We’ll break down the pros and cons of each PPC pricing model here.
| Pricing Model | Description | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat Fee | The flat fee model means you pay a one-time fee per month, in addition to a potential one-time setup fee your first month. | You can expect predictable pricing and billing. You can budget easily and accordingly. | The flat fee can increase depending on the complexity of your ad campaigns and size of your ad budget. |
| Hourly Rate | The hourly rate model means you pay a certain fee per hour for an agreed upon amount of hours. | You can get specific tasks done quickly for a small fee without paying for a full range of services. | This often means you’re utilizing a freelancer PPC manager, and those can be hit or miss in terms of level of expertise and ability. |
| Percentage of Ad Spend | The percentage of ad spend model means the cost of your PPC services is a percentage of your monthly ad budget, usually 10%-20%. | If you have a smaller ad budget, you’ll pay less in service fees each month. | The bigger your ad budget is, the bigger your service fee is going to be. Agencies that operate off this model also often have a minimum ad budget requirement that small businesses can’t always meet. |
| Performance-Based Fee | The performance-based pricing model means the agency is working on commission and only charging when they provide the agreed upon results, such as leads, demo requests, free trial signups, inbound calls or direct sales. | You only pay when the agency provides the results you’re looking for. | Most agencies do not operate on this model as PPC results can be unpredictable and fluctuate month to month. An alternative that some agencies implement is Milestone Pricing, where you pay for more predictable metrics such as website traffic, increased average order value (AOV), customer lifetime value (CLV), lower bounce rates and increased session times. |
| Hybrid Model | The hybrid model can include a combination of any of the other pricing models to accommodate a variety of different small and mid sized businesses. | This model offers flexible pricing based on each business’s needs, goals and budget. | This model can sometimes result in complicated billing and less transparent fees than the flat fee model. |
What’s Included In PPC Management Pricing?
No matter which PPC pricing model your service provider follows, there are a few things that are almost always included in PPC management pricing:
- Campaign Strategy
- Ad optimization
- Regular Reporting & Analysis
Campaign Strategy
Beyond the function of clicking around in your ad account and setting up the ads, your PPC service provider should also have a vision and strategy around your campaign.
This often separates a PPC agency from a PPC manager or freelancer in that an agency often has the breadth of experience independent PPC managers don’t.
Your PPC agency should develop a campaign strategy and ad funnel that moves people from strangers to loyal customers. There should be a rhyme and reason behind your PPC ads.
These are some of the things your PPC agency will manage as they develop and execute your campaign strategy:
- Keyword Analysis: They’ll determine which keywords make the most sense to rank for based on your specific niche, competitors and target audience.
- Channel Management: They’ll analyze the different PPC channels and determine which one is best for you to invest in with ads.
- Audience Research: They’ll study your audience and identify which keywords they’re searching in relation to your products or services as well as what motivates them to purchase.
- Custom Audiences: They’ll create custom audiences to target when necessary to convert customers at the lowest cost possible.
- Campaign Goals: They’ll set and track campaign goals to ensure the work they’re performing actually aligns with your business goals.
- Account Structure: They’ll set up your account, ad groups and ads in a structured way that’s easy to read and understand.
- Ad Copy & Creatives: They’ll handle any assets needed to execute their strategy, including the creation of landing pages, ad copy, images, and videos.
- Bid Management: They’ll manage your bids so that you win the ad auction without overpaying for certain actions like clicks.
- Remarketing Campaigns: They’ll ensure you’re staying in front of your warm audiences until they convert with strong remarketing campaigns.
Ad Optimization
The best PPC agencies will not set your campaign and forget it. Instead, they will constantly optimize your ad and account to ensure you’re generating the most results at the lowest cost. Here are some things ongoing optimization includes:
- Consistent Keyword Research: Your audience may grow and evolve, so the keywords you’re targeting to reach them should too. Ongoing keyword research is necessary for optimal PPC campaigns.
- A/B Testing: You’ll want to A/B test different ad copies, ad creatives, ad formats, keyword variations, match types, landing pages and other assets to determine which winning combination is going to give you the most results at the lowest cost per result.
- Updated Negative Keyword Lists: There will always be keywords that you specifically don’t want to rank for, and that list may need to grow as time goes on. A good PPC manager will stay on top of this for you.
- Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): You can get more conversions for the same ad spend if you improve your conversion rate, which is one thing good PPC agencies always strive for.
- Adjust Bidding Strategies: The same bid strategy may not be the best solution forever, so you’ll want to adjust these as necessary.
- Improving Quality Score: The higher your quality score, the better chance you have of winning the ad auction and getting your ad shown to more customers.
Regular Reporting & Analysis
You won’t know for certain if all of your PPC advertising efforts are working or not if you aren’t tracking the results with regular reports. Here are some things your monthly, analytical reports should include:
- Website Traffic
- Click-Through-Rate (CTR)
- Conversions
- Landing Page Submissions
- Return On Ad Spend (ROAS)
- Return On Investment (ROI)
Is PPC Management Worth The Price?
In general, yes PPC management is worth the price because on average, businesses see a 200% increase in ROI from using Google Ads.
Some businesses see an even higher ROI when they trust their PPC campaigns in expert hands.
For instance, our client Indique Hair saw a 539% return on their investment with our Google Ads. They spent $79,472.35 and made $507,514.76 back.
The Google Ad results of Revenue Up Marketing’s client, Indique Hair.
What Factors Affect PPC Management Pricing?
There are 4 main factors that affect PPC management pricing:
Competition: The number of other advertisers fighting to reach the same audience you are is probably the #1 factor that directly influences PPC costs. If more competitors are bidding for the same keywords ads you, it’s going to drive up the cost.
Industry: Some industries have a higher average CPC than others, which can increase or decrease your overall costs.
Service Area: If your target market resides in a larger service area, that can sometimes result in higher PPC management costs.
Speed to Goal: If you are looking to reach a certain goal quicker, that will usually cost more money in both ad spend as well as the fees paid to the agency.
Different Types Of PPC Agencies
Not all PPC agencies are made equal. There are some PPC agencies that may be a better fit for your business than others, so let’s look at the different types of PPC agencies out there.
| Type of PPC Management | Description |
|---|---|
| PPC Agency |
|
| Retargeting Agency |
|
| Search Engine Marketing Agency |
|
| Social Media Advertising Agency |
|
| Digital Marketing Agency |
|
How To Choose A PPC Management Agency
Now that you know about the different types of PPC agencies, let’s talk about how to choose a PPC management agency for your specific business.
These are the 4 things you want to look for:
The PPC Services Offered: First and foremost you want to make sure that the PPC services offered align with what you’re actually looking for. If you’re only able to execute certain PPC strategies in-house or none at all, make sure the agency successfully supplements what you’re currently doing and fills in any gaps.
The Agency’s Resume & Experience: The PPC agency you partner with should have the right qualifications and experience in running PPC campaigns for businesses. Look for positive reviews, Google certifications, case studies and testimonials.
The Agency’s Communication Style: Whether you want to be hands-off, hands-on or somewhere in the middle, make sure the PPC agency you choose has a communication style that suits you.
Agreed Upon Goals: You’d be surprised at how many agencies don’t prioritize the client’s end goal of sales and ROI. Make sure that while yes, you celebrate immediate wins with PPC metrics, you also are both in agreement on what a truly successful partnership will look like: an increase in your bottom line.
The State of PPC in 2024
PPC stands for pay-per-click, and in 2024, PPC campaigns are expected to exceed $1 trillion in revenue by 2027 and Google is still the most-used search engine in the online advertising world.
As PPC ads continue to grow, here are some innovations we can expect to see pick up in popularity over the coming months:
Voice Search: This function allows users to search keywords Google by using speech commands on a mobile device or computer. For PPC advertisers, this means more accessible and conversational copy.
Cross-Channel Strategies: Businesses will want to leverage strategies that span multiple channels such as search engines and social media, making digital marketing agencies the better choice over PPC agencies.
Hyper Targeting: The customers that convert the easiest are the ones that see an ad that really resonates with them. In order to do that, agencies will need to capitalize on audience data and behavior to create personalized, conversion-driven ads.
PPC Manager Cost FAQs
How much should you pay for PPC?
You should pay $500-$10,000 a month or more for PPC if you want expert help and tangible results that actually generate ROI and grow your business.
What is the average cost of PPC?
The average PPC management costs between $500 to $10,000 a month, with PPC ads costing $0.11-$0.50 per click and $0.51-$1.00 per 1,000 impressions on average on platforms like Google Ads and Microsoft Ads.
How much do PPC agencies charge?
PPC agencies charge between $500-$10,000 a month or more.
