How to find a good PPC firm

[Brand_Psychic]

Hi guys, I'm completely new to PPC. I want to hire a firm to help drive PPC traffic to credit card landing pages. Our starting budget is limited ($2,000/month for everything) but can grow to about $5,000 if we see results.

My questions are:

1. Where can I find a list of good PPC firms that fits my vertical (credit cards) and budget?
2. What are the key questions I should ask a PPC firm before I hire them?
3. Is there a "Beginner's Guide to PPC" type of whitepaper, ebook, article, or course I can take to educate myself?

Thanks in advance!

[sachin-sv]

Hi,My response is inline: **- Where can I find a list of good PPC firms that fits my vertical (credit cards) and budget?**If you are planning to start PPC on Google Adwords then there are more than 5,000 Google Partners worldwide. To find one that fits your needs, use Google Partner Search, which lets you search for a Partner by name, or based on your location, advertising budget, or the type of service you want help with. Similarly, for your specific Bing Ads campaign needs, you can search here- http://advertise.bingads.microsoft.com/en-in/training-accreditation-find-a-pro-directory. The pros in this directory are accredited members only — they've been trained and tested on their Bing Ads skills and recognized for their outstanding expertise.Also, here is the list of The Top 25 Most Influential PPC Experts in 2014. however, they may not fit into your budget.

-**What are the key questions I should ask a PPC firm before I hire them?**Here are few things which you should ask/ confirm before hiring any PPC firm:

• History/ track record/ experience

• Ask for work proof like case studies, examples of previous successful projects

• Do they have experience in your vertical? Any track record for your industry.

• What is their internal team structure? Do they have certified professional with experience?

• Is there any contract which you need to sign before starting the work? How long would it be?

• Who will manage my account and what kind of communication will I have with my account manager?

• What level of account access will be provided?

• Will the campaign be manually reviewed?

• What will be the campaign set up, bidding and budget strategy?

• How do you measure the campaign success?

• How frequently will I receive reporting and what sort of information will I be provided?

-**Is there a "Beginner's Guide to PPC" type of whitepaper, ebook, article, or course I can take to educate myself?**Here are few guides which you can refer- http://www.ppchero.com/the-beginners-guide-to-setting-up-an-adwords-account/http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/ppc-guide-marketers-listhttp://searchenginewatch.com/article/2323500/PPC-Management-Operations-The-Ultimate-GuideHope this will help!

[Martijn_Scheijbeler]

Hi,

Not sure if you have seen the list of recommended companies here on Moz, if you filter them down on PPC you should be able to find a couple of companies that should fit your needs: http://moz.com/community/recommended#ppc

[MoosaHemani]

I am an SEO strategist so I know how PPC works but my advices are obviously not better than anyone who is expert in that particular area.

Where you can find the expert? Moz.com have the list of agencies that are good at getting the job done but if you think that they are expensive or not the one you are looking for you can find other experts but asking in to your local community and ask other businesses who have used any of their service.

Key questions you should ask before hiring a PPC firm! This post by Bruce Clay is awesome in that case: http://www.bruceclay.com/blog/hiring-a-ppc-agency/

As far as the beginners guide to PPC is concern here are the two books I would personally recommend.

1. http://www.poweredbysearch.com/beginners-guide-ppc-advertising/
2. http://www.ppchero.com/ppc-heros-beginners-guide-to-ppc/

Hope this helps!

[dianemahan]

I'd add a couple questions to what's already been said.

1. Will I be able to see the campaign events through my own Google Analytics account?

2. If so, will you be setting up campaign goals with GA for me or is that something I have to track myself?

3. What types of recommendations will you be making to improve the campaign?

One thing to add, I'd suggest that you set up the Google Tag Manager account and provide access to the agency. That way, you'll be able to have one Google code that addresses Google Analytics and GTM on your site. You'll also retain the historic information from the account if the relationship with the agency ends.