Choosing The Right PPC Services Pricing Model For Your Business

Selecting the right Pay Per Click (PPC) services pricing model can significantly impact your campaign’s success and the return you get from it.

This is relevant for any PPC service you require whether that’s campaign setup, account management and optimisation, keyword and competitor research, campaign auditing and training and others.

In this article, I’ll share different PPC services pricing models and provide insights to help you choose the most suitable for your needs.

PPC Services Pricing Models

1. Percentage of Ad Spend

A common PPC services pricing model is based on the percentage of your Google Ads budget. However, this model usually relates to Google Ads management and not other services like campaign setup, campaign audits, keyword research, Google Ads training and so on.

Because management is often ongoing work, the percentage of ad spend model is one of the most common.

So, the PPC freelancer or agency will charge between 10% and 25% of your total ad spend as part of their PPC management fee. So, if you have a monthly spend of £3,000 for example, you can expect to pay between £300 and £750 for the management.

But this can be lower or higher depending on factors like your total spend and their level of experience and expertise. And some freelancers and agencies have a minimum monthly charge, which is usually between £300 and £500 per month.

2. Fixed Monthly Fee

Some freelancers and agencies offer a fixed monthly fee with very few variations. With this approach, you pay a set amount each month for the Google Ads services you require, regardless of your ad spend.

The benefits is that it allows you to manage and monitor your costs and you know what you’ll pay each month and year. This can be beneficial if you are operating with a small budget.

For PPC management services, the cost for this starts from about £300 per month and can go into thousands for large accounts with many campaigns and high budgets.

Because of the nature of some Google Ads services like training, auditing, setup and so on, you’ll almost always pay a fixed fee for them. However, they may be priced on an hourly rate and this can be anything from £30 to £200 per hour depending on their experience and whether they are a freelancer or agency.

But, it’s also a good idea to agree a fixed fee for these services too.

3. Performance-Based Pricing

This PPC services pricing model is not as common as others but has some unique pros and cons for both PPC experts and their clients. So, it’s one that requires a lot of thought and planning to ensure you get it right.

With performance-based pricing the PPC freelancer or agency you hire ties their fee directly to your campaign’s performance metrics such as sales, leads and revenue generated.

The pricing of this is very much tailored to your business. So, there are no standard rates to follow. Instead, you’ll work with your freelancer or agency to understand your goals, review past performance and then set the performance pricing.

But, if your campaigns don’t have any past performance data, then a hybrid model may be best, which I discuss below.

An example of a fee structure under a performance-based model, is to pay the PPC expert £20 for each lead from your PPC campaigns.

4. Hybrid Models

This is the most flexible PPC services pricing model. It allows you to combine different pricing models to create a customised approach.

For example, a PPC agency may charge you a lower percentage of your ad spend, like 10% and include a performance-based bonus or a fixed monthly fee. So, this is tailored to your specific needs and goals.

The challenge with this is it can require a lot of monitoring as budgets and performance change. And it can prove costly for your business or may not be a great income for the agency.

 

Factors to Consider in Choosing a PPC Services Pricing Model

1. Budget and Financial Goals

First you need to analyse your financial goals and budgets to decide on the PPC services pricing model that’s right for you. Of course you can get some input from the PPC agency or freelancer you want to hire, but you need to factor in your own goals and budget.

If, for example, you have a fixed monthly budget, then a fixed monthly fee may be the best one for you. This ensures that you don’t spend more than you can afford. And you can also find out what you get for your budget.

And if you are looking to get a high return on your ad spend, then you may want to incentivise performance with a performance-based model.

2. Campaign Objectives and Complexity

Your PPC campaign objectives will help you to decide which PPC services pricing model is right for you. And if you have complex campaigns it makes achieving your objectives harder and picking the right model is extra important.

You can choose any of the pricing options but percentage of ad spend will likely be the best if you have a complex campaign because it will account for the additional effort required. That’s especially true if you have many ad groups, extensive keywords and many text ads.

A performance-based or hybrid model would work too, because the agency or freelancer will be rewarded for the hard work that they put in.

3. Industry and Competition

If you are in a competitive industry such as finance or legal services which requires a relatively high budget, then you need to pick a pricing model that allows for effective PPC management.

A performance-based model may be one of the best for this. That’s because tracking of leads is easier and can be compared to industry averages.

4. Expertise and Services

Check the expertise of the freelancer or agency that you are looking to hire for the Google Ads services you’re interested in. This can be for services such as account management, strategy development, ad copywriting, campaign Setup, landing page optimisation and so on.

So, ensure that the PPC services pricing model covers the level of expertise and service that you require.

To check the expertise, look for case studies and reviews and any experience that they have in your industry. The more experienced they are, the more likely you are to pick a pricing model like performance-based or hybrid, so they can be rewarded for their expertise and hard work.

5. Scalability and Flexibility

You should consider the scalability and flexibility of the different PPC services pricing models. By scalability this means checking how they will help you to grow and increase your ad spend or modify campaign objectives in line with performance.

Ensure that the model can accommodate changes without causing significant disruptions or unexpected cost increases.

Percentage ad spend is flexible and can be easily adjusted based on the amount you’re spending.

Conclusion

The PPC services pricing model you choose will determine the results from your campaigns. So, it’s important to evaluate your budgets, campaign objectives, industry competitiveness, agency expertise and scalability needs to make an informed choice.

I’m a Google Ads expert and PPC specialist and I work with small to medium sized businesses in the UK and around the world.

Contact me today to discuss your campaigns and to find out how I can help.