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Pay Per Click: In-House or Outsourced?

 

Assuming PPC is part of the overall marketing strategy, at some point every business owner is going to face The Big Decision: keep PPC in-house, or outsource? Hiring an outside agency can be a scary move, a big leap into the possibly unknown.

As with anything, there are pros and cons to consider.

PPC In-House

If you have the time and resources to do effective PPC in-house, and if you are happy with your current PPC performance and ROI, why fix what’s not broken?

But at least consider the problems inherent in PPC In-House Management

If you don’t have full-time marketing resources in-house, including your PPC Team, you may find over time it’s difficult to stay ahead of the competition. The digital marketing industry simply moves too fast. It morphs. It changes. There’s nothing part-time about staying on top of those changes and altering course where and when needed.

It takes people with the right expertise, the right skill set, to master this field. Good luck with that, if you haven’t hired them already. There aren’t enough resources available to train new hires. This may make the cost of supporting an in-house team more expensive than simply hiring an agency to take the headache off-site.

The Outsource Option

When you hire a marketing agency, don’t assume that you are getting both senior-level marketing professionals and a wide-range of skill sets at the firm. Make sure it’s true.  Access to a dedicated PPC team means you have access to expert and up-to-date knowledge. You should expect to see well run campaigns that provide a greater ROI on your advertising spend. The proof, ultimately, will be in the pudding.

Run the numbers. You can hire an agency at a much lower cost than supporting in-house staff. Software licensing and other fees should be included in the agency fees. This means you don’t have to invest in any major resources. There are hidden values as well. While you have expertise within the context of your own business ecology, an agency pulls on expertise that comes from working with disparate clients across a broad range of industries.

 

And then what if you grow? Scalability. When it lands on your doorstep you don’t have to ramp up. You just tell the agency you are about to go big knowing you can be assured of the speed and quality of delivery.

 

In the long run outsourcing frees up time and enables you to focus on your core competencies. And that’s a good thing. What’s one less major headache worth?

Team Position2

September 25, 2015

By Team Position2