So many B2B companies that are leveraging great PPC agencies are reaping the benefits that come with a dependable stream of new leads and high-paying customers generated with paid search services.

However, most businesses haven’t been as fortunate. Oftentimes, this difference is attributed either because they have no PPC agency they are working with OR that the skill level of their current PPC agency is not on-point.

Here are questions to help you find the RIGHT PPC agency to grow your business:

10 Questions to Ask PPC Agency

Keep reading to learn more about the 10 questions you need to ask PPC agency before making a final decision.

1. What Is Your Process For Getting Great Results?

When you ask this question, you’re wanting to know their philosophy behind marketing your business online, not all the nitty-gritty details (“we use XYZ platform, we adjust our keyword bids X times per week…etc”). Marketing should be the PPC agency’s core focus and what they center their efforts around when working for you.

PPC agencies often get too caught up in the tools and tactics instead of focusing on the real reason for success or failure: message-to-market matching.

You should always ask a potential B2B PPC agency to walk you through their process.

This will give you some much-needed insight into how they plan to gather the necessary information to effectively market your product or service… and attract prospects whose needs are best met by what you have to offer.

2. How Do You Measure Success?

Before you hire a PPC agency, make sure to ask what type of deliverables they will be providing to you and in what format.

Be specific about your needs, and don’t hesitate to ask for a sample report so that you know what kind of quality to expect. Keep in mind that some data may be proprietary and thus blocked off from the sample report. In the end, success should be measured by conversions.

To accurately measure your campaigns’ ROI, a tracking system needs to be put into place that monitors conversations. The consultant will work with you to decide what specifically to track, and then set up goals in Google Analytics, and import conversions into Google Ads.

3. What Is Required Of Me?

Many agencies will try to tie you down with a lengthy and costly contract.

However, what happens if they don’t do their job well? You’re stuck with them until the end of the agreement.

Instead, you want an arrangement where the PPC agency must earn your business every month. If they provide excellent service, then they should be paid for their work. But if they don’t meet your expectations, then you should be free to find another agency that will.

4. Do You Thing Every Business Need To Do PPC?

This question may initially come across as odd, but it’s actually one of the more critical ones to ask. It allows you to weed out B2B PPC agencies that are only interested in making a sale rather than helping you achieve your desired outcome.

Here’s the reality: not every company should be using paid search services.

Some agencies lack generalized resources and knowledge, which can prevent them from admitting that something may not be the best fit for their client.

There are SO MANY ways to generate leads other than PPC. The RIGHT B2B agency for you should always have your company’s interests in mind first and foremost.

5. Do You Offer Free Assessments? 

Many PPC agencies offer free assessments of an existing campaign or recommendations for a new campaign. When discussing your business and marketing goals, be sure to ask your candidate about completing an assessment for you. This process will help you better understand the consultant’s capabilities.

Here are some additional questions you should ask yourself as you work with the PPC Agency: 

• Does the consultant seem interested in learning about your business? (Ask them questions about your business and see if they make an effort to understand.)

• The PPC agency should take the time to answer your questions in clear, understandable language. The person should be responsive to your questions, requests, and emails. The consultant should share their track record with you without disclosing their existing client’s confidential information.

• Is the consultant being transparent about where the money is going? How much is paid to the agency for managing the account, and how much goes towards advertising? Does the consultant make promises that seem too good to be true?

6. Are you “Google Certified”?

Google Ads is, by far, the largest pay-per-click advertising service. Google suggests selecting a Google Ads Certified Partner—and if you’re vetting a certified company, double-check that you’d be working with an accredited individual within that business.

Google is the unrivaled leader in the PPC realm, so it only makes sense to learn from them. Consequently, partnering with a Google Ads Certified agency will probably provide your PPC campaign with an added boost.

7. Do I Own The Account?

You, the business owner, should log into the account to oversee everything that is happening.

Then, you can designate a consultant as the official account manager within your settings. This person will be able to make changes and run reports but won’t have access to your payment information.

If you set up your account using this particular method, the consultant will have their own login that is different from yours and any other team members. You will also be able to track a history of changes made within the account including who made said changes by login name. Having separate logins provides an accurate record of responsibility for changes to the account.

8. Who Will Be Working On My Campaign?

In order to get a better idea of what your assigned point person is working with, find out how many other accounts they are managing.

For example, some agencies have their analysts managing 80+ accounts. If these analysts dedicated every minute of their 40-hour workweek to account management (which isn’t possible), they would only be able to spend 30 minutes/week on each individual account.

It’s impossible to manage an excessive amount of accounts proficiently, no matter what PPC platform you utilize.

9. Will You Provide Ongoing Management?

If you’re looking for a short-term relationship with someone to simply set up your PPC account, that’s fine. But if you want someone to manage it on an ongoing basis, make sure the agency has a clear plan for doing so.

To ensure your business’ success, a good consultant will monitor spending, and create and test keywords, ad copy, and custom landing pages. Furthermore, they should analyze the data of those tests to see what is and isn’t working in order to generate more leads at a lower cost.

A successful campaign can be seen through Google Analytics and Ads data- how the pay-per-click campaigns are doing in comparison to other website performances.

A great consultant will also have suggestions on how you can enhance your website to increase the conversion rate of visitors into leads and sales. If your webmaster hasn’t already done so, your B2B PPC agency should be able to provide installation instructions for Google Analytics.

10. What Results Have You Achieved?

Testimonials and case studies are certainly helpful when you’re looking for social proof that an agency can do what they say. But keep in mind, any decent agency will only showcase its best work while glossing over anything that didn’t go according to plan.

Final Thoughts 

If you want to find the best B2B PPC agency for your company, start by asking better questions. Keep in mind that it’s your money, and any consultant or agency (PPC or otherwise) should be respectful of that fact. The consultant who is able and willing to answer the ten questions above is likely a good candidate for your shortlist!

Are you looking for additional guidance on PPC?