What are the top questions you should ask when shopping for a PPC services provider? If you’re like most online business owners in 2021, you already know how important it is to have an effective Internet presence. Not only do your visitors need to be able to find your website on search engine results pages, but they also need to enjoy interacting with your website and find it useful.

This is why many business owners invest in pay-per-click (PPC). Internet advertising to ensure that they get noticed, generate leads, sell products and services quickly, and boost overall website conversion rates. PPC ads can be found on all of the major search engines like Google AdWords and Bing Ads. And the great thing about PPC advertising is that it’s easy to set up, easy to maintain and inexpensive. It only takes a few minutes to create and launch a PPC ad campaign.

However, the problem with PPC ads is that they are not always deliver in an effective manner for each individual business owner. Different companies offering pay-per-click services have different target markets and strategies that they promote. The bottom line is that PPC marketing requires a fair amount of expertise, creativity, planning and hard work…

And the good news is that there are many reputable companies offering top-notch pay per click advertising solutions. The challenge then becomes to select one of them for your own business.

Of course, you want to work with a PPC provider that has a long track record of success and one that will help your company succeed. And of course, these are the key questions you should ask when shopping for a PPC services provider:

1) What is your experience level in setting up and managing pay-per-click ad campaigns?

2) Do you have a proven track record of success with PPC ads for the specific industries in which I operate?

3) Can you easily optimize my campaign to increase my visibility on search engines and lead generation results?

4) Will we be able to work together as partners in developing successful pay-per-click ad campaigns for my company?

5) Do you have enough manpower and resources to take on my account or do I need to wait for it to be assigned to someone else?

6) How much time are you willing to spend with me each month at no extra charge in getting an optimal ROI from my PPC campaign?

7) What is your timeline for getting my ad campaigns up and running?

8) How competitive are the cost of your pay-per-click services compared to other companies in your field?

9) Who will be doing my optimization work and can I expect him/her to have a telephone presence during regular business hours?

10) What will be the target monthly budget for my pay-per-click advertising?

11) Am I require to commit to a long-term contract or can I cancel at any time?

12) How great are the chances of a positive return on investment (ROI) in 6 months if we work together regularly on optimizing my PPC campaigns?

13) How soon could we start getting positive results from PPC marketing campaigns?

14) What are your professional affiliations and how do they benefit my company?

15) Are you a member of any trade associations and if yes, what are the benefits?

16) How do you ensure that no spam or inappropriate ads are showing up on my website?

17) What is your policy about disclosing all important information related to ROI, results, strategies and future plans for my PPC campaigns?

Clearly, there are many things you need to ask when shopping for a PPC services provider. And if they cannot answer these questions satisfactorily then you should walk away from them and keep on looking for the right company that will meet all of your specific needs.

PPC for Small Businesses and Startups

In the past, it was believed that PPC marketing services were only for big companies with large advertising budgets. However, there are many small businesses that can benefit from pay-per-click advertising campaigns as well. In fact, some of the most successful PPC campaigns is set up by local businesses with limited resources.

You can use PPC to target customers in a specific city or country. You can also focus on certain types of customers depending on their interest, hobbies and age group…

So now that you have an understanding of what to look for when shopping for pay-per-click services let’s get start with the first step. Which is evaluating your business needs and getting a thorough understanding of your long-term goals and strategies.

18)What are my marketing objectives for PPC?

19)What is my business’s strengths, weaknesses and SWOT analysis?

20)How do I promote my company more efficiently online?

21)Do I need to be present in social networks like Facebook, Linked In, MySpace or Twitter? If yes which ones and why?

22)What is my company’s Facebook fan page all about?

23)Which PPC strategies are working for me as of now and which ones need tweaking or updating?

24)Would Google Adwords work best for me in getting more leads, customers and sales online? If yes, how much time will it take to start seeing some results?

25)What are my top 3 keywords on Google Adwords that will bring more traffic to my website and increase sales?

26)How do I balance advertising costs with sufficient return on investment for each marketing campaign?

27)Do I know how search engines decide which ads to show based on the keywords being searched, the ad’s relevance to the search and my ad budget?

28)Would I benefit from using long-tail keywords for my campaign so that my ads show up when specific searches are made by potential customers who are in a buying mode?

29)What kind of time frame can I expect from a full-fledged PPC campaign and what will be the outcome?

So now that you know how to ask the right questions while searching for a PPC services provider let’s get into…

How You Can Find the Right Pay-per-Click Services Company

First, use Google to search for pay-per-click companies in your local area. There are many small and large agencies as well as freelancers who offer this kind of service online.

Next, narrow down your search by finding out the following things:

1) How long have they been in business?

2) What is their track record in providing effective pay-per-click services for websites like yours?

3) Do they work with small and local businesses as well or are they limited to bigger agencies and corporations?

4) Can you talk to them over the phone or do they only communicate through email?

5) Who will be handling your account at their company, what is their level of experience in pay-per-click services?

6) Do they have a money back guarantee for up to 30 days after you start your campaign?

7) Do they offer other services in addition to PPC like email marketing, social media marketing or content writing?

8) Are they able to show you proof of their work including the number of leads generated through pay-per-click campaigns?

9) Do they have experience and can handle SEO projects as well?

10) Are they able to show you the actual data that their company has generated for previous clients?

11) How much do they charge for a pay-per-click campaign and how are these prices determined?

12) What methods of payment do they accept and what is the estimated time it will take to start seeing some results?

13) What kind of support can you expect from them after your campaign is up and running?

Long Tail Keywords to Boost Your PPC Campaigns

One of the best ways to increase leads, sales and profits in pay-per-click advertising is to use long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are search phrases or keywords that are longer than 3 words. They get search less frequently than their shorter counterparts.

The higher your ranking in the search engine results, the more clicks you will get from long-tail keyword searches. This means that you will be able to reach target customers who are looking for what you have to offer right when they search online through pay-per-click advertising.

Do long-tail keywords cost more than shorter keywords?

Long-tail keywords may cost more in terms of your pay-per-click advertising budget but they are worth the investment since you can get a higher return on this kind of investment. It is also easier and cheaper to rank for these keyword combinations compared to the typical short head searches (those containing 1 to 3 words in them).

Your pay-per-click advertising company should be able to help you choose the right combination of long-tail keywords for your campaign based on their research and experience.  They may also be able to recommend other PPC services that will complement your pay-per-click campaigns. Such as SEO, social media marketing or content writing.