Find a PPC Specialist near you
The average rating for Bark PPC Specialists is 4.9, based on 38,574 reviews
5/5
based on 38,574 reviews
Want to hire a PPC specialist for your advertising campaigns, but not sure of the cost? Read our handy guide to find out how much an expert will charge depending on the level of service you require.
PPC (pay per click) advertising allows you to place adverts in strategic places on search engines or social media. Each time a user clicks on your advert and is then taken to your website, you pay a pre-agreed amount which you set within your PPC campaign budget. This is known as cost per click (CPC).
In short, PPC is a way of buying visitors to your website rather than attracting them organically. While methods such as SEO are an effective way of bringing people to your website, it can take time for your audience to grow. Plus with so much competition, even when you’re doing everything right, your website may still be much further down the search engine rankings than is ideal.
Instead, a PPC campaign will place you right at the top of a search engine result. Or in a prominent place on a social media platform or website. Your ad will appear as a highlighted result, so that users can’t miss it.
To create a PPC campaign, you need to use a tool such as Google Ads. Here you can write the text for your ads, specify a budget and include relevant keywords that your users may be searching for.
You need to start by telling Google your goal. For example, to get more calls to your business or visitors to your website. Google then gives you a template that contains headlines, descriptions and a CTA button that needs to be filled out. Once you are happy with how your ad looks, you can then create a budget for it.
When working out the costs of PPC, you need to factor in both the cost of the campaign itself, and the specialist you are looking to hire to run it for you.
As for PPC specialists, the cost will vary depending on whether you use a freelancer or a professional full-scale marketing agency. Basic PPC specialists will charge £20 per hour, with experts charging anywhere up to £100 per hour.
That being said, the average PPC campaign is not as intensive as other marketing services you may wish to hire. It may only take a few hours a month to set up, run and monitor your campaign.
| Type of specialist | Highest average price (per hour) | Lowest average price (per hour) |
| Beginner | £25 | £20 |
| Medium | £40 | £30 |
| Expert | £100 | £50 |
If it's your first time embracing the world of PPC, then you may be a little confused about costs. No PPC campaign is the same, so it means prices can fluctuate quite a bit depending on your goals. The key factors influencing costs include:
Your ad budget
The effectiveness of your campaign
Every business is different when it comes to how much they spend on advertising. But given search engines and social media platforms get billions of views a day, there’s certainly an audience for anything you do spend on PPC.
The cost of your PPC campaign very much depends on the competition that exists for the keywords you choose and on what platform you want to place your ad.
The average CPC is between £0.66 and £1.32. Though the total budget will be determined before you place the ad, making the cost easier to control. Plus, you only pay when an ad has been clicked.
Writing an advert to represent your business sounds simple enough. But, characters are limited and so your PPC campaign must contain the relevant keywords and phrases. Plus, the copy as a whole has to have the right flow to it, all while being persuasive. The first few seconds a user scrolls past your ad on a search engine or social media page are golden, so the ad needs to grab them.
Some CPC campaigns can cost as little as a few pence, so it’s easy to get carried away. Though if users aren’t both clicking on your site and boosting conversions as a result, there could be a problem with your campaign. For example, a lack of relevant keywords used. Or even the wrong location being targeted with the ad. Users can also state what time the ad is shown too, which needs to coincide with when your audience is most active.
The specialist you hire also needs to regularly check in with the campaign. Otherwise, the budget could be eaten up with very few conversions. Or, the budget may be fully in-tact because you aren’t getting any clicks at all. This should be presented to you regularly, to prove your budget is being used correctly.
It’s important that you know exactly what you hope to achieve with your PPC campaign before getting started. If you’re new to the world of PPC, your PPC specialist will be able to help you define your goals based on the needs of your business, and set out measurable steps to achieve them.
Here are some important starting points to think about when developing your PPC campaign:
On the face of it, PPC is a way to ‘cheat’ your way up the search engine rankings. But, it’s actually a clever method of pushing different promotions or services too. It can boost an underperforming area of your business, or shine a light on what you do best.
You need to identify your goals before you start your campaign. While linking users to your homepage might suffice for some businesses, there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to PPC. Whether it’s more visits to your website or the purchase of a specific product, your PPC specialist is going to need a clear idea of how best to help you.
From a cost perspective, being upfront about your requirements will also mean less time trying to ‘figure it out’ too.
When handing over the reins of your PPC campaign to someone else, it’s important you choose the right company or individual for the job.
First and foremost, you should check if they are certified either with a Google AdWords Certification, or if they are classed as a Google Partner. Experience in managing previous PPC also goes a long way too, and they should be able to demonstrate the results of such work.
PPC specialists also need to be mathematically minded, and have a solid background in marketing. That’s because they’ll be required to work out the costs, ROI and how effective the campaigns actually are in terms of conversions. They need to be on the ball so that the campaigns truly work for your business.
If you aren’t fully knowledgeable in PPC campaigns, it’s incredibly easy to waste your budget. Remember, the ad provider will charge you each time your advert is clicked on. But if your advert isn’t relevant to what the user was looking for, they will simply exit your page. That means the cost of your campaign won’t be recouped.
Setting up and monitoring PPC campaigns takes a fair bit of technical understanding, not to mention marketing know-how. Like with any service you need to run your business, it always pays to outsource any tasks you don’t fully grasp or don’t have time for. This is especially the case if you want professional results. That’s why it’s definitely worth hiring a PPC specialist.
Don’t try and figure out your PPC campaigns alone! Browse PPC specialists who can help you achieve advertising success on search engines or social media with Bark.
The average rating for Bark PPC Specialists is 4.9, based on 38,574 reviews
5/5
based on 38,574 reviews
