Is your digital marketing agency living up to its PPC promises? Finding and working with a new PPC agency shouldn’t involve scary moments or sky-high promises. The best agencies will approach your PPC needs in a measured and holistic way.

Here’s a good checklist to get you started on your PPC agency search.

Are they using scare tactics?

Scare tactics are scary. And for good reason. In PPC marketing, they can cause you to second-guess your current strategy or confuse you about what you need to do and why.

That said, scare tactics can also be effective for cold-callers, and that’s why some agencies use them in their prospecting and client relations. It’s always possible to make improvements, and such tactics play a role in decision-makers’ insecurities.  At Kaleidico, we don’t believe in scare tactics. At all.

Do they take you through the process entirely?

Reputable agencies don’t want to scare you into a contract. They want to teach you what you can do to be even more successful, but first, they want to do a thorough evaluation so they don’t get things wrong.

An initial look under the hood will consist of kick-off meetings, client onboarding processes, and a lot of listening on the part of the agency. After the agency gains an intimate understanding of your business, expect metrics discussions, your account build, and launch.

Are they making impossible promises?

You wouldn’t trust your health to an internet ad beckoning you with a “one weird trick” promise. So, don’t trust a PPC agency that makes those types of claims about easy marketing success.

A winning PPC strategy takes skill, time, and resources to pull off. A cold call or cold email promising a quick success or turnaround is an empty promise. Your solicitor can’t know how your AdWords account is performing on the inside right now, what your goals are, or if their shoot-from-the-hip advice will even match your situation.

Do they cite unknowable insider “info?”  

Speaking of shoot-from-the-hip, some agencies will try an approach that’s very specific but generally very wrong.

To an outsider, the dollar amount of your ad spend budget, your potential marketing savings, or the one specific problem your operation needs to fix can’t be known. That’s proprietary info that only you and your current marketing partners know.

If they’re right about your ad spend, tell them to buy a lottery ticket. They’re just having a good luck streak.

Do they talk specifics at the appropriate time?

Of course, there’s a right time for specific dollar figures and issue diagnosis. That time just comes after your agency has onboarded and gotten a full picture of your business.

At this point, if figures or statistics are cited, they’re correct and true and based on real research. Because it can often be daunting to deal with marketing numbers for some clients, agencies will often take a leading role, guiding you through the data and its implications.

Are they limiting your marketing potential?

Just as there’s no one weird trick to PPC success, there’s no one isolated strategy that will bring you marketing success in today’s world. Your PPC agency might focus on PPC, but they shouldn’t give the impression that’s all there is. And they certainly shouldn’t discourage you from focusing on additional marketing strategies.

Do they understand how PPC is one part of a winning strategy?

PPC is an important facet of today’s online marketing, but it’s not the only strategy you should worry about. Ad and landing page design, copywriting, SEO, email, and social media marketing all work together to help businesses succeed. The best approach for many businesses is a more holistic marketing strategy that acknowledges the other players on the team.