1: Make Sure They Are A Certified Google Partner
In order to become a certified Google Partner agency the AdWords account managers at the agency must pass regular examinations to show they have advanced knowledge in the platform. The agency must also reach a minimum advertising spend of €10,000 per month which shows that the company has a healthy amount of activity. Finally, Google only offers partner certification when the agency is performing well by delivering strong AdWords revenue and growth for their customers and by maintaining and growing their overall customer base. If you’re hiring an agency to manage your AdWords account, they should be endorsed by Google as being fully competent to manage your account.
2: Find Out How They Handle Traffic From AdWords
Even if you hire an agency and they are handling your account very well and getting you tonnes of traffic, that traffic can be extremely easy to squander. Ask them where they are going to send the traffic. If you are running an ecommerce website, the traffic should generally be sent directly to a product or product category. If you don’t run an ecommerce website however and you are relying on the AdWords agency to generate leads for your business, they should have a plan in place for creating landing pages. How many different landing pages will depend on the amount of different areas you are targeting, but each one should be custom made for their specific purpose and tested regularly with different headlines, copy, imagery, layouts etc to make sure your landing pages are converting the most possible leads. Make sure the AdWords agency creates their own landing pages, tests them regularly and has experience in delivering high conversion rates.
3: What Level Of Reporting Is Offered?
If an AdWords agency doesn’t offer to give you regular reports, you should walk out the door. A large portion of what an AdWords agency does is the analysis of data, every interaction a user has from seeing your ad to converting can be and should be tracked. You should have the option to receive regular reports at least once a month, the data on the reports should also be explained to you so you know how to read it.
4: Separate Invoices From The AdWords Agency & Google
For transparency, you should receive two monthly invoices. One from Google with your ad spend and one from the AdWords agency with your management fees. If it is suggested to you that it would be more straight forward to send you just one bill each month, go with another agency. Keeping the two bills separated allows you to see exactly what you’re spending on ads, and what your spending on the agency. This stops the possibility of an AdWords agency hiding the true amount you are spending on advertising and the amount you are spending on their services.
Choose the right Google AdWords agency for your business. Make sure they are certified Google Partners, they create and test their own landing pages, they offer regular reporting and explain what it all means and that they send you your AdWords management invoice and Google sends you your invoice for ad spend separately. Book your free Google AdWords consultation with 3B1 Media & Marketing Today!