How to choose a good AdWords Management company.

Over the last couple of years there has been a boom in Pay Per Click Advertising (such as Google AdWords). This boom has since led to the sudden appearance of many companies offering Google AdWords Management, most of which appear to be staffed by people with as much knowledge of Google AdWords as you, potentially less! Some people are practically doing their training on your AdWords accounts, and so at your expense.

In saying that though, many companies simply don’t have the expertise, nor do they have the time to train themselves up in effective Google AdWords strategies, and so they are outsourcing to management companies instead. Other companies are still wary though, and with good reason. So with all this uncertainty as to who to trust; is there a company out there who can do a better job looking after your AdWords account than you? Absolutely! It’s simply a matter of being able to pick the right one from the crowd.

Having your Pay Per Click AdWords account managed is going to ensure that you gain the most benefits and return from your account, and there are some very good professionals out there who can manage your AdWords account effectively.

The trick to choosing an AdWords management company is to weed out of all the bad companies from the good. You can do this simply by asking the potential Google AdWords management company a few simple questions:

Is the person who will be managing your account a Qualified Professional?

For individuals wanting to sell their services in AdWords management, Google offers a training program to become accredited as a Google AdWords Professional. This does not necessarily mean they’re going to be management experts, but it shows that they understand the mechanics of managing accounts and have made the professional commitment to learn.

If the company advises you that the manager is a Qualified Professional, ensure that there is an image on they can show you to that effect, it’s typically made available for viewing online.

Just be aware that just because the management company claims to be an AdWords Qualified Company, it doesn’t necessarily mean the account manager will be accredited. So be sure to ask!

Is there a minimum period of time you will need to stay signed up to that company for?

Many AdWords Management companies are offering people long term contracts. This should be an automatic red flag!

A lot of AdWords companies know that a lot of the work they will be doing for you is going to be up front and not necessarily continuous, so they ensure you stay with them by locking you into a contract. In other words, they are probably not confident in the results they can actually get you.

The only reason anyone should stay with a management company is if they are actually delivering value and bringing you that strong return. So ask yourself: Are you getting more return than what it’s costing to have the account managed? You should have answered YES!

If you’re one of the unlucky few and answered NO, perhaps it’s time to take your business elsewhere. Be mindful though, it can often take a few months before the real value of management becomes apparent, and your AdWords Account Manager should have told you so upfront. However, your account manager should be able to demonstrate that they are having a positive impact on your account even after 6 – 8 weeks.

Will they tell you what’s happening on your account?

Many AdWords companies don’t actually tell their customers what’s going to happen on their accounts, nor do they let them log in to the account and monitor changes etc (known as ‘shielding’ the account). Though this is probably unethical, it’s not considered illegal.

A good management company will tell you what they plan to do on your account, vague comments about reducing costs per click or fine-tuning your keywords doesn’t really tell you anything.

Even if they haven’t seen your account yet, they should at least be able to tell you the steps their going to take in figuring out the best action plan for your account.

Always make sure you are going to be kept in the loop at all times.

Have they asked you anything about your business?

This isn’t something you should make sure they do, but rather it’s something you should simply listen out for.

If they don’t ask you anything about your business before getting to work on your AdWords account, you should start hearing those warning bells in your head. How is anyone going to be able to write you a compelling ad, or better yet, attract the right audience to your site if they have no idea about the intricacies of your business?

If you ask all these questions, you should easily be able to figure the good from the bad and make a good business move to lead you down the path of AdWords success.

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