How Much Does PPC Cost?

“How much will running PPC campaigns cost me?” I hear the question again and again. It’s a very legitimate question to ask and I am going to attempt to answer it the best that I can.

In this article, I will focus on management fees. These are different to the budget you need to pay Google Ads or Facebook Ads themselves. I’ll cover campaign budgets in a separate article. So for now, let’s focus on how much a PPC agency or PPC consultant charges to manage pay-per-click campaigns.

PPC Management Fees Variations

Like many services, the fees you will be charged for PPC management vary. I am going to give you some concrete examples of fees I charge, but before I do, I’d like to explain some of the moving elements which affect the price you pay.

1. Different PPC professionals will charge different fees. Typically, large agencies will charge a higher fee to be able to make a good profit margin. Smaller agencies and freelance PPC consultants will usually have fewer expenses and a lower day rate. The higher costs of some of the large agencies do not necessarily mean better service or expertise. Some might be brilliant, but many large agencies outsource their PPC work to freelance consultants.
2. The size and the complexity of your PPC account will affect the time a PPC manager spends to manage it. This will affect the fees with larger accounts typically costing more to manage.
3. Some PPC accounts are not especially large or complex, but there might be other elements that need attention. For example, website improvements because of low conversion rates. It’s important to understand that PPC campaigns need good landing pages with a compelling reason for customers to convert. It’s very common to see agencies take clients that have fundamental issues with their website and overall strategy, only to be dropped several months later. I prefer to highlight any issues as soon as I spot them, and offer clients some options to fix them.

Sample PPC Management Fees

The following PPC costs are based on my own fees, other companies might charge differently. As mentioned before, these rates will vary depending on multiple factors. It’s not always about how many campaigns there are or the budget. I hope these examples give you a good idea of your projected costs.

PPC Management Fees for a Small Lead Generation Account

This is a Google Ads account with around 3-5 campaigns and a budget of up to £5000 per month. It requires solid research, setup and optimisation. Most of the campaigns will be search campaigns but there might also be a display campaign for remarketing.

PPC management fees will be around £600 per month.

PPC Management Fees for Medium Google Ads Accounts

These Google Ads accounts will typically have a budget of around £10,000 per month. They might have anything from 5 to 15 campaigns. They require a lot more work and attention, partially due to the sheer volume and responsibility.

PPC management will cost around £900-£1300 per month.

PPC Management Fees for Medium-Large Google Ads Accounts

The Google Ads account will usually spend around £15000-30000 per month. They will usually have multiple goals that need to be accounted for.

PPC management fees will be range between £1800 - £2500 per month.

PPC Management Fees for Medium-Large Google Ads Account

Most larger accounts require a comprehensive review before fees can be estimated. Larger spend accounts don’t always require more work and higher fees. It really depends on your business and its targets.

PPC management fees for large accounts usually start at around £2000 per month.

Combined Google Ads and Facebook Ads Management Fees

I will often manage Facebook Ads campaigns alongside Google Ads for lead generation. As long as it’s in addition to Google Ads the costs of adding and managing Facebook ads will usually be around 40%-60% extra, depending on the objectives and budgets for Facebook Ads. Having familiarity with the business helps when managing additional advertising platforms for the same client resulting in lower fees.

Accurate targeting and measurement make PPC the go-to tactic for many businesses. But it's got to be executed correctly to generate a good return.

Google Ads Management Fees Summary

Like all services, PPC management costs will depend on your needs, campaign budgets and account requirements. If done properly, Google Ads management and the campaign costs will pay for themselves many times over. It is highly measurable and you will know the exact return on your investment. Pay-per-click campaigns can work wonders to grow revenue.

I hope I’ve managed to demystify PPC costs in this article. If you have any questions about PPC and management fees, feel free to send me an email and I’ll be glad to help.

Odi Caspi

PPC Consultant and founder @ Effectivemarketing.uk