Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising has exploded in popularity over the last several years, thanks to its cost efficiency, accessibility, and nearly universal reach. If you have any portion of your target audience who spends any time online, PPC ads can reach them.
That said, there’s a pretty steep learning curve with PPC ads if you’re interested in maximizing the value for every dollar you spend. This is why most PPC advertisers end up working with a dedicated advertising agency or marketing firm to help them manage their campaigns.
As a digital marketer in your own right, whether you have an agency of your own or you’re managing a much smaller operation, this presents an interesting dilemma. If you’re good at what you do and you get lots of referrals, you might end up being overwhelmed with the number of clients requesting your help with PPC ad management.
If you’re running out of resources or if you’re beginning to get overwhelmed with PPC campaigns to coordinate, you need to come up with a new way forward.
What options are available to you?
White Label PPC Programs
One of your best options is to take advantage of a white label PPC program. The idea here is to work with another advertising agency or marketing firm – one that’s capable of managing your clients’ PPC campaigns at least as effectively as you. In a white label situation, the agency doing the work will be practically invisible, and you’ll have the ability to brand all analytics reports and similar materials with your own company logo. It’s a way of greatly expanding your work capacity without necessarily hiring more people.
You’ll have to pay for these services, obviously, but your rate is going to be lower than what you charge your clients. If you already have a line of clients out the door, the only work you have to do to make this profit is continue to provide updates and communication.
New Full-Time Employees
If you don’t like the idea of participating in a white label program, you could hire more full-time employees instead. Full-time employees can be expensive and hard to find, especially in a field that’s in such high demand, but having more dedicated, loyal employees in your organization can be a boon in the long run.
Look for people who can prove their results instead of people with lots of years of experience, and search in multiple channels to find viable candidates faster.
Contractors
Contractors are advantageous over employees for several reasons. They’re cheaper. They’re easier to find and are more abundant. They’re associated with less paperwork. And they’re much more flexible.
That said, finding reliable contractors can be difficult, and the excessive flexibility of being a contractor can lead to volatility when attempting to manage and coordinate internal teams.
Still, contractors are a viable solution for many PPC advertisers, especially if you anticipate your demand ebbing and flowing in the near future.
Partnerships and Exchanges
Yet another option is to form a partnership with another PPC advertiser. There are practically unlimited options for how you structure your partnership, but one common method is to have a mutual exchange system set up. In this type of system, each organization can refer business to the other in times of peak demand, perhaps in exchange for a fixed referral fee or a percentage of the gross revenue generated by the client in the future.
Waitlists
It’s possible to create a waitlist for clients who are eager to work with your agency. However, it’s prudent to keep in mind that many people seeking PPC advertising are doing so because they want fast, tangible results. Many of your clients and prospects won’t tolerate being on a waitlist for long.
Price Increases
The traditional sentiment in digital marketing has been to “never turn down a client.” This makes sense from a business perspective, as each new client is a massive revenue opportunity. However, there’s a limit for every organization, and once it’s exceeded, it’s hard to continue doing your best work.
One solution to this dilemma is to increase your prices. This will naturally turn some clients away, but if you have an abundance of them, it shouldn’t hurt you.
Client Portfolio Management
Finally, practice smarter client portfolio management. Some of your clients are more valuable and easier to work with than others; prioritize them while culling your portfolio of less valuable, more challenging clients.
There are many viable solutions to having too many PPC clients. The right solution for your needs will entirely depend on your unique situation.
Consider experimenting with multiple angles of approach so you can determine the best option in real-time.
Featured image provided by Liza Summer; Pexels; Thanks!
