What is PPC Management? A Complete Guide (+ Pro Tips)

PPC management is the digital marketing practice of monitoring, managing, and scaling pay-per-click campaigns. But for a larger ROI, there are some best practices you should follow.

Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about PPC management, including:

• What is PPC management?
• Benefits
• When to hire an agency
• How to manage PPC campaigns
• Mistakes to avoid
• Top PPC management tools
• FAQs

PPC advertising can spark an explosion of sales or burn through your ad budget with little return. The difference between the two? Strong pay-per-click management.

But what does PPC management entail, and how do PPC experts use it to increase organic traffic, conversions, and revenue?

HawkSEM Co-founder and CEO Sam Yadegar shares his take on effective PPC management, why it’s important, and how to optimize for better results.

What is PPC management?

PPC management is the process of strategizing, building, and optimizing pay-per-click advertising campaigns.

11 steps to PPC management

1. PPC audit
2. Competitive analysis and market research
3. Audience analysis and targeting
4. Keyword research and optimization
5. Channel and platform strategy
6. Campaign buildout and execution
7. Ad copy, creative, and landing page development
8. A/B testing and optimization
9. Conversion tracking and goal setup
10. Ongoing monitoring and performance optimization
11. Custom reporting and insights

1. PPC audit

Evaluate your existing PPC performance to establish a benchmark and align efforts with business goals. Includes reviewing account structure, past performance, and wasted spend.

2. Competitive analysis and market research

Study competitors’ ad strategies, analyze industry trends, and assess the market landscape to find high-impact opportunities.

3. Audience analysis and targeting

Understand user behavior, demographics, and intent to define and refine your ideal audience segments.

4. Keyword research and optimization

Build and refine a keyword list using audience insights, search behavior, and historical performance. Includes new keyword discovery, negative keywords, match type adjustments, and ad copy keyword alignment.

5. Channel and platform strategy

Identify which ad platforms (Google, Bing, Meta, LinkedIn, Amazon, etc.) and campaign types (search, shopping, display, social) will drive the best results for your business. Optimize channel use based on audience and goals.

6. Campaign buildout and execution

Develop structured campaigns based on goals, audience, platform, and keyword research. This includes account setup, budget allocation, targeting, and scheduling.

7. Ad copy, creative, and landing page development

Craft compelling headlines, visuals, and calls to action for ad assets. Build and optimize landing pages for relevance, speed, and conversions.

8. A/B testing and optimization

Run split tests on ads, landing pages, and other variables. Optimize performance by testing one element at a time (e.g., CTA, headline, image).

9. Conversion tracking and goal setup

Implement and audit conversion tracking (form fills, purchases, calls, etc.). Set up accurate goals in Google Ads, Google Analytics (GA4), and other platforms.

10. Ongoing monitoring and performance optimization

Regularly review performance metrics like CTR, CPC, ROAS, and conversion rates. Adjust campaigns, budgets, bids, and creative based on real-time results.

11. Custom reporting and insights

Deliver detailed, tailored reports that highlight KPI trends, performance breakdowns, and actionable insights — often integrated with CRM or offline data for full-funnel clarity.

What are the benefits of PPC management?

PPC management offers many benefits, including an improved return on investment (ROI) and lead quality.

Here are some specific benefits to consider:

1. Increased visibility and reach

PPC management is one of the most effective ways to connect with your target audience — from eye-catching search ads to social media ad placements.

2. Faster results

While it takes up to a year to see impactful results from SEO, PPC can generate results fast.

3. More precise targeting

With PPC platforms like Google and Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads), you can actively target niche audiences with greater precision. These platforms use advanced algorithms to analyze user behaviors and “signals,” ensuring your ads show to the right people.

4. Insightful data

Implementing a PPC strategy benefits your entire digital marketing efforts with valuable data and analytics.

Gain a deeper understanding of your target audience and those most likely to convert through PPC campaigns and optimize your other online marketing methods accordingly.

Bottom line? PPC ads management supercharges your ad campaign performance. It monitors algorithmic changes and data analysis, using all those insights to ramp up your campaigns over time.

When to hire a PPC agency

It’s worth considering a PPC management partner when your business:

• Is ready to scale
• Needs to improve campaign performance
• Has plateaued with existing efforts
• Has an in-house team that needs support
• Is ready to expand and grow revenue, and PPC is your next step

How to manage a PPC campaign

When it comes to PPC, there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy. The good news? A few fundamentals can set you up for victory:

1. Set clear marketing goals
2. Conduct keyword research
3. Include a competitor analysis
4. Build an organized campaign structure
5. Craft your ads and landing page
6. Implement conversion tracking
7. Set your budget and bids
8. Refine your audience targeting
9. Split-test ads, landing pages, and bidding strategies
10. Monitor and optimize

1. Set clear marketing goals

You can’t measure campaign performance without setting some clear goals from the jump. This can include brand awareness and lead generation, as well as measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) like CTR or cost per click (CPC).

When it comes to ROI, Yadegar keeps a watchful eye on these KPIs:

• CPC
• Cost per conversion
• Conversion volume
• Return on ad spend (ROAS)
• Customer lifetime value (CLV)

2. Conduct keyword research

Discover what search terms to target with keyword research. Keyword research tools, like Google Keyword Planner and Ahrefs, help identify relevant, high-performing keywords and insights on search volume and competition.

Don’t forget to regularly review and refresh your keyword list.

Further reading: How to Do Keyword Research: Tools to Use + Proven Tips.

3. Include a competitor analysis

Keep a close eye on your competitors’ PPC strategies. Identify gaps in their approach that you can seize or successful tactics you can adapt for your own campaigns. With this intel, you can refine and differentiate your PPC approach.

As for where to start, we recommend the following:

• Identify the competitors in your niche (Who are they? What tools are they using?)
• Analyze their ad content (ad copy, headlines, formatting, visuals, CTAs)
• Gather insights on their keyword strategy (bidding, CTRs, conversion rates, quality scores)
• Review their landing page (aesthetics, layout, ease of navigation, mobile-friendliness, copy, CTAs)

Further reading: How to Do a PPC Competitor Analysis: 7 Tools (+ Checklist)

4. Build an organized campaign structure

When it’s time to build your campaigns, keep them organized by theme, product, or service.

This means tightly themed ad groups and separate branded, non-branded, and competitor terms.

Further reading: How to Structure Your Google Ads Campaign: 5 Easy Steps

5. Craft your ads and landing page

Write compelling ad copy that clearly communicates your value proposition and includes a strong call-to-action (CTA).

“Brands should focus on creating a unique selling proposition and leveraging conversion-oriented landing pages with compelling content and a superior user experience to make sure they stand out,” says Yadegar.

6. Implement conversion tracking

Conversion tracking helps you see which clicks led to a conversion, such as a purchase, submitting a form, calling your business, or downloading an app.

Understanding the journey a user takes from click to conversion will help you continue to optimize your marketing campaigns.

Further reading: How to Set Up Conversion Tracking for Google Ads: A Quick Guide

7. Set your budget and bids

“An effective bid strategy is key to running a well-optimized campaign,” says HawkSEM Associate Director of SEM Rachel Corak.

With that in mind, choose an appropriate bidding strategy and allocate budgets based on performance potential while monitoring and adjusting your bids regularly.

We recommend starting a campaign with manual bidding before moving on to automated strategies so the platform has gathered enough data to more efficiently achieve your goals.

To maximize your PPC budget:

• Consider your company size, industry standards, and campaign scope
• Determine how each dollar will contribute toward hitting your KPIs
• Balance cost-effectiveness with campaign reach for max ROI
• Be ready to pivot and adjust in response to campaign performance

So, how much should you spend on management for your PPC marketing? Typically, around 10%-20% of your ad spend, but it can vary according to your business, budget, and goals.
Further reading: 12 Google Ads Bidding Strategies (+ When to Use Each)

8. Refine your audience targeting

Adjusting your targeting based on factors like device, location, audience, demographic, time of day, and remarketing lists (RLSAs) will allow you to fine-tune your campaigns and control costs.

When you do this continually based on campaign analytics and audience feedback, you achieve more efficient ad spend, better campaign performance, and ultimately, a better return on investment.

Just ask our client Swimsuits Direct, who saw more than a 109% increase in annual revenue with HawkSEM’s continued optimizations and targeting strategies.

9. Split-test ads, landing pages, and bidding strategies

Use A/B testing to refine elements on both your ads and landing pages, like headlines, images, and layout for optimal conversion rates.

Run these ad variations simultaneously to see which drives more clicks, engagement, or conversion rates.

Notice one headline brings higher CTRs than another? Well, that’s an easy decision to make for your future campaigns.

You can also leverage split testing to improve CPC and other metrics or test new theories. Google even has built-in split-testing features in the form of experiments.

10. Monitor and optimize

While it might seem obvious, overlooking regular maintenance is a common oversight.

This means that consistent, attentive upkeep is vital to stay afloat. You don’t need to constantly tweak campaigns, but regular analysis and optimization are essential.

Here are some pointers to ensure you never miss a beat:

• Schedule weekly or bi-weekly PPC campaign reviews on your calendar
• At each check-in, look for trends, anomalies, or significant changes in your campaign analytics
• Note which ads perform best so you can tweak and test the rest
• Analyze keyword performance and update negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic
• Make sure your ad copy and landing pages are in sync with your messaging
• Track PPC trends, product changes, and customer feedback, and use this information to adjust your campaigns

Six PPC management mistakes to avoid

As with any advertising strategy, potential pitfalls are plenty. Here are a few missteps you’ll want to avoid:

1. Inaccurate location settings

Accurate location settings can ensure your ads reach the right audience, which is more relevant for location-specific companies, brick-and-mortar stores, or customer-facing businesses.

By setting your campaigns to “Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations,” you connect with audiences who are physically present or frequently visit your chosen areas.

Otherwise, your ads will appear to people outside your intended geographic area, who are less likely to be interested in your product or service.

2. Inefficient budget

Your PPC campaigns need sufficient funds to ensure your ads receive enough exposure, ideally generating several clicks daily.

But this level of investment isn’t just necessary for visibility — it’s also crucial to gather data and drive conversions.

3. Not using existing data for Performance Max (PMax) campaigns

A Performance Max campaign is a Google Ads feature that uses your customer data to its fullest potential.

By uploading your customer list from your CRM software (like HubSpot or Salesforce), you give Google a model of what your converting customer looks like, which helps it find more people with similar profiles.

However, it’s best to use caution with the audiences you add. For instance, including audiences that haven’t converted could confuse Google into targeting the wrong prospects, diluting your campaigns’ effectiveness.

4. Poor conversion tracking

Not tracking your conversions is probably the single biggest mistake you can make with PPC management.

Not seeing conversions? Verify that you’re actually tracking conversion events.

Conversion rates seem suspiciously high? Make sure you’re not double-counting.

A proficient PPC manager confirms that conversion tracking is correctly set up and continually makes sure everything is functioning as expected.

5. Relying on Smart Bidding without sufficient data

While Google Ads increasingly promotes automation, Smart Bidding strategies rely heavily on historical data to perform effectively.

Launching a campaign with automated bidding before enough data is collected can limit performance and prevent the algorithm from optimizing correctly.

In the meantime, manual bidding gives you more control, allows for tighter budget management, and provides critical insight into what works.

6. Not aligning ad copy with search intent

Make sure your messaging aligns with search intent, not just keywords. Consider the end goal of a user’s search query — then empathize and offer the solution in your ad copy.

Top PPC management tools

PPC management is made possible with software that offers time-saving automation, robust data reporting, and a second set of “eyes” to keep you from missing optimization opportunities.

Some popular PPC management tools include:

• Research: Semrush, SpyFu
• Optimization: Google Ads tools, AdEspresso
• Protection: ClickGUARD

Each of these tools has distinct features and benefits that cater to different aspects of PPC campaign management. However, harnessing them effectively is an art in itself.

Professional PPC managers combine their strategic know-how with these software capabilities to maximize their campaign’s efficiency and effectiveness.

Quite a few things to remember when running a solid PPC strategy, right? This is where the expertise of a seasoned PPC agency comes in clutch.

The takeaway

Let’s face it: PPC management isn’t exactly easy-breezy, but its intricacies are what make it an incredibly powerful tool in digital marketing.

When mastered, it opens the door to rapid visibility, precise audience targeting, and measurable ROI.

In other words, it makes the effort well worth it for impactful, high-powered ad campaigns.

What’s more, a skilled PPC marketing manager can make all the difference in amplifying your brand awareness, market share, clicks, conversions, or just more profits on your existing advertising.

Ready to pass the torch on your company’s PPC management initiatives? We’ve got your back.

HawkSEM’s team of senior-level experts is on deck to dive into your PPC campaigns with a hands-on approach. Together, they’ll work closely with you to maximize ROAS, ensuring every dollar spent contributes to your business goals.

It’s time to elevate your PPC game — let’s talk.

This article has been updated and was originally published in December 2022.

PPC management FAQs

What does a PPC manager do?

A PPC manager is responsible for strategizing, executing, and managing your PPC marketing strategy. This includes the initial creation, launch, and ongoing optimization of your campaigns.

What’s included in PPC management services?

Each marketing agency will have different offerings. That said, some typical PPC management services you can expect are:

• PPC audit
• Market research
• Competitor analysis
• Goal and conversion tracking review
• Advertising platform review
• Keyword and audience research
• Campaign strategy and execution
• A/B testing and optimizations
• Reporting

How much does PPC management cost?

PPC management typically costs between $1,500 and $10,000 per month as a flat-fee model, or 10%-20% of your budget as a percentage of ad spend model — although pricing varies depending on experience and scope of work.

When will I see results?

PPC typically takes between two and three months to start generating results. Think of the initial weeks of your campaign as a learning phase for your ads, helping you gauge what’s working and what adjustments might be needed.

Can I manage my own PPC campaigns?

Yes, you can manage your own PPC campaigns if you’re versed in paid digital marketing and have the time to learn and apply PPC principles.

But remember, a PPC management strategy requires specialized knowledge and consistent optimization. PPC management companies have the tools and expertise to manage budgets effectively, target the right audiences, and analyze data for ongoing improvement.

What’s the difference between SEO and PPC management?

PPC management involves tracking, iterating, and optimizing online advertising campaigns. Search engine optimization (SEO) management, however, involves using similar tactics to keep track of and improve your brand’s visibility in unpaid organic search results.

When used together, both PPC and SEO bolster your online presence to generate higher clickthrough rate (CTR) and lead quality, as well as more brand awareness and conversions.

Furthermore, one method can give you actionable insights to help inform and improve the other. If you discover you don’t rank well for a certain keyword in your content, for example, you can add that keyword to your PPC campaign and rank for it faster.