Ecommerce is competitive.
Competitive prices. Competitive return policies. Competitive shipping costs, product quality, customer service, web design, user experience — whew. The list is frustratingly endless.
And with more options than ever, customers have high expectations mixed with whole lotta decision fatigue. The best chance you have to cut through the noise and connect with new customers is with effective pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
What is an Ecommerce PPC Agency?
An ecommerce PPC agency is a team of experts in PPC advertising with a special focus on growing ecommerce businesses.
Ecommerce PPC & Paid Search Services
By now, you know the power of PPC advertising for ecommerce businesses. Statistics show that when a customer is ready to buy, they click the ads at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) — not the organic results.
After all, we are visual creatures. And Google Shopping ads give users the full (virtual) window shopping experience with product images and descriptions, as well as enhanced features like product ratings, promotions, and local inventory levels.
The thing is, running ecommerce PPC campaigns has always been extra meticulous because of how much it depends on the product feed. From high-quality lifestyle images and detailed product descriptions to effective remarketing ads and up-to-date inventory availability, every detail matters.
And there are a lot of details.
But now, with Google’s ever-changing automation algorithms (including the introduction of Performance Max), trying to stay in front of the right users can feel downright discouraging.
So if your clicks are costing you with little to show for it (except maybe a long line of abandoned carts), it’s not your fault. It’s just time to find the right ecommerce paid search agency.
Power Up Your Ecommerce PPC
You spend too much time and energy on your business to let just anyone handle your PPC marketing.
You need a partner who can deliver results like these:
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7х
Increase conversions up to 7X (Direct TV)
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2x / 3x
Double lead quality (Datadog) and nearly triple lead volume
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500%
Increase revenue by more than 500% (686)
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30 Million
Create campaigns that reach 30 million people
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2x
Double new clients (New Century Financial)
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80%
Increase month-over-month return on ad spend (ROAS) by 80% (Swimsuits Direct)
Results are everything
HawkSEM in 90 seconds
Ecommerce PPC Agencies: Is It Time to Shop Around?
Disappointed by your campaign performance? We might know why.
Melissa Torre, one of the brilliant Senior SEM Managers at HawkSEM, explains that “99 times out of a 100, the Shopping ads I audit are either far too segmented, split a tiny budget across 100 shopping campaigns rendering it unmanageable, or not segmented at all — running one campaign with 40,000 products all in one ad group.”
What does this mean for you?
Your campaigns perform poorly, your marketing budget is wasted, and you can’t push the products you want to your target audience.
So whether you’ve run campaigns on your own, with an in-house account manager, contracted employee, or another agency, it might be time to hire a (new) digital marketing agency if:
- You’re ready to scale
- You need to improve performance
- You plateaued with your existing efforts
- Managing ad campaigns in-house takes too much time (or resources)
- Your internal marketing team needs additional horsepower
- You had a disappointing experience with ads management before
- You’re looking to expand your online store and grow revenue and Google Ads (FKA Google Adwords) is your next step
Sound familiar? Let’s talk.
Ecommerce PPC Services with HawkSEM
You deserve a team of ecommerce PPC consultants who crush ecommerce marketing campaigns year after year. An agency recognized by Google as the top 3% of agencies in the country. A group of search marketing experts who:
- Increased revenue by more than 562%
- Saw a 303% return on ad spend (ROAS)
- Upped SEM sales transactions by 714%
- All while reducing the cost per conversion (CPC) by 67%
…For one ecommerce client alone
If you’re ready for these kinds of results, it’s time to talk to Hawk.
“Our team has worked with a huge range of ecommerce clients, from broad apparel and bookseller clients to more niche military memorabilia and restoration/performance automotive parts,” said Elizabeth Samardge, another super-savvy SEM manager at HawkSEM.
“[We are] constantly testing and conferring with each other results of tests so we can all benefit from the knowledge gained within our client accounts. We mobilize that data for future clients so we’re never going in blind.”
Ready for a look into our process?
Our Proven Process
Award-winning ecommerce PPC marketing doesn’t just happen. It takes years of experience coupled with a proven process to earn such a stellar reputation.
And when we say “proven,” we mean it. (Like our ecommerce client who increased sales by 109%.)
Here’s a glimpse into what that process looks like:
- Audit
- Strategize
- Build
- Optimize
- Report
- Thrive
1. Audit
Our partnership begins with a detailed look into your current PPC campaigns (or, if you don’t have campaigns running, your website and other marketing channels). Using an extensive checklist, we determine what’s working and what could be improved. This checklist details:
- Website optimization opportunities
- Content gaps
- Assets you might need for your campaigns
- Current bidding strategies
- Keywords
- Tracking setup
From there, it’s time for us to get to know each other by doing a deep dive into your business and goals. During this part of your audit, we conduct a thorough competitor analysis (including direct and indirect competitors) using search query and keyword research, data tools like Semrush for online ranking, Google Trends, and Auction Insights.
We also learn who your target audience is, their demographics, and how seasonal demand impacts your business.
Finally, we dig into what you consider to be the key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the success of your campaigns. Think click through rate (CTR), cost per conversion (CPC), and return on investment (ROI). That’s a lot of information to uncover. We know.
But all these details inform the best PPC strategy for your unique business and campaign types (Google Search ads, Shopping ads, Display ads, Video ads, and Performance Max).
2. Strategize
Once your goals are defined, our team of PPC experts build a marketing strategy for your business that will make your milestones come to life. Keeping your budget and audiences in mind, this strategy outlines:
- Bid types
- Optimization objectives
- Creative recommendations
- Keywords
- Custom audiences
- Ad copy and assets
- Try new match types
- Check languages and locations
This leaves you with an in-depth proposal that includes projections and ongoing expectations.
3. Build
Once we have an approved strategy in place, it’s time for execution, restructuring, and buildout.
This includes:
- Conversion tracking setup
- Well-structured ad groups with relevant keywords
- Negative keyword lists
- Bidding strategies
- Remarketing setup
- Appealing ad copy
- Optimized landing pages
- Strong calls to action (CTA)
- A/B testing setup
- Ensuring your product feed is robust, accurate, and connected to your Google Merchant Center (GMC) account
This is also when we connect all your marketing channels inside ConversionIQ, our proprietary marketing platform that keeps all your marketing data (Google Ads, Bing ads, Amazon advertising, social media channels, Hubspot, Google Analytics — you name it) in one place.
This dashboard and reporting system gives you a clear update on what’s happening inside your ads account, its performance, as well as access to all your other online advertising metrics.
Hopping around from one platform to another? We don’t believe in inefficiency here at HawkSEM.
Pro Tip: If your Ecommerce store is running on a platform like Shopify or Magento, consider utilizing their conversion tracking integrations built for Google Ads.
4. Optimize
We have exciting news: By this stage, your ads are live and accruing clicks, conversions and valuable real-time data — and being tracked like a hawk (wink).
Within a week or two, we use that information to:
- Refresh your ad copy, assets, and formats
- A/B test keyword variations, landing pages, and assets
- Update your negative keyword list
- Make conversion rate optimizations (CRO) to your ecommerce site
- Adjust your bidding strategy if needed
- Improve Quality Score
- Try new match types
- Check languages and locations
The fun part about this step? It never ends! As time goes on and performance improves, we continue to learn what makes your ads successful. This is why we think of ourselves as scientists and artists — there’s a ton of creativity and an equal amount of testing and experimentation.
The results? A work of (scientific) art.
5. Report
Trust is earned through reporting.
Because so much of what marketing agencies do is “behind the scenes,” clear communication paired with desired results is the only way clients can feel confident that their budget is being well-spent.
At HawkSEM, you can always expect your reports to be:
- Recurring
- On time
- Easy to understand
- Customized to the KPIs that matter most to you
- Accessible anytime with ConversionIQ
This is why our clients feel empowered when they partner with us.
ConversionIQ gives you the freedom and transparency to check in on your account performance and activity at any time. Mid-week, mid-month, no questions asked, no lengthy emails. You should have the autonomy to check up on your account status beyond your designated check-ins, don’t you think?
But beyond reporting, it’s worth mentioning that ongoing communication should be something you expect from your PPC partner — on your terms:
- Do you prefer email or phone calls?
- Video chats or prerecorded updates?
- How often do you want to communicate?
As your ecommerce PPC agency, it’s our responsibility to fit almost effortlessly into your existing and preferred business operations.
6. Thrive
Build, test, optimize, repeat.
Our data-driven campaigns set you up for continued growth and scalability. Are you ready?
Get your free ecommerce marketing plan
How to Choose an Ecommerce PPC Agency
We know there are a lot of options out there when it comes to hiring the right PPC agency. At this point, you might be feeling a little decision fatigue of your own.
And while we’d love to partner with you, it’s more important to us that you end up with the right PPC team.
If you’re ready to do some soul searching, we gotchu. Let’s break down some important things to consider when looking for a PPC agency, starting with the services they offer.
Meet The Team
HawkSEM: A Full-Service Agency
Do you want an agency that focuses on PPC exclusively?
Or are you looking for an experienced search engine marketing (SEM) agency that specializes in PPC, along with other digital marketing strategies?
While PPC is our bread and butter here at HawkSEM — we are also pros when it comes to:
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Paid social media marketing
- Performance display
- Conversion rate optimization
- Shopping and feed management
- Website design
- Content marketing
- Email marketing
- Landing pages
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Organically ranking higher on SERPs means more visibility for your business – and more potential customers! Our SEO services involve technical, off-page, and on-page SEO, continuous site monitoring, content analysis and production, and much more to help our clients reach the right people at the right times. Learn more about how our SEO services stand out.
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Paid Social Media Marketing
Strengthen your online presence, bolster brand awareness, and gain useful audience insights with a kick-butt paid social marketing campaign designed and implemented by our social media experts. Social media is a powerful tool in today’s digital marketing atmosphere – one you can use to drive high-quality traffic to your ecommerce business. Learn more about our paid social services.
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Performance Display
Performance Display campaigns are targeted, direct response ad campaigns that are all about achieving a specific and immediate action. This action can be anything from “add to cart” to “donate now” – whatever action makes the most sense with your business goals. These campaigns are all about results – and results are kind of our thing.
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Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
Of course, it’s not all about driving traffic – you also want to drive conversions. We work to increase your conversion rate by focusing on the entire visitor flow of your site, understanding your buyer persona, and tracking results.
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Shopping & Feed Management
Product descriptions, images, and whatever other assets you use to promote your product or service can make or break you as an ecommerce brand. Our dedicated team of experts get to know your business inside and out to help pinpoint your ideal audience and optimize your assets.
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Website Design
A simple, easy-to-navigate website design that’s optimized for conversions makes your customers’ decision-making process a snap – and keeps them coming back for more. HawkSEM can help you optimize checkout forms, take advantage of heatmapping and click-mapping data, and minimize popups for a seamless experience.
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Content Marketing
You’ve undoubtedly heard that content is king. When that’s the case, you need website content that both engages and educates your audience, while addressing the questions they posed to the internet in the first place. This involves investing time to get to know your audience and crafting a message that resonates properly.
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Email Marketing
Standing out in an inbox can be a Herculean task for any ecommerce company. But when it’s done just right, it can be a key way to build trust with your audience, convert customers, and increase sales. From newsletters and special offers to lead generation, our team can help you determine what types of email marketing best align with your bandwidth, industry, and goals.
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Landing Pages
Without a well-designed and well-built landing page, even the best PPC ad will fall short. The most effective landing pages represent your brand, offer something of value to your visitors, and see excellent conversion rates. Ensuring that your landing pages are relevant to site visitors and add value can do wonders when it comes to driving results.
Specialties vary from agency to agency. The majority of our ecommerce clients wanted an agency that had the capacity and expertise to take on other marketing channels other than PPC.
Even if we don’t take on their SEO or social media channels right away, our clients appreciate that we are experts in those digital marketing platforms as well and can ensure the marketing strategy is unified across the board.
Qualifications & Experience
Anyone can claim to be an expert. That’s why proof of qualifications, experience, awards, and achievements are so important when looking for the best ecommerce PPC agency for your business.
Not sure what to look for?
Here are some questions to ask:
- How many years has the agency been in business?
- What certifications do they have?
- Do they participate in ongoing education?
- Do they have powerful case studies that prove their success?
- Are they Google Premier Partners?
- Do they have strong reviews?
The best part about these questions is you should be able to answer them just by looking on their website.
At HawkSEM, we take this pretty darn seriously. That’s why we only hire senior level employees who have worked in digital marketing for over three years. And because we’re a fully remote agency, we aren’t bound by geographic boundaries and can hire the best talent the country has to offer.
Pricing
When it comes to looking for the right PPC agency, there are several pricing structures you’ll probably see along the way.
Most often, you’ll notice three models:
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Percentage of Ad Spend
A commission basis where agencies get a percentage of your monthly ad budget, ranging anywhere from 10-30%
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Flat Fee
A monthly fee with no surprises or added expenses, although there is often an initial setup fee
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Performance-Based Fees
A model where you only pay for the leads brought in (but be careful that the agency doesn’t focus on quantity over quality)
No matter which pricing model you prefer, it’s important to understand exactly what you’re paying for with those fees — and if you’ll need to pay for or hire additional resources or tools down the line.
We make things happen …but don’t take our word for it:
CSUN
Patch Of Land
Google Partner
Google Premier Agency
How PPC Fits Into Your Ecommerce Digital Marketing Strategy
As an ecommerce business, you know that SEO, social media marketing, and email marketing are also important players in your digital marketing success.
Whether you already have a digital marketing plan in place or you want to grow your advertising strategy in the future, the right agency can use PPC marketing as a unifying bridge across your online marketing channels.
Not sure how your PPC campaigns effectively tie together with your other marketing channels? Let’s take a look:
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PPC and ecommerce email marketing:
60% of consumers made a purchase because of a marketing email they received. I guess you could say ecommerce businesses can’t afford to not utilize email marketing.
But email marketing requires a solid list of recipients. Enter: the power of PPC advertising. Those precious clicks from your PPC ads might not always lead to a sale right away, but they can gather email addresses of interested customers, funnel those contacts into your email list, and let the magic of email marketing take over.
But the synergy doesn’t stop there. Those email lists also turn into rocket fuel for your remarketing campaigns.
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PPC and ecommerce social media marketing:
With influencers, time-killin’ scrollers, and consumers ready to buy (even if they don’t realize it), social media marketing is a playground for ecommerce businesses. By showing up where your customers spend their free time, social media marketing is one of the most effective ways to boost brand awareness.
Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok all offer a unique platform to connect with audiences in a more authentic way. For Googlers who click on a brand’s ad, they often do some research on the businesses social channels — checking reviews, product images from customers, and credibility before making their own purchase.
Social media acts as the crucial assist to the final purchase. -
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PPC and ecommerce SEO:
It’s a symbiotic relationship, SEO and PPC.
If you want your PPC ads to rank well, you need a website that ranks well too. Your ads should lead users to a fast site that is easy to navigate with high quality content and relevant products.
Learn more on how SEO and PPC work together here.
A(nother) Word on ConversionIQTM
We discussed how our proprietary marketing platform, ConversionIQ, connects all your marketing tools – like Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, social media channels, Hubspot, and Google Analytics – onto one dashboard so you can see a full picture of your marketing efforts.
This allows for transparent reporting anytime, sure. But it also gives us incredible data to make wildly effective optimizations. Want more proof? Keep reading.
Here’s how ConversionIQ looks in action
Prior to ConversionIQ, many of our ecommerce clients, like Nike and Verizon, drove a healthy volume of revenue. But their new customer acquisition costs were higher than customer lifetime value with little growth in net new customer numbers.
ConversionIQ enabled them to scale campaigns, optimize creative assets, and focus on more profitable customers.
We uncovered situations where, although there were spikes in new customers, the order values were low and not leading to repeat purchases. We optimized the campaigns leading to a drastic increase in lifetime value while improving ROAS by 109%
The Bottom Line
Finding an ecommerce PPC agency is a massive decision. We know there’s a lot of money and trust on the line, and we don’t take that responsibility lightly.
That’s why our clients average a 4.5X ROI — and why we have a 98% retention rate.
We know ecommerce. And we know PPC.
So if you’re ready for results that matter (hello, increased revenue and ROI), look no further. The team at HawkSEM can’t wait to make it happen.
Top 3% Google Premier Partner
Google’s Premier Partners network has named our Los Angeles PPC agency as one of the top 3% of agencies in the country, and we’ve also been selected as an official Meta Business Partner and Microsoft Advertising Partner.
And while digital marketing involves plenty of technology and tools, we always focus on the human touch, giving our clients the hands-on experience they deserve (for proof, look no further than our 98% retention rate.) At the end of the day, we know the most effective marketing centers on people and connections, not just search engine results.
Ready to bring some method to your digital marketing madness? Let’s make it happen.
Request a Free Consultation
No BS, just results. Average clients see a 4.5x ROI
- Dramatically improve ROI
- Outperform the competition
- Increase conversion volume
- Better track ROI
- Reduce cost per acquisition
- Improve lead quality