If you are planning on hiring a new PPC agency, I am sure you are wondering what can you expect from them.

Do you even know if the person you hired is telling you the truth about your campaign’s performance?

Do you know what he is doing to your AdWords account? I bet you’ve asked yourself these questions over and over again.

Here are some questions you can ask your new PPC agency or the one you are already working with:

What successes have you had with your clients?

What matters more is your company’s goals and online business model. If you’re a software-as-a-service, ask for subscription examples.

E-commerce sites should seek online sales successes. Brick-and-mortar businesses should look for local business case studies. Content and video channels should ask for traffic growth reports.

Can I speak with one of your clients?

Definitely ask for customer references, and take the time to contact them. Any PPC agency that is hesitant to share references should be viewed with some suspicion.

If no one will attest to how happy they are with the agency’s performance, you likely won’t be able to, either.

How do you determine your prices?

Agencies rely on different pricing models. Some agencies charge a percentage of your advertising fees.

Some charge hourly rates or monthly retainer fees. Others might consider performance-based payments. Sometimes it’s a combination.

Who will be responsible for my account?

Without client interaction, an agency’s account manager liaises between you and the person creating and optimizing your campaigns.

The client-facing manager acts more like a salesperson or administrative assistant. He might only have a cursory grasp of PPC and can’t answer specific questions.

This causes communication to break down between the client, account manager, and freelancer.

Short conclusion

Clients have many options when looking for help with their PPC accounts. They can build bigger in-house teams or hire one of thousands of agencies.

Hopefully knowing a bit more about what goes on in the minds of advertisers who went the route of hiring an agency will help you be more successful in landing new clients and keeping your existing ones happy.