Pay Per Click Management Software: Should You Use It?
This is a question many PPC management providers have to ask themselves. Should we use pay per click management software to service our clients accounts, or stick with purely hands-on work? There are benefits to both approaches, and perhaps the best results may be found in a compromise between the two.
Using Pay Per Click Management Software
First, let’s look at the benefits of using software to manage PPC accounts. One of the biggest benefits is the ability to have one manager handle many more accounts than he or she would otherwise be able to do. Another benefit is having the software monitor the accounts for sudden spikes in cost or drops in activity, allowing the manager to fix the problem before it becomes a major issue. Software automation also permits changes to be made automatically in response to preset conditions, such as after hours start or stop times or in response to changing bid prices.
Using the Hands-On Method
When your method of managing accounts is to have a dedicated PPC account manager for each client doing the work manually, then you have a much more comprehensive view of what is happening in the account. The manager will be able to predict future events based on past behavior, proactively respond to changing market conditions and closely monitor the effectiveness of ads and keywords. A PPC manager who is working in an account every day will see trends develop, and will have more opportunities to see and fix any errors or poor performing ads or ad groups.
Drawbacks
There are off course drawbacks to using either method exclusively. If all you rely on is pay per click management software, then you may be missing many opportunities to optimize the account or correct errors the software does not see. A manager watching over too many accounts and relying on software to tell him what to do will not be personally invested in any one account’s success, and some things that need doing may fall through the cracks.
On the other hand, a strictly hands-on approach has its drawbacks as well. The primary effect is lowered productivity. It takes a lot of time to competently care for an account with no automated support. Managers who do so can handle far fewer accounts. In larger accounts there is also a chance that, while great work may be being done on one part of the account, a problem may have arisen in another that previously was working fine. When you “know” an ad group is okay, you may not check on it as often.
A Third Way
Just because you want to have a hands-on approach to PPC management does not mean that you can not use pay per click management software to help you PPC managers out. Careful use of automated software can help your managers handle a few more accounts without losing the benefits of closer attention to detail provided by hands on work. So use the pay per click management software; just don’t forget to dig into the accounts as well. Better yet, contact us here at PPCManagement.com and let us handle it for you.