Expert Tips for Getting Results from a Paid Search Consultant

Pay-per-click advertising presents a highly cost-effective channel for acquiring new customers through targeted search campaigns. However, optimizing complex PPC accounts across Google, Bing, and other ad platforms requires specialized expertise in areas like bid strategies, campaign structure, analytics, and testing. This drives more brands to engage a paid search consultant like Cliffex as a guide for amplifying performance.

How do you select and collaborate with the right consultant to get results? Follow this insider advice for maximizing value from your partnership that turns paid search into a growing source of qualified traffic and conversions.

FURTHER READING

> How to Succeed With a PPC Consultant in 2024

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Start by Auditing Current PPC Performance

Before seeking guidance developing a plan forward with paid search, audit the current state of accounts and performance. Provide your potential paid search consultant access to:

• Platform login credentials so they can pull reporting data
• Screenshots covering account organization, campaigns types/names, ad groups, etc.
• Stats on conversions, ROAS, impression share, click-through-rate, and other KPIs
• Examples of ad creative along with landing pages

Granting full visibility facilitates better initial recommendations as paid search consultants determine what’s currently working or needs priority optimization. Ensure you also discuss business goals so paid search priorities appropriately ladder up.

Have a Dedicated Point Person for Collaboration

Complex consulting projects easily go awry without a clearly defined point person directing activities internally. Designate an employee to own the working relationship with your paid search consultant. Ideal candidates have both availability and working PPC knowledge to coordinate ongoing plans.

Core responsibilities include:

• Consolidating questions/feedback to provide consultants
• Scheduling and leading weekly calls to discuss reports and iteration cycles
• Looping in other team members like designers on tasks as needed
• Ensuring consultant access and guidance aligns with internal processes

Having a single primary contact person eliminates confusion, keeps action items on track, and facilitates faster resolutions. They become both project manager and key stakeholder.

Guide Campaign Strategy Based on Buying Cycle

An expert paid search consultant like Cliffex tailors paid search account strategy specifically to your target customer journeys. Where someone is within understanding and buying products/services shapes ideal placement and messaging. Consider campaign initiatives like:

• Early funnel focused on problem identification
• Mid-funnel driving site traffic off desirable features
• Bottom funnel highlighting promotions and conversions

Connect paid search consultants to buyer personas and lifecycles your brand defined so segmentation, copy, landing pages, and calls-to-action all specifically prompt the next step prospects should take. Results improve when you help consultants map paid search neatly to each transition within wider sales funnels.

Structure Campaigns for Conversions

Rather than just chasing lots of traffic, paid search works best when campaigns, ad groups, landing pages, and tracking aim to convert customers. Consultants restructure accounts by:

• Organizing campaigns around products, services, regions, and other conversion factors
• Adding negative keywords to filter out irrelevant searchers not likely to convert
• Optimizing landing pages by leveraging heatmaps, scroll tracking, and other user data

Evaluating paid search consultant expertise architecting campaigns specifically to generate leads and sales prevents missteps. The goal is driving clicks most likely to drive buyers through the complete journey in a logical way.

Define Custom Attribution Models

Simple last-click attribution models undervalue paid search influence across wider omni-channel buying cycles. Paid search consultants instead implement customized attribution tracking like algorithmic multi-touch or time decay to assign appropriate conversion credit as prospects click through Google/Bing ads earlier across research phases.

Accurate modeling then informs ideal budgets and bids for each campaign based on the true respective value paid search delivers. It also identifies high-value queries worth pursuing more aggressively. Proper attribution is imperative to maximizing consultant impact.

Take a Testing-Centric Approach

Top paid search consultants believe constant testing provides the fuel for continual optimization and innovation. They not only analyze performance but also:

• A/B test ad headlines, descriptions, display URLs, sitelinks, extensions, image ads, landing pages, offers, and calls-to-action to improve conversions
• Test new match types, devices, placements, audiences, and positions to discover impact
• Test advanced tactics like remorse ads for cart abandonment or dynamic number insertion

Encourage consultants to schedule regular recurring tests building upon previous learning. Ongoing experimentation unlocks better-performing accounts over time.

Build Automation to Scale Success

Monitoring large paid search accounts using purely manual practices doesn’t scale efficiently. Paid search consultants instead implement intelligent automation enhancing productivity through:

• Algorithms managing bids, budgets, and targets in response to signals
• Automated rules that pause poorly performing keywords
• Software that groups keywords for accelerated optimization
• AI spotting standout opportunities for specific improvement

Discuss how paid search consultants tap proven technology to expand capabilities and amplify impact across accounts through hands-free enhancement.

Leverage Audiences for Personalization

Using remarketing and custom affinity audiences in paid search campaigns allows for more relevant messaging to different site visitor groupings based on interests and past actions. Consultants can target:

• Previous site visitors through remarketing lists
• Lookalike audiences similar to current converters
• In-market shoppers focused on related products

Discussion personalized ads and landing pages you could test together based on higher-intent users identified through past on-site behavior or related interests.

Apply Insights Across Campaigns

Paid search accounts never operate independently. Comprehensive paid search consultants analyze accounts in context of goals set for SEO content campaigns, email, social advertising, and other channels. Mobility across silos ensures cohesive strategy.

Guidance your paid search consultant provides around budget allocation, funnel optimization, and audience building should coordinate with more holistic plans focused on maximizing marketing influence on conversions collectively.

Check Platform Certifications and Case Studies

Not all paid search consultants manage advanced accounts equally. Better vet credentials and proven outcomes specifically across Google Ads and Microsoft Ads through:

• Confirming Premier Partner certification status indicating advanced expertise
• Reviewing case studies of accounts successfully optimized tied to ROI
• Requesting client references to check satisfaction levels and performance

Enterprise-grade consultants also showcase competency across broader advertising platforms like Facebook, Amazon, and emerging channels ideal for large cross-network campaigns.

Measure Against KPIs in Consistent Reporting

Continual improvement requires consistent performance reporting tied back to initial goals and KPIs. Ensure your paid search consultant provides:

• Dashboards charting clicks, conversions, ROAS, cost per conversion, bounce rates, etc
• Regular calls covering latest trends, changes tests, and future plans
• Notes documenting insights and ongoing action items

Formalize tracking and meetings that keep your brand aligned around priority outcomes session after session. Both sides optimize better through transparency.

The best paid search consultants like Cliffex balance informed strategy with flawless execution built on testing. Finding an ideal partner depends on their mastery over core components of bid management, campaign optimization, attribution modeling, automation, analytics, and platform expertise uniquely tailored to your business objectives. We at Cliffex maintain frequent collaboration against defined success metrics and KPIs to extract full value from the partnership now and into the future.