Google Ads is a pivotal part of how most businesses today grow. But what you put in is what you get out, and that doesn’t just apply to budget—it’s also a matter of knowledge and skill. There’s a substantial difference between having a presence on Google Ads and having a comprehensive strategy for it, and that difference can equate to thousands of dollars worth of potential revenue. But is hiring a Google Ads agency the only way to do it right?
That’s a complicated question. As brands grow and expand their budgets, there’s often an urge to bring digital marketing efforts in-house. There are times where those conversations certainly make sense: if your current Google Ads agency is charging excessive fees while doing the minimum, for instance. But ultimately, that’s a decision of whether you should be taking your media buying in-house or just finding a better-fit agency, and there’s plenty to consider when making that decision. In this blog, we’ll try to comprehensively explain the benefits and drawbacks of either choice.
- What Goes Into Google Ads Management
- Advantages of Hiring a Google Ads Agency
- Benefits of Managing Google Ads In-House
- Challenges of Each Approach
- Making the Right Choice for Your Business
What Goes Into Google Ads Management
Google Ads is versatile, powerful, and as complex as you want it to be. It isn’t terribly difficult to put together a bare-bones campaign around some keyword sets, define some basic location targeting, and turn it on. But Google Ads management is a multi-billion dollar industry because of the sheer amount of detail that can go into the very best strategies. Consider:
- Defining Goals: Before you build a single campaign, you’ve got to know what you’re aiming for. A talented Google Ads agency will take time with a new client early on to understand their business goals and formulate a plan for each digital marketing channel based on its strengths..
- Keyword Research and Selection: Keyword strategy is the foundation of a successful Google Ads program. It involves identifying the most relevant and high-converting keywords that align with your business goals and target audience. How your keywords are organized and prioritized—by product line, by intent level, by any other factor—will have a direct impact on how your campaigns function and how far your budget can go.
- Ad Creation and Testing: Ad creation is an iterative process: You need to continually introduce new ideas, monitor performance, and test different elements against each other in order to find the right combination to produce the best results.
- Goal-Oriented Budget Allocation: Effective budget allocation is critical for maximizing return on investment (ROI) on Google Ads. That means allocating based on your needs, but continually optimizing campaign budgets based on results. For instance, if you’re seeing incredible efficiency from one campaign, it can be wise to move some budget over from underperforming campaigns to ride that wave while you work on optimizations to improve outcomes elsewhere.
- Performance Tracking and Analysis: Of course, measuring goals and knowing where to allocate budget relies on ensuring all of your data is correct and being analyzed accurately. Expert performance tracking allows for timely adjustments to strategies, ensuring that campaigns remain aligned with business goals and market dynamics.
Advantages of Hiring a Google Ads Agency
Because of the complexity involved, it’s typically wise for brands who have large budgets or audacious goals to partner with a team of dedicated Google Ads experts. A Google Ads agency can provide a number of key advantages:
Expertise and Experience
Hiring a Google Ads agency provides access to specialized expertise and experience. Agencies like ADM are staffed with marketing professionals who have built their livelihoods around mastering the Google Ads platform and its nuances. This expertise is crucial for navigating digital marketing challenges and optimizing campaigns for success. Agencies often possess industry-specific knowledge, essential for tailoring strategies to the unique challenges and goals of different sectors. Whether in healthcare, eCommerce, or any other industry, an agency with a background in your market can significantly enhance your advertising efforts.
Access to Advanced Tools and Resources
Google Ads agencies typically have access to advanced tools and resources that enhance campaign performance. As a Google Premier Partner, for instance, ADM receives early access to new Google Ads features and betas, so we can get a head start on the field when learning to deploy new features to their fullest. Top agencies will also partner with third-party tech providers for things like campaign building or measurement to enhance their capabilities and offer deeper solutions.
Time and Resource Efficiency
Managing Google Ads campaigns in-house can be extremely time-consuming and resource-intensive. It requires some level of in-house expertise, and that work also needs to be overseen by someone else in your company with a baseline understanding of digital marketing strategy and best practices. Outsourcing that work to an agency allows businesses to focus on core activities while experts handle ad management complexities. Agencies manage campaigns efficiently, ensuring resources are allocated effectively and campaigns are continuously optimized for maximum ROI.
Robust Data Analytics and Reporting
A key advantage of working with a Google Ads agency is access to robust data analytics and reporting capabilities. At ours, we focus on building custom dashboards for each client so we can provide detailed insights into how each campaign is contributing to the client’s overall goals—and how the campaigns are complementing each other across channels.
Cross-Channel Marketing Approaches
Few agencies today focus solely on one paid media channel. An elite Google Ads agency will most likely also have strong offerings for paid social and programmatic advertising. By working with an agency that can sync strategies across multiple channels, your marketing becomes stronger. You can maintain consistency in messaging and devise strategies that complement each other, ensuring you reach more people in more ways.
Benefits of Managing Google Ads In-House
While elite agencies like ADM offer significant benefits, managing Google Ads in-house can sometimes be preferable to working with a more generic digital marketing agency (of which there are many).
Pre-existing Knowledge and Full Control
In-house teams are deeply integrated into the company culture and understand the brand’s unique value propositions and market positioning. This intrinsic knowledge can lead to more authentic and effective advertising strategies that resonate with the target audience. Managing Google Ads campaigns in-house offers businesses the advantage of direct control over their advertising strategies. This control allows for real-time adjustments to campaigns, ensuring they align closely with company goals and brand messaging.
Cost Considerations
For some businesses, managing Google Ads in-house can lead to cost savings by avoiding agency fees. In-house management might be more cost-effective for companies with smaller budgets or those that prefer to allocate resources internally. Additionally, businesses can have greater control over budget allocation, ensuring that spending aligns with their financial goals. However, these savings can diminish if your in-house approach involves hiring marketing specialists, especially if no one in your company has prior familiarity with the field.
Building Internal Expertise
Developing an in-house team for Google Ads management offers the opportunity to build internal expertise in digital marketing. This investment in skill development can lead to long-term benefits, as employees gain valuable knowledge and experience in managing campaigns. While it’s likely to produce inferior results in the short term, over time an in-house team can become proficient in leveraging Google Ads tools and strategies, providing the company with a competitive edge.
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Challenges of Each Approach
When deciding between hiring a Google Ads agency or managing campaigns in-house, it’s important to consider the unique challenges associated with each approach. Here are some key challenges to keep in mind:
Challenges of Hiring a Google Ads Agency
- Finding Alignment with Company Culture and Goals: A generic agency may not fully grasp the intricacies of a business’s brand or industry, potentially leading to strategies that don’t align with the company’s vision. This misalignment can result in campaigns that fail to resonate with the target audience or meet business objectives. It’s vital to thoroughly vet a Google Ads agency’s knowledge and capabilities to make sure you’ve got a fit.
- Employee Turnover: Big-box agencies typically experience higher employee turnover, leading to client accounts cycling through different managers over time. This can affect the consistency and continuity of campaign strategies and execution.
- Dependency on External Partners: Relying on an agency for critical functions can pose risks if the agency’s performance doesn’t meet expectations or if there are changes in the agency’s team or focus. This dependency can lead to disruptions in campaign management and strategy execution. You will want to find an agency with a defined vision and team stability.
- Limited Transparency and Control: Some agencies are stuck in their ways, and many fail to give clients a clear picture of what strategies they are deploying and what impact those are having. This can be frustrating for businesses that prefer a hands-on approach to their marketing dollar.
Challenges of In-House Management
- Time and Resource Intensive: Managing Google Ads campaigns in-house requires significant time and resources for effective management and optimization. This can be particularly challenging for smaller teams that may lack the capacity to handle the demands of campaign management.
- Continuous Learning Demands: Staying updated with industry changes and continuously learning can be challenging, especially for in-house teams that may not have access to the same level of resources and expertise as agencies. This can impact the team’s ability to leverage new tools and strategies effectively.
- Resource Constraints: Effective management and optimization of Google Ads campaigns in-house require dedicated time and expertise, which can strain smaller teams. This can lead to inefficiencies and missed opportunities in campaign performance.
Making the Right Choice for Your Business
Choosing between managing Google Ads in-house and hiring an agency depends on your business’s specific needs, resources, and goals. Here are scenarios where each option might be the best fit:
When to Manage Google Ads In-House
- You Have Limited Internal Resources: If your marketing needs are straightforward and your team has limited resources, managing Google Ads in-house can be practical. This approach allows you to maintain control without the complexity of external management.
- You’re Not Ready to Scale: If your business is not yet ready to scale its advertising efforts, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to invest in an agency. Handling Google Ads internally can be a cost-effective way to manage campaigns while focusing on other growth areas.
- You Have Simple Marketing Needs: If you have simple marketing needs—an extremely small product line or targeted area, for instance—that don’t require extensive expertise or advanced tools, you may be able to effectively manage Google Ads in-house.
- You Are an Extremely Large Company with Enormous Resources: Small brands may want to keep Google Ads in-house because it’s cheaper—but conversely, extremely large brands can often afford to invest in building their own expert digital marketing team in-house, giving themselves access to the advantages of an agency while maintaining total control and oversight.
When to Hire a Google Ads Agency
- Your Marketing Results Are Stagnant: If your current marketing team—whether internal or agency—is producing stagnant results, hiring an expert Google Ads agency can provide a fresh perspective and innovative strategies to revitalize your efforts.
- You’re Ready to Scale Rapidly: If it’s “go time” for your business, it’s good to find a partner for the journey. A growth marketing agency like ADM specializes in helping brands rapidly expand their marketing programs while maintaining efficiency.
- When You Require Nuanced Industry Expertise: If your industry requires specialized knowledge, an agency with nuanced expertise can offer tailored solutions that align with your business goals and market dynamics. For instance, one of ADM’s areas of focus is healthcare, where extensive platform and legal regulations create a difficult marketing environment that is often difficult for generic agencies or in-house teams to navigate.
- When You Have Complex Marketing Needs: Hiring an agency is a smart play for businesses with complex campaign needs, such as those that want to advertise on multiple channels or who want to expand to new markets.
Ultimately, the decision should align with your business’s strategic goals, available resources, and long-term vision. Whether you choose to manage Google Ads in-house or hire an agency, the key is to ensure that your strategy is well-aligned with your overall business objectives.
If you’re considering hiring a Google Ads agency to overcome distinct marketing challenges and achieve your goals, reach out to ADM for a consultation. With a proven track record of delivering impactful results, ADM is well-equipped to help your business thrive in the competitive digital landscape.
