Let’s face it, whether you’re a solopreneur or running your own company, you probably don’t have the time or expertise to manage your own PPC campaigns. But how can you tell if your existing or future PPC manager is really qualified for the job? Here are some key points to look at, so you can have more confidence when hiring someone.

Experience Managing PPC Campaigns

Now, don’t overlook someone who is new to PPC campaign management. But what you are looking for is an honest answer. Someone who is new to managing PPC campaigns for others, should have done a few successful PPC campaigns for themselves, or maybe for friends.

When someone describes their experience managing PPC accounts, pay attention to their enthusiasm about working on pay-per-click campaigns. It is probably better to go with someone who has been doing it for 3 years, but pays attention to the latest trends and is passionate about it, than it is to go with someone who just says “I’ve been doing it for 7 years.”

Additional Digital Marketing Skills

Most people who do PPC marketing, possess other digital marketing skills such as SEO or social media marketing. Perhaps they set up WordPress websites and blogs. They may even do web design. It is very rare that someone will only do PPC marketing. The problem with picking someone who only knows that 1 skill, is there are things they may not understand about digital marketing as a whole, because they have not seen other aspects and viewpoints of this.

Number of PPC Accounts Managing at Once

It’s not the actual number of accounts that they manage, but how they react when you ask them this question. If they sound overwhelmed or irritated, then you know to steer clear of them. If they like to be busy and are always up for a challenge, then this is the person to pick. A successful person can always add 1 more PPC account to their schedule and usually has to, because they are very much in demand.

Ask How They Prevent Budgeting Disasters

Don’t accept a vague answer. Because this is probably the top way that PPC campaigns can get into trouble. You want a professional PPC manager who is quite savvy about how to keep from overbuying clicks or overspending. Because they’ve already learned hard lessons and won’t make them with you! So, if someone can’t answer this question – with specific ways on how they will keep your project from staying within your budget – steer clear from them!

Biggest Mistake Made in a PPC Campaign

Let’s face it: every professional makes mistakes sometime. The most important thing to do is to learn how to fix them and not to make them again. To take that experience and move ahead from it. If someone tells you they have never made a mistake, then this is someone who is probably not very self-aware. You also want someone who can be honest with you, that they have made mistakes. Because if they make a mistake on your project, you do want them to be honest with you.

How Long Will PPC Take to See Results?

Now if someone promises you quick results, it would be fantastic if we could rely on this. The problem is that most PPC campaigns take some time to deliver. Keyword quality score does not improve overnight or sometimes you have to change your original approach, and an experienced PPC campaign manager knows this. So, someone who says you will see results in 48 hours, is not being realistic.

Communicating With Your PPC Manager

We all want professionals that we work with, who we can contact. If you always reach voicemail or only have 1 way to contact someone, this can be very challenging. Especially if you choose a PPC manager in another country who is five or six time zones away.

Availability to Start Working with You

If you like what you hear, then you want to know when your PPC manager can start. The best answer is “right now.” But if the person you want can start in a week, consider hanging in there. Because waiting a week for a highly qualified person may be much more worth it, than jumping to work with someone less qualified who is immediately available.

You always want to choose a highly qualified PPC manager. When you are running a PPC campaign, this is something that demands a person’s regular attention. You don’t want to choose an inexperienced person who is unskilled or simply will not learn to do what this job takes. Because then your campaign does not have the potential to draw in the customers that it could.

If you are doing your very first PPC campaign, be open minded. The first campaign teaches you about what will work best for you and your company. For anyone, even if you are working with a PPC manager that is great, the beginning of every PPC campaign is typically a time to learn. A smart PPC manager will tell you to start with a smaller budget, because they know that you’ll probably see more ROI and customer response as the algorithms collect data.

Face facts: you can’t afford to choose someone who is unqualified. So do take a look at our interview questions, and then decide who to pick for your upcoming PPC campaigns. Here’s to your great success!