10 Questions to Ask Your Existing PPC and eCommerce Agency

As we enter the most manic time of year for eCommerce businesses, it’s hugely important for you to know whether your existing PPC agency is helping you generate the biggest bang for your buck.

One of the major anxieties with outsourcing your PPC is that it involves a lot of trust. Nobody knows your business like you do. And you may think that nobody knows PPC marketing like your trusted marketing agency. But that’s not always the case.

Here’s a list of 10 questions to ask your existing PPC and eCommerce agency to guarantee they’re working for you and not against you.

Q1: Which Keywords Have Generated the Most Enquiries / Sales Over the Last 30 Days?

Keyword research is the bedrock of any successful marketing campaign, be it Black Friday, Christmas or Spring. Keywords are vital because they help you understand what users are looking for and the content you need to produce to reach them.

Why ask this question?:

Because understanding which exact keywords are driving sales and conversions is integral when operating in competitive marketplaces, and vital for deciding your keyword strategy.

Q2 to your PPC and eCommerce Agency: What is the Ratio of Form Fills to Calls?

The gateway between your customer and a closed sale is a quality lead generation form. A study conducted by SalesForce found that businesses that ‘excel’ at lead generation generate ‘50% more sales-ready leads’ via lead gen forms at ‘33% lower cost.’

Why ask this question?:

To know if your form is performing to the best of its capability. You might need to reposition the form so it’s above the fold. Or tweak the CTA. You just need to know what questions to ask.

Q3: ​​What is Our Average Search Position? How Does this Impact Our CPA?

Moving up one place in the search results can boost your CPA significantly. Obviously everyone wants to rank top on Google. However, a positive average position is anywhere between 25-1. Moreover, the average CPA in Google Ads is £40.20.

Why ask this question?:

Impressions show how many times your ad was shown in the search results. CPA measures how much it costs to acquire a paying customer. Ranking fluctuations can help you understand and evaluate customer acquisition strategy.

Q4 to your PPC and eCommerce Agency: Which Keywords Require More Budget and Which Ones Are We Maximised in?

Knowing which keywords need more spend is an integral part of your PPC strategy. You can then focus on what is important: matching search intent. You also need to know which keywords you are maximising to track their performance and understand whether you’re wasting vital budget.

Why ask this question?:

The cornerstone of SEO and Google Ads is keyword research. If you want to monetise your ads, you need to know which of your keywords are most profitable. And least, to avoid wasted spend. Your existing Google Ads agency should be communicating this to you. But if they’re not, then ask.

Q5: How Are You Accounting for the Difference in CPL and the Demand for Different Locations Within the UK?

Cost per lead is calculated by dividing your marketing output by the total number of new leads acquired. If you’re acquiring new leads then great, but if you’re acquiring them in a range of locations, then you need to account for the peaks and troughs in these areas.

Why ask this question?:

You should never be appeased by your existing eCommerce agency by them disregarding specific locations as exemplar of low CPL. You need to be asking how they’re accounting for this difference in their strategy. And, you need to know how they’re planning to migrate into these locations.

Q6 to your PPC and eCommerce Agency: Why is the Conversion Tracking Showing an Inactive Tag

A reason why your conversion tracking may be showing an inactive tag could be something as simple as that Google has not ‘seen’ it, nor has it recorded any conversations in the last week.

Why ask this question?:

While the above might not necessarily mean anything is wrong or broken, it’s important to ask your existing PPC agency why an inactive tag is showing.

Q7: Can You List The Meaningful Goals On Our Site That We Should be Tracking for Conversions and Whether they are Tracked

Google defines a goal as, ‘a completed activity, called a conversion, that contributes to the success of your business.’ It’s important to know what these goals are because they play a massive part in the success of your business.

Why ask this question?:

Firstly, you need to know whether or not your meaningful goals are tracked or not. If they’re not, then how can your existing Google Ads company know what they’re meant to be working towards? If they can’t list your meaningful goals then you need to inform your agency of them immediately. Without doing so, they could be tracking and working towards completely different goals.

Q8 to your PPC and eCommerce Agency: How Much is Our Google Ad Spend Contributing to our Overall Funnel Effectiveness

If your Google Ad spend isn’t contributing to your overall sales funnel, then you need to seriously reconsider your advertising strategy. Defined as ‘the visual representation of the customer journey, depicting the sales process from awareness to action,’ your sales funnel needs to be constantly topped up with potential leads. This means that your ad spend needs to be generating a plethora of leads on a regular basis.

Why ask this question?:

If your Google Ad spend isn’t contributing to the effectiveness of your overall sales funnel, then what’s the point in running Google ads? The role of Google Ads is not to increase brand awareness, but to generate sales and potential leads.

Q9: How Much of Our Potential Market Share for What We Are Targeting and We Hitting? If We’re Not Operating at 100% Then What is Holding Us Back?

There are many moving parts when it comes to defining your market share. However, it’s always good to aim to be operating at 100%. While this may seem unrealistic, it’s not – especially if you’re the main supplier or dominant player in the sector. So, this begs the question, why aren’t you operating at 100%?

Why ask this question?:

Measured in relation to a company’s total revenue, you need to be targeting the maximum share of the market available to you. If you’re not doing so, then you need to analyse where your shortcomings are. This can be anything from targeting the wrong demographic to poor keyword research. But whatever it may be, you need to be asking your existing PPC agency why you’re not operating at 100% and how they plan on fixing it.

Q10 to your PPC and eCommerce Agency: Is Anything We Are Targeting Ineffective in Terms of the Conversions We Are Getting?

The world of eCommerce marketing moves quickly. What might have been a genuine target last month, may not be this month. And it’s important to acknowledge that and make changes accordingly, especially when you’re chasing conversions.

Why ask this question?:

If you don’t ask your existing PPC agency about your ads’ ineffectiveness, then how can you go about fixing it? If your goal is to increase conversions, then you need to stay flexible. So, if your targets have grown ineffective, then you need to work together with your agency to draw up a list of new, more effective targets.

PPC Geeks – eCommerce Marketing Authorities

We pride ourselves on what we achieve for our clients on a daily basis. Great results, and maximising their eCommerce strategies. Contact PPC Geeks to see how we can help boost your conversions when advertising on Google.

And don’t forget, PPC Geeks is also the best PPC management agency in the UK, and one of the top three PPC agencies in the world, meaning you can always guarantee a level of transparency that is unmatched. Nor will you ever need to come to us with questions we should have already fixed before you’ve even had time to think about them.

We always have your best interests in mind. If you require any help or want to improve your PPC or Google Ads, then invest in one of our 100% FREE PPC audits or Google Ads audits?