Google AdWords Reseller: ReachLocal to Work with SMBs

[Kevin Heisler]

How do you manage PPC? When is it time to outsource?

How do you decide?

Are IYPs and AdWords resellers a good option for SMBs? (small and medium-sized enterprises?

[AussieWebmaster]

You outsource when your marketing team does not have the time or knowledge to do the job themselves. When the concept of ROI and AB testing is foreign to your team.

Or even if you just want someone with more experience to come in and upgrade the ads and keywords.... in that case it could be a one time thing.

[tasman]

There are a couple different reasons to work with a reseller. Managing a AdWords campaign takes a fair amount of time. Spreading across different search engines makes the task even more time consuming and daunting for the SMB. There are several resellers out there; ReachLocal, Ambassador Internet, Yodle, etc. Each have their own benefits and drawbacks.

If you are looking to spend more time increasing your business and less time playing with keyword bids, then a reseller is for you. If you have the time to devote to managing a campaign or like to micromanage, then it might not be the right choice. Most of the resellers are one-stop-shops.. you ask them to run the campaign(s) and they show you the results, but not necessarily how they achieved those results. After all, if they gave you the magic sauce, there's no need for you to be using them.

[Kevin Heisler]

Excellent points, Tasman. It would be interesting to hear more about the benefits and drawbacks of each reseller.

There's no question managing campaigns across engines can become an obsession for small business owners. Glad you noted "micromanagers." They seem to have the toughest time letting go and delegating PPC campaigns.

Are there any resellers who are transparent in the bid management process? Does anyone share strategies and tactics?

[CarrieHill]

Excellent points, Tasman. It would be interesting to hear more about the benefits and drawbacks of each reseller.

There's no question managing campaigns across engines can become an obsession for small business owners. Glad you noted "micromanagers." They seem to have the toughest time letting go and delegating PPC campaigns.

Are there any resellers who are transparent in the bid management process? Does anyone share strategies and tactics?


You can also out-source just a portion of your PPC Management. We manually handle Google AdWords because of the benefits and tools they offer - we have been known to have a reseller manage just Yahoo & MSN because of the PAIN of trying to maintain them - with very good success on relatively small budgets ($500 per mo or even less in some cases)

[amflores]

You know its time to outsource when you are spending half your day updating or making changes to your campaigns and less time working. As mentioned above, it can be extremely time consuming and tedious work. Then there is the science of picking the keywords that are generating revenue. You also want to learn how to write your text ad so that you attract the right visitors. I like to refer to the text ad as the "bouncer". Good copywriting will help you filter out the "tire kickers" and attract the folks that are interested. There are many elements involved in running a successful campaigns. I would recommend reading The Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords. This book will start you in the right direction

Good Luck!