Hi All, Is anyone here charging for adwords services? I have a number of clients who want me to help them with their adwords and I was wondering about the different charging methods people are using. I have a couple of mates who charge an hourly rate. I'm more interested in performance based charging. i.e. If I save you $X /month then you pay me % of X. Anyone doing anything like this? Thanks
There are several methods of charging. Most agencies charge based on a percentage of spend, usually 10% to 25%, though most seem to be in the 15% - 20% range. My personal feeling on this is that it's not an equitable way to charge. If you are executing a campaign for Life Insurance, then the per click cost will be a lot higher than a campaign for kitchen appliances. This means the overall cost will be higher, even though the actual amount of traffic might be similar. Since your management effort derives from the number of keywords managed and the number of clicks, why should the LIfe Insurance guy pay more? I don't think he should. Freelancers seem to charge on an hourly basis. This is probably the most fair, as you are chargingdirectly based on how much time you sepnd management the campaign. Where I live (Florida) the average charge seems to be around $75 per hour to do PPC campaign management. Some of the other services, mainly aimed at do it yourself types, charge on a volume basis. They provide tracking systems and charge you based on the nmumber of keywrods you are tracking as well as how much volume you drive through their system. Lastly, charging based on a comission is also a viable option. You can charge a percent of each sale, or a cost per lead if you are driving leads. The concern here is that you are usually relying on the customer to supply you with sale and lead information. I've seen instances where the customer will fudge the numbers to avoid paying full cost. You need a good tracking system where that not only tracks clicks, but also tracks actions on teh customer end. Customers inherently want to pay as little as possible. Customers also tend to think everything is easy. As a freelance web developer, I still get "You want how much? That's crazy! My son/cousin/nephew/neighbors kid knows how to do web sites, I'll just get him to do it." You'll find the same attitude with PPC. Being a freelancer can be tough. You usually don't have enough to float the monthly PPC cost and then bill the client. This means you operate in the client's account. This means they can see everything you do. What usually ends up is after you hit thier goals, they fire you and take over themselves. To protect your investment, you should execute some sort of minimum time thing, like at least 6 months. Ideally, as a freelancer, you should also try to get some money up front. Based on their industry, the providers they are advertising in, and the size of their campaing, you should be able to give a pretty good hourly estimate. If it's going to be 20 hours a week, get payment for 10 hours up front and invoice the rest. That way if they don't pay, at least you will have gotten half your money.