Recommend SEO / Google Ads Agencies

[stressedbob]

Hello all, I am looking for recommendations on agencies to use for our e-commerce google ads / merchant centre campaigns specifically and potentially broader social media.

We are based in Scotland and a Scottish agency would be nice but not critical.

We have been running this in house but our sales and ad spend has increased to the point where it makes sense to outsource and get better value.

My understanding has always been to use an agency for this and it is getting beyond our in house capacity now - has anyone brought in a dedicated team member to deal with this and how successful was it?

Any comments or help appreciated.

 

[Paul Carmen]

There are pros and cons to both, and it really depends on the level of advertising spend and any other marketing/website work needed.

In house can be cheaper, but you have the normal human resource drawbacks; e.g. holidays/absence cover etc. Plus, if they are young & cheap they will often leave for pastures new for higher pay & more experience relatively quickly.

Leaving that aside, the main issue with hiring one person is their skillset, are they Google Ads certified, what's their real level of knowledge, do you need SEO, web work undertaken etc, as one person is unlikely to have that breadth of skills. Finally, unless your are comfortable with the marketing & any associated IT systems yourself, are you in a position to recruit/manage them?

A good agency brings a broader set of experience and skills to the situation, plus should ensure they're no service gaps due to holidays etc. But, again they need to be carefully chosen and also managed to an extent. They should be able to give you a detailed proposal covering all the work and what you're trying to achieve.

As an agency owner, I'll leave recommendations to others. However, your marketing plans, customer/product targeting and sales goals are key. We frequently talk to companies who'd like to improve their sales, leads or marketing, but don't know how to or have any plan to do so. So having a plan is key to getting good feedback and comparable quotes from any agencies you approach, otherwise you'll need them to carry out planning & research for you.

 

[fisicx]

Echoing what @Paul Carmen said, rather than looking for a Google ads or SEO agency consider using a marketing agency and let them look at ways to reduce costs and find better channels. It’s quite possible there are ways to attract new customers that you haven’t considered.

My vote for a suitable person is @Paul Carmen whom I’ve worked with and trust.

 

[antropy]

has anyone brought in a dedicated team member to deal with this and how successful was it?

We've just done this. I'll let you know in a few months

Paul.

 

[Dandan2]

Personally I've had better success with freelancers than agencies. If you want recommendations with visual proof of their work on Linkedin then feel free to DM me.

All the best.
Dan

 

[flaxtrade]

Hello all, I am looking for recommendations on agencies to use for our e-commerce google ads / merchant centre campaigns specifically and potentially broader social media.

We are based in Scotland and a Scottish agency would be nice but not critical.

We have been running this in house but our sales and ad spend has increased to the point where it makes sense to outsource and get better value.

My understanding has always been to use an agency for this and it is getting beyond our in house capacity now - has anyone brought in a dedicated team member to deal with this and how successful was it?

Any comments or help appreciated.

Hi there,

It's best to have a) a flexible b) a target-driven ad partner that can integrate their work, data, knowledge and suggestions with your broader marketing team.

To get the most value and growth from your money, it's always good to test a freelancer/agency on a single channel project and assess their marketing skills before committing to more [for example:]
1. First, ask them to start growing your sales and spend within your roi target via Google shopping ads

if your targets have been achieved: consider expanding services

2. Roll out social strategies and shoppable content campaigns

Things to consider:
-Many agencies are less flexible compared to freelancers, and you may have to enter a 6-12 month contract without knowing the true value of their service.
-Your account may be managed by a junior exec with a basic skill set so that progress could be slow vs experienced freelancers. Establishing a clear set of metrics right at the beginning is good to ensure that your performance is managed correctly.
-Agencies also don't tell you how they achieve growth in your account, and progress work and knowledge transfers are limited [ that's important if you are looking to connect your in-house marketing with the external team]
-staff turnover is higher, so your account might be in different hands

 

[dx3webs]

How is it going? If you are still weighing things up take a look at
MUV / Make us Visible are good and post a lot on these boards. Give em a shout