Digital advertising is an expansive and constantly changing industry, so choosing the best PPC agency is essential to getting the results you want. We’ve done the legwork for you so you can easily discover the best agencies across six categories. We searched (almost) every corner of the internet to uncover pros and cons from customer reviews, analyzed company case studies, and identified areas of expertise from each provider’s portfolio.

The Best PPC Agencies

Nuanced Media logo.

Best for Amazon PPC

When it comes to Amazon PPC expertise, Nuanced Media stands above the rest. Its singular focus on Amazon and ecommerce has propelled clients like Dollar Shave Club and True Citrus into the top echelons of Amazon sellers. The agency’s dedication to educating clients, providing a personal touch, and offering a holistic ecommerce solution underscores its position as the top choice for Amazon PPC agencies.

Nuanced Media Pros and Cons

Nuanced Media Pros:

  • Deep Amazon expertise – Unlike other agencies that tackle a variety of digital marketing tactics in diverse marketplaces, Nuanced Media has a narrow but deep focus on Amazon and ecommerce. This makes its team unrivaled when it comes to PPC expertise in these areas.
  • Straightforward communication – One of Nuanced Media’s founding principles is candor. Its team is frank about what works and what doesn’t and prioritizes transparency in every aspect of operation.
  • Impressive results – The agency aims to help clients rank in the top 25 sellers in their respective Amazon categories. Many clients, such as Dollar Shave Club and True Citrus, have exceeded that goal, breaking into (and staying at) the top 10 sellers mark.
  • Educational resources – Knowledge is power, and Nuanced Media empowers its clients by maintaining an active blog with quality content to help clients better understand the complexities of Amazon PPC advertising.
  • Personal touch – CEO Ryan Flannagan takes a hands-on approach with clients, staying involved in onboarding and campaign execution to ensure client satisfaction from beginning to end.
  • Data-backed decisions – The Nuanced Media team relies heavily on analytics, market insights, and A/B testing to guide client strategies, which enhances the likelihood of success.
  • Comprehensive Amazon solution – The agency can handle every aspect of your Amazon business, from optimizing listings and creating advertising campaigns to managing inventory and providing next-level customer support.

Nuanced Media Cons:

  • No pricing transparency – Although it’s difficult to provide price ranges in this industry given clients’ unique needs, that lack of upfront pricing information adds a barrier to entry.
  • Narrow focus – Nuanced Media excels at Amazon and ecommerce and may not be ideal if you need a multiple-platform solution.
  • Intensive collaboration – If you’re looking for a hands-off approach to PPC management, you may find this agency’s regular, in-depth meetings too demanding.

Nuanced Media Pricing and Next Steps

  • Get a custom quote – Contact Nuanced Media through its online form to get a quote based on your company’s needs.
  • Discuss goals – Work with the agency’s experts to define your goals and develop an effective PPC strategy.
  • Communication – Your Nuanced Media team will update you through weekly Zoom calls, emails, and Basecamp, its project management tool.

Visit Nuanced Media

Black Propeller logo.

Best for Social Advertising

If you’re looking to master the world of social advertising via PPC, Black Propeller is the best agency for you. Its dedication to PPC advertising ensures it stays on top of the ever-changing landscape of social advertising. With a unique offering of market exclusivity, you can rest assured that the agency isn’t also helping your competitors dominate the market.

Black Propeller Pros and Cons

Black Propeller Pros:

  • Laser-focused expertise – Black Propeller only does PPC advertising, and it does it exceptionally well. By not splitting their focus between all aspects of digital marketing, the team stays on top of the fast-paced changes and cutting-edge technology that influence PPC ads.
  • No long-term contract – The agency doesn’t lock clients into long-term commitments, instead letting the return on investment (ROI) it earns encourage ongoing partnerships.
  • Market exclusivity – Black Propeller only partners with one client from each industry within a specific market space. This means its team is helping you, and only you, dominate your market.
  • Multi-platform PPC ads – Black Propeller keeps your PPC strategy consistent across platforms, including search engines and various social media channels, which maximizes results.
  • Proven results – You can feel confident putting your business in the hands of the Black Propeller team. They have a solid reputation and a history of consistently improving clients’ return on ad spend (ROAS), with more than two dozen detailed case studies available to back up their claims.
  • Quality service regardless of ad spend – Some agencies hand off lower-budget clients to less experienced team members, but Black Propeller gives every client expert support.
  • Clear communication – Reviewers praised the agency for its jargon-free approach to explaining complex concepts and transparently outlining costs and advantages.

Black Propeller Cons:

  • Focused specialization – Black Propeller only provides PPC advertising services, which could be a drawback if your company needs a broader range of services.
  • Reporting clarity – One customer review mentioned that the agency could improve by streamlining reports and providing clear-cut action items. We looked at dozens of reviews for this company, and this was the only potential con we saw reported by a customer.

Multiple points of contact – You’ll work with multiple people from the Black Propeller team, which could make communications and meeting schedules more complicated than if you had a single point of contact.

Black Propeller Pricing and Next Steps

  • Customized pricing – Reach out to Black Propeller for a detailed analysis and quote tailored to your business’s needs and budget.
  • Regular feedback – Depending on client preferences, the team will update you on campaign progress with biweekly calls, virtual meetings, or emails.
  • Continuous support – Black Propeller’s stellar service doesn’t stop with the launch of your PPC campaign. You can expect ongoing support and continual optimization of your strategy.

Visit Black Propeller

SmartSites logo.

Best for Web Design and PPC

If you want to give your website or online presence a facelift to go with your new PPC campaigns, SmartSites is a great option. It offers comprehensive web design services so you can rest easy knowing your landing pages, website, and overall online experience help your ads rather than hinder them. Best of all, SmartSites has more than 900 happy website clients, so you won’t have to sacrifice quality for the sake of convenience.

SmartSites Pros and Cons

SmartSites Pros:

  • Integrated approach: SmartSites offers a comprehensive suite of digital solutions, allowing businesses to benefit from a cohesive strategy encompassing PPC, website design, and SEO.
  • Web design expertise – SmartSites has designed more than 900 websites, making it an excellent choice for companies that need PPC and a website revamp.
  • Dedicated representative: SmartSites assigns clients a single contact point, streamlining communications.
  • Proven track record: SmartSites has a vast portfolio showcasing its ability to deliver successful outcomes and has earned more than 300 five-star reviews from satisfied clients. The agency is also a verified partner for top PPC channels such as Google, Meta, and Amazon.
  • Human touch: Unlike some agencies that limit communication to emails, SmartSites encourages direct phone conversations, fostering better understanding and rapport. You can also see this people-first approach on the agency’s website, which prominently features every employee and includes candid, behind-the-scenes photos.
  • Collaboration portal – The agency has a client portal where customers can track their campaign’s progress, see who is working on the project, and send messages to the team anytime.
  • Free PPC analysis – A free, no-strings-attached PPC audit lets customers get a feel for how SmartSites operates.
  • Large team – SmartSites has a large team of experts, which means it’s less likely to be spread thin and can devote ample attention to your PPC needs.
  • Educational resources – The agency has a very active blog and posts multiple articles every month that can help you learn the ins and outs of PPC ads and more.

SmartSites Cons:

  • Pricing – Companies with limited budgets may find the agency’s pricing steep.
  • Limited budget concerns – Some customers with limited ad budgets mentioned feeling that they didn’t receive as much attention from the SmartSites team as they would have liked.
  • Deadline inconsistencies – SmartSites’ overall customer reviews are fantastic, but there are a few ratings for deadlines that drop below the agency’s typical five stars.

SmartSites Pricing and Next Steps

  • Price ranges – SmartSites pricing starts at $125 per hour for website design, $500 per month for PPC management, and $2,000 per month for organic SEO. We found this information through the agency’s profile on G2. Because SmartSites has claimed and optimized this profile, these prices are likely accurate even though they don’t appear on the agency’s website.
  • Free analysis – Claim a free PPC analysis for your company, which will put you in touch with the SmartSites team, enable you to get a custom quote, and provide a starting point for your campaign.
  • Strategic launch – The SmartSites team will create a comprehensive and tailored PPC strategy for your company and keep you in the loop via virtual meetings, phone calls, and emails.

Visit SmartSites

Location3 logo.

Best for Multi-Location Campaigns

Marketing for franchises and multi-location brands requires deep expertise and exceptional project management. We chose Location3 for this category because it focuses exclusively on multi-location marketing and has more than two decades of experience. It also stands out for its proprietary platform, LOCALACT, which enables clients to monitor the intricate details of their campaigns.

Location3 Pros and Cons

Location3 Pros:

  • Robust marketing software – Location3 created LOCALACT, a digital marketing platform that helps customers manage localized marketing campaigns for multi-location brands and franchises. You can track how franchise store owners spend their local ad budget and monitor overall campaign progress.
  • Well-established agency – Operating since 1999, Location3 has more than two decades of experience in franchise marketing.
  • Franchise expertise – Location3 exclusively caters to franchises and multi-location brands, so if your company falls into that category, this PPC agency has the deep knowledge you need.
  • Diverse industry experience: The agency has extensive experience in a range of sectors, including healthcare, education, and wellness, to name just a few.
  • Comprehensive services – Offering everything from SEO and PPC to social and listings management, Location3 is a great one-stop shop for digital marketing.
  • Responsive team – Many reviews commended the agency’s team for their availability to answer questions or make last-minute changes to a campaign.
  • Continual optimization – Location3 creates expert campaigns and then consistently tweaks them based on data to achieve the best possible performance.
  • Educational resources – Having a team of experts in charge of your ad spend is an excellent move, but it’s also essential to educate yourself. Location3 has many free resources to help customers do this, including a blog, whitepapers, a podcast, and videos.

Location3 Cons:

  • Franchise focus – Location3 focuses on digital marketing and advertising for franchise and multi-location businesses. If your company doesn’t fall into that category, you may find a better fit with another agency.
  • Onboarding hiccups – Several reviewers mentioned that their onboarding with the agency and initial campaign launches were bumpy as the team learned about the clients and their businesses. This seems to be confined to the start of the partnership and smooths out once the team better understands their new clients.
  • Detail management – The overall sentiment from customers is that the agency is largely on top of things but there is room for improvement regarding campaign minutiae.

Location3 Pricing and Next Steps

  • Tailored pricing: While exact figures remain confidential, Location3 offers customized pricing based on the specific needs and scale of your project.
  • Reach out – To get started with Location3, use the contact form on its website. The agency’s team will work with you to understand your business and identify goals, challenges, and opportunities.
  • Strategic plan and activation – After the initial fact-finding stage, Location3 will build a strategic plan and launch your campaign.

Visit Location3

Directive logo.

Best for SaaS Products

Directive is the best PPC agency for SaaS products because it exclusively focuses on B2B technology marketing. The agency understands that hiring a PPC agency is a significant investment, so it provides value upfront. Before you ever see a contract, Directive will create a comprehensive proposal brimming with ROI forecasting and custom-tailored strategies.

Directive Pros and Cons

Directive Pros:

  • B2B technology specialists – Directive specializes in customer generation for B2B technology companies. If your business falls into this category, you can rest assured that the agency has the expertise to get you the results you want.
  • Upfront value – The agency’s consulting motto is, “Choose us for the proof, not the promises.” Before you even sign a contract, the Directive team will give you a value-filled proposal with ROI forecasting and custom strategies.
  • Continuous optimization – Directive is proactive in reviewing performance and adjusting its strategies. Continuous feedback, whether from campaign metrics or clients, informs its ongoing efforts.
  • Transparent values – The agency has strong values such as diversity, proactive communication, transparency, and ownership over work.
  • Clear reporting – As your PPC partner, Directive will provide regular reporting in a format that’s easy for non-experts to understand.
  • Landing page optimization – The agency optimizes landing pages to ensure you get the most ROI from your ad campaign.
  • Quality over quantity – Increasing lead volume is a common PPC goal, but Directive also emphasizes lead quality by targeting high-intent buyers.
  • Segmented campaigns – Directive often segments PPC campaigns, which can improve reporting, targeting, and conversions.
  • Offline conversion tracking – This helps bridge the gap between online metrics and real-world conversions to ensure that the PPC campaign achieves tangible sales results.

Directive Cons:

  • Narrow industry focus – Directive’s narrow focus on B2B technology makes it an unrivaled agency for brands in that field, but it also means it’s not the best choice for companies that aren’t tech-focused.
  • Jargon-filled website – The agency’s website is full of marketing industry jargon, which may be overwhelming if you’re not already familiar with the ins and outs of digital advertising.
  • Inaccessibility – Some customers noted that the initial stages of working with Directive went smoothly but saw a decreased responsiveness as time progressed.

Directive Pricing and Next Steps

  • Pricing – Directive doesn’t make its rates public and prefers to create custom quotes based on customer needs.
  • Intro call – Book a discovery call to learn what Directive can do for your business. One reviewer recommended getting familiar with all the agency’s services before scheduling your kickoff call to ensure you get the most out of it.
  • Regular meetings – You can expect standing weekly meetings with your account manager and monthly reporting on campaign metrics

Visit Directive

Our PPC Agency Methodology

We know it’s challenging to find the right PPC agency to support your business. After all, it’s a significant investment with no assured outcome, so you want to find the best possible fit.

To understand each agency, we examined their websites in detail, reviewed portfolios, read dozens of case studies, and sifted through hundreds of verified customer reviews so you don’t have to. By focusing on the key areas below, we were able to dive deep into the essence of what makes an effective PPC agency.

Proven Track Record

Experience is essential to agency credibility and gives insight into which industries they know best. To understand this, we used the following resources.

  • Examined each agency’s portfolio to find industry patterns in the companies they’ve represented.
  • Explored case studies to understand the approach they take to PPC campaigns.
  • Evaluated PPC results directly reported by customers on Clutch, a trusted review site for service providers.

These sources clearly show each agency’s overall track record and experience level.

Approach to PPC Management

An agency’s approach to creating and managing PPC campaigns is the backbone of its services. To understand this, we used a combination of customer reviews and each company’s explanation of its services. We looked for answers to questions such as:

  • What’s the company’s overall PPC strategy?
  • Does it break down the different stages of work?
  • What is its philosophy regarding strategy and data?
  • What’s it like working with the agency overall?

Collaboration Style

PPC strategy is very much a collaborative process between you and your chosen agency,

so it’s critical that you find one that matches your preferred collaboration style. Reviews on Clutch were most helpful for identifying collaboration methods, as the site specifically asks each customer about the composition of the team they worked with and their main form of communication.

Review insights allowed us to determine the typical team composition, how they communicate and report to customers, and how often they meet with clients.

Analytics and Reporting

There’s a creative aspect to PPC strategy, but you need to see the numbers when it comes to actual performance. Using a combination of each company’s website, case studies, and customer reviews, we uncovered answers to the questions below.

  • Will the agency send you regular reports, or can you tap into analytics any time you want using a client portal?
  • What type of information is included in your analytics?
  • Does the agency present this data in a way that’s easy to understand?

Other Services Available

There are two common approaches for the services that PPC agencies offer. They can be dedicated to one or two services, developing a deep expertise in those areas, or they can provide comprehensive services, allowing you to meet all your digital marketing needs with one agency.

We looked at each company’s service offerings to determine whether they provide a highly targeted or holistic approach so you can make an informed decision.

PPC Agency Pricing and Costs

PPC campaigns can be powerful tools to elevate your brand’s online presence and funnel traffic to your website. If you’re contemplating enlisting a PPC agency or directing your campaigns internally, it’s vital to understand the distinct pricing structures, related expenses, and scope of work.

Agency Pricing Models

  • Fixed rate – Some PPC agencies propose a consistent monthly or annual charge. This straightforward model lets you anticipate expenses and budget more easily.
  • Proportion of ad spent– With this common structure, agencies bill based on a percentage of the client’s monthly budget. For example, if you spend $10,000 on PPC ads and the agency charges 15%, you’d pay $1,500 to the agency.
  • Outcome-oriented – Clients are billed depending on the results achieved. For instance, an agency might charge for every conversion or sale made via PPC.
  • Mixed model – Several agencies adopt a blend of the above structures, stipulating a base charge with a percentage of ad spend or rates based on performance indicators.

PPC Agency Costs

  • Setup fees – Some agencies request a one-time fee to kickstart your campaigns, covering areas like keyword analysis and ad creation.
  • Consultation charges – If you want to run your own PPC strategy but need some advice, you can meet with agency experts for a consultation fee.
  • Third-party tools – To enhance campaign oversight, reporting, or automation, agencies may use third-party software that will be billed to the client.
  • Management fees – These encompass the ongoing supervision and refinement of your PPC campaigns. Typically billed monthly, they could be a set amount or a portion of the ad budget.

In-House PPC Management

Managing PPC campaigns in-house can be a rewarding experience. However, it requires dedication, expertise, and keen attention to detail. Some companies may consider handling their PPC strategy to save on costs, but the time and intricacies involved can offset potential savings. Consider these points before choosing a DIY approach:

  • Time commitment – Directing PPC independently requires substantial time, from campaign initialization to continuous tracking, modifications, and keeping in sync with industry shifts.
  • Ad quality – A/B tests are crucial to enhance ad quality and identify what works.
  • Paid search strategy – More than just PPC, an effective paid search approach spans various platforms and requires detailed strategizing.
  • Interplay of SEO and PPC – With SEO zeroing in on organic results and PPC on paid slots, their combined effect is essential for a unified digital strategy.

Deciding whether to commission a PPC agency or spearhead your campaigns internally hinges on multiple elements, such as budget, expertise level, and available bandwidth. Grasping the varied pricing structures and potential expenses empowers you to opt for a course that’s in harmony with your enterprise objectives.

Different Types of PPC Services

Many platforms fall within the realm of PPC, including social media, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. We’ve broken these down to help you understand the benefits of each and when to use them.

Google Ads

  • Benefits – Google is a behemoth in the world of PPC and offers the widest reach of any platform. It offers diverse ad formats, from responsive search and display ads to video ads on YouTube. It also provides various targeting options, including keyword, location, demographic, device, and audience.
  • When to use – Choose Google Ads when you want to increase visibility in search and reach diverse audiences.

Microsoft Advertising

  • Benefits – Microsoft Bing has a smaller market share than Google, but its ads are often more cost-effective for companies with limited budgets.
  • When to use – Use Microsoft Advertising to reach Bing audiences or to complement a Google Ads campaign.

Amazon

  • Benefits – Amazon ads target consumers right at the point of purchase, which can increase effectiveness.
  • When to use – This is a great option for ecommerce brands or Amazon sellers to increase sales.

Social Media

  • Benefits – Social media platforms collect a vast amount of user data, allowing them to provide extremely precise targeting.
  • When to use – Use social media ads to build brand awareness or target users based on specific interests and behaviors.

Landing Page Optimization

  • Benefits – Landing page optimization ensures that once users click on an ad, they arrive at a page that offers a seamless user experience that encourages them to take a desired action.
  • When to use – Use this whenever you run any PPC campaign. A well-optimized landing page is essential for conversions.

Other Types of Agencies

In the vast landscape of digital marketing, there’s an agency tailored for every specific need. We explain the differences below so you can identify when a different type of agency may be a better choice.

  • Digital marketing agencies offer comprehensive digital solutions, including PPC, SEO, web design, and content marketing. Choose this option when you need a wide range of digital services.
  • Branding agencies focus on creating, maintaining, and overhauling your brand’s image. Choose a branding agency when your company needs a fresh look or you’re launching a new product.
  • Web design agencies help companies create or update the look and functionality of their websites. This type of agency is the best choice when you need to improve your website design and build a better user experience.
  • Influence marketing agencies leverage influencers to help sell products. It’s a great choice for B2C brands, especially those in the lifestyle, beauty, and fashion markets.
  • SEO agencies improve your site’s visibility on search engines. Choose this type of agency when your main focus is improving organic growth and traffic.
  • Local SEO agencies focus on improving your visibility in local searches, which is a smart move for brick-and-mortar businesses.

PPC Agency FAQs