Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is the fastest way to enhance your online presence, generate leads, and boost sales for your SaaS business. It’s hard to ignore marketing strategy given the fact that for spending every $1, businesses make $2 in return. But the first question that comes to business owners and marketing managers’ minds is how much does it cost? However, determining the pricing of PPC can be influenced by many factors, such as your industry and chosen ad platform.
On average, small and medium-sized enterprises allocate approximately $15,000 to $20,000 per month for their PPC campaigns, with a typical cost-per-click (CPC) of $2.59, according to data sourced from WebFX.
For a comprehensive understanding of what factors contribute to the pricing of your PPC management, read on!
PPC, or Pay Per Click, is an advertising model where advertisers pay a fee every time someone clicks on their ad. It is commonly used on platforms like search engines (such as Google) and various social media platforms as a marketing strategy.
Advertisers compete for keywords. It’s targeted to specific groups of people, and their ads are shown to users who search for those terms or meet the specified criteria. This method offers a way to generate website traffic. It is often evaluated based on metrics, like click-through rate (CTR) and return on investment (ROI), to determine its effectiveness.
Depending on how your PPC strategy is structured, you could have a few or many line items tallying up the total PPC cost. Some key factors include the person responsible for managing the PPC campaigns (in-house vs. agency vs. consultant), the average CPC in your industry, how often you update campaigns, and more.
Check out the table below for a full breakdown of average PPC management fees:
| Components | Cost |
| Ad Spend | Varies |
| PPC tools and software | $30 – $500 per month |
| PPC management cost (agency) | 12-30% of monthly ad spend |
| PPC management cost (in-house) | Varies |
The amount a business spends on ad campaigns depends significantly on its business goals, industry, and ticket size. If you’re selling a B2C SaaS that has a monthly subscription of $8, you probably would prefer to spend less money per click than if you were a B2B SaaS with a monthly subscription of $50. So, the expenditure will be higher in case of B2B SaaS PPC management.
Similar to conventional advertising, the expenses for placing PPC ads on various platforms can vary. Let’s examine the anticipated costs for SaaS PPC management across some well-known ad networks you may consider using:
Google Ads stands as one of the premier PPC ad networks, especially if you aim to have your ads featured on the Google search engine results page.
Within Google Ads, there are two distinct networks: the Google Search Network and the Google Display Network. The former emphasizes ads that appear in search results, while the latter showcases ads on various Google platforms like YouTube and Gmail.
In this system, you’ll participate in auctions to secure the keywords that will trigger your ads. You can establish a maximum bid, indicating the highest amount you’re willing to pay for each click on your ad.
Generally, the CPC (Cost Per Click) on the Google Search Network tends to be higher compared to the Google Display Network. However, the actual expense for each ad will be influenced by factors like your industry and bidding approach. For instance, a law firm might encounter an average CPC of $65 on Google Ads, while a salon could have a lower figure, say $15, due to differing competition levels and service costs.
Through Microsoft Advertising, you have the capability to craft PPC ads that are showcased on search engines such as Bing, Yahoo!, and DuckDuckGo.
Typically, you can anticipate an average CPC of $0.84 for PPC ads on Microsoft Advertising.
Much like Google Ads, your ads will appear at both the top and bottom of search results. However, the Microsoft ad platform tends to be somewhat less fiercely contested compared to Google Ads. In fact, over 80% of companies primarily concentrate their PPC efforts on Google Ads.
For smaller businesses operating in competitive industries, like SaaS software, Microsoft Advertising’s less competitive ad network could offer a more advantageous environment for success.
Managing PPC advertising offers three potential approaches: utilizing your in-house marketing team, hiring a freelance marketer, or engaging a marketing agency. Each method comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages, so weighing their distinctions is crucial in making the best decision for your business.
If you have decided to manage your PPC campaigns in-house, this blog might be helpful to build a PPC strategy for a SaaS business.
In summary, while each option has its merits, partnering with a PPC agency may be particularly beneficial if you require specialized expertise, lack the time or resources to manage the campaign yourself, and seek to maximize the value of your PPC efforts.
Pushkar Sinha
