Pricing guide
How much does PPC management cost?
A PPC bill has two parts, and most confusion comes from mixing them up. This guide separates ad spend from the management fee, compares the usual fee structures and lists what belongs in the quote.
Ad spend and the management fee are two different bills
Ad spend is what Google, Microsoft or Meta charge for clicks, views and impressions, and it goes to the platform. The management fee pays the people who plan campaigns, write and test ads, set up tracking, adjust bids and report. It goes to the agency.
Keep the two apart, on paper and in practice. Ad spend should be charged to your own card, in ad accounts registered to your business, so you see every charge and keep the history if you leave. If an agency pays the platforms and re-invoices you, ask for the platform’s own invoices every month.
A third bill often hides between the first two: ad creative, landing pages, call tracking and software. Ask whether each one is in the fee, charged on top, or left to you.
Flat fee, percentage of spend or pay for results
| Fee structure | How it works | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|
| Flat monthly fee | The same fee each month for a written scope of platforms and campaigns | Predictable, and the agency gains nothing by raising your budget. If the scope is vague, the work can shrink without anyone saying so. |
| Percentage of ad spend | The fee is a share of what you spend on ads each month | Simple, and it grows with the account. It also rewards spending more, and the fee rises with the budget even when the work does not. |
| Performance-based | A fee per qualified lead or booked appointment, or a share of revenue | Ties the agency to outcomes. It needs clean tracking and a written definition of “qualified”, or the agency chases cheap leads to hit the count. |
| Hybrid | A base fee plus a bonus tied to agreed results | Pays for the fixed work and rewards results. It needs the same tracking as performance pricing. |
| Setup fee | A one-off charge for account structure, tracking, audiences and the first ads | Makes the heavy first month visible. Ask what you own once it is paid. |
What changes the price of PPC management
| Factor | Why it changes the cost |
|---|---|
| Platforms | Google, Microsoft, Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn each have their own rules and reporting. Each one added is another account to build, watch and report on. |
| Campaigns and markets | More services, cities, countries and languages mean more campaigns, more ad copy and more keyword and audience lists to maintain. |
| Creative | Search ads are text. Social ads need images and video, and video needs filming or editing. See ad creative. |
| Landing pages | Paid clicks sent to a homepage are mostly wasted. Building and testing dedicated pages is extra work, quoted or excluded. |
| Tracking depth | Counting form fills is quick. Sending qualified leads back to Meta through the Conversions API, as our revenue attribution does, needs a CRM and setup time. |
| Regulated sectors | Health, finance and real-estate ads face stricter platform policies, and copy may need a compliance review before it runs. |
What a small, growing and multi-location business usually needs
Small, one location
One search campaign on your main services, one social campaign if your offer is visual, call and form tracking, and a landing page per offer.
Growing, several services
Campaigns per service, a second platform, retargeting, regular new creative, and qualified leads fed back to the platforms from your CRM.
Multi-location or several countries
Budgets per location, local ads and pages, shared negative keyword lists, and reporting by branch so each manager sees their own leads.
What every PPC quote and monthly report should show
- The platforms and campaigns covered, with ad spend kept separate from the fee
- The fee structure, and exactly how the fee is calculated
- Setup work and creative production, each on its own line
- Spend, leads and cost per lead, by campaign
- Booked appointments and cost per booked call, read from your CRM
- Revenue by campaign, when your sales data allows it
- Changes made this month, tests running, and what they showed
Red flags in cheap PPC offers
Cheap management is often paid for somewhere else: in wasted spend, in an account you cannot take with you, or in leads that never answer the phone. If your ads already spend without selling, read why that happens. Otherwise, watch for:
- An ad account registered to the agency, or no admin access for you.
- A low fee paired with a markup on ad spend that no invoice shows.
- Reports of clicks, impressions and click-through rate, with no leads or bookings.
- A guaranteed number of leads, with no definition of what a lead is.
- No negative keywords, no conversion tracking, every setting left on the platform default.
What we need to send you a fixed quote
Account access
Read access to your Google Ads, Meta or other ad accounts, so we can see the history. If you have never advertised, tell us which platforms you have in mind.
Your numbers
Your current monthly ad spend or the budget you plan, and what a new customer is worth to you.
Your lead flow
How leads arrive and who answers them. Ads that fill a CRM nobody calls back lose money twice.
A fixed quote
A fixed fee for a written scope of PPC management, with ad spend kept apart. The fee stays fixed for that scope.
Frequently asked questions
Should the ad spend be paid to the agency?
Paying the platforms directly, from your own card, is cleaner. You see every charge and the account stays yours. If an agency has to bill the media for practical reasons, ask for the platform invoices with every statement.
How much should we spend on ads?
Enough for the platform to record conversions every week, and no more than your market and your team can absorb. That depends on click prices in your sector and city. Our marketing budget calculator helps you work it out.
Is a percentage of spend a bad model?
Not in itself. It is simple and fair when budgets are stable. Its weak point is the incentive: the agency earns more when you spend more. If you choose it, agree in writing on the results that justify any budget increase.
Can we keep the campaigns if we change agency?
Yes, if the ad accounts are in your name: campaigns, audiences and history stay with you. Make it a condition before you sign.
Last updated · By the Napexy team
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