PPC management: what it includes, what it costs, and in-house vs agency

PPC (pay-per-click) management is the ongoing work of running your paid search ads, mostly Google Ads, so each dollar of ad spend brings in more leads or sales. It covers tracking, keywords, ads, bids, budgets, testing and reporting.

In Australia, properly managed accounts usually cost $1,500 to $10,000+ a month in management fees, or 10–20% of ad spend, depending on how much you spend and how many channels you run. That's on top of the ad spend itself. You'll find cheaper offers. At that price there's very little time going into your account, and we explain why below. If you're weighing up whether to hand it to someone, this guide covers what you should get for that fee and when doing it in-house makes more sense. For Brisbane businesses, our Google Ads team can review your account and tell you where the money's leaking.

What does PPC management include?

Good PPC management is weekly work, not a set-and-forget setup. Here's what should be happening in your account.

If your reports only show clicks, impressions and click-through rate, you're seeing activity, not results. Ask for cost per lead and revenue. For more on measuring what ads actually return, see ROAS vs POAS.

How much does PPC management cost in Australia?

There are three common ways agencies charge. None is wrong. Each suits a different size and stage of account.

Set-up fees of around $750–$2,000 are common when an account is built from scratch.

What that looks like in practice

Two more costs to budget for: the ad spend itself, paid to Google, and GST on that spend. For what clicks actually cost in your industry, see our Google Ads cost benchmarks for Australia. Management fees and ad spend should always be on separate lines. If someone quotes you "$3,000 a month for Google Ads", ask how much of that actually goes to Google.

For the bigger picture on agency fees across all channels, see how much a digital marketing agency costs in Australia. Planning a new site too? See how much a website costs in Australia.

Why cheap PPC management usually costs more

You'll see Google Ads management offered for a few hundred dollars a month. Do the maths. At around $150 an hour, $500–$800 buys three to five hours a month. That's enough to build an account and send a report. It isn't enough to review search terms every week, test ads, manage bids and check tracking.

At that price you usually get:

• Set and forget. The account is built once and barely touched again.
• Reports full of clicks and impressions, light on leads and revenue.
• Wasted spend on the wrong searches, because nobody's reading the search terms.
• A junior juggling dozens of accounts, with no time to learn your business.

Some low-cost providers do fine work on very small, simple accounts. But the management fee is the smallest part of your PPC budget. Saving $1,000 a month on management doesn't help if a chunk of your ad spend goes on searches that were never going to buy.

In-house vs agency: which is right for you?

This is mostly a question of scale. A specialist is expensive. Below a certain spend, you're paying for capacity you can't use.

In-house usually makes sense when your paid media is large and constant enough to keep a specialist busy full time, across several channels, and the agency fees you'd pay are approaching a specialist's salary.

An agency usually makes sense when your spend is small to mid-size, you need more than one skill set, or you can't afford a gap when someone leaves.

Many businesses do both. An in-house marketer owns the strategy and knows the business. An agency runs the technical work: tracking, bidding, feeds and testing. You get business knowledge and specialist depth without hiring a team.

Signs your PPC isn't being managed well

Whether it's in-house or an agency, watch for these.

• You don't own your Google Ads account. You should. Always. If you part ways, the history stays with you.
• A fee too low for anyone to work on it weekly. If the maths doesn't add up, the work isn't happening.
• Reports show clicks, not leads or revenue. Clicks are a cost, not a result.
• No conversion tracking, or tracking nobody has tested. Then every decision is a guess.
• The same search terms keep wasting money. That means nobody's reviewing them.
• Budget increases without a reason. More spend should come with evidence it'll pay back.
• Long lock-in contracts. Good management keeps clients by results, not by contract terms.

Questions to ask before you hire a PPC agency

1. Who owns the Google Ads account?
2. How will you track leads and sales, and will you test it before launch?
3. What's included in the fee, and what costs extra?
4. How do you report: clicks, or cost per lead and revenue?
5. Who will actually work on my account, and how senior are they?
6. What's the notice period?

Not sure what your cost per lead is right now? That's fine. It's the first thing a good review should find.

How BFJ Digital manages PPC

We manage Google Ads and paid search for Brisbane and Australian businesses. You own the account, and we report on leads, sales and revenue, not just clicks.

If your Google Ads spend isn't turning into enquiries, talk to our Brisbane Google Ads team. We'll review the account and tell you straight what's working and what isn't. For search engine marketing beyond Google Ads, see our search engine marketing services.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between PPC and Google Ads? PPC is the model: you pay when someone clicks. Google Ads is the biggest PPC platform. Microsoft Ads and paid social can also be PPC. Google display ads work differently again; see programmatic vs Google display ads.

Is ad spend included in the management fee? No. Ad spend goes to Google. The management fee goes to whoever runs the account. They should be separate lines on separate invoices.

What does PPC management cost in Australia? Properly managed accounts usually cost $1,500 to $10,000+ a month, or 10–20% of ad spend, on top of the ad spend. Cheaper options exist, but they usually mean very little ongoing work on your account.

Can I manage Google Ads myself? Yes, for small and simple accounts, if you have the time to review search terms and bids every week. It gets harder as spend, products and locations grow.

How long before PPC management shows results? You'll see clicks straight away. Give a new or rebuilt account a few months of testing and tracking before judging it on cost per lead.