When You Should Ask Your PPC Manager for a Deep Dive

At Metric Theory, we intend to become extensions of the marketing team for each of our clients. Rather than solely being a data-crunching PPC vendor, we understand that occasionally taking a step back from the nitty gritty PPC metrics to have a deep dive discussion around strategy, goals, or other business topics is necessary to achieve paid search results. Whether you’re launching a new product, shifting business goals, or planning to start targeting a specific industry, having your paid search manager take the time to better understand your business and goals by hosting a longer conversation with you, a product manager, or a sales rep can help your paid search efforts achieve faster growth.

If you’re launching a new product or expanding into a new market, schedule a deep dive with your paid search manager to make the launch go as smoothly as possible. Image via Pexels

What is a Deep Dive?

A deep dive is not a regular paid search performance review. Instead, it’s a question and answer session focused on a single topic that is structured to help your paid search manager better understand your product or business. Think of it like an interview, but with the goal of improving your marketing performance.

Why a Deep Dive?

After all, you probably already have regular calls with your paid search account manager. So how is a deep dive different? It allows you to step away from the nitty-gritty of weekly performance and next steps to help your account manager gain a deeper understanding of your goals, products, and services.

Set Aside Some Time

The ultimate goal of scheduling a deep dive with your PPC manager is for you to share as much information as possible so they can develop a solid account strategy. There are several instances when you should consider a more structured discussion with your PPC Account Manager, such as an onboarding call, developing industry-specific campaigns, changing business goals, or new product launches. Your manager should guide the conversation by asking questions to solicit information around targeting strategies, ad copy strategies, and business goals.

What Will a Deep Dive Actually Solve?

During your deep dive, you should step away from the day-to-day management of paid search to focus on higher-level and more ambitious goals. If you’re launching a new product, for example, it’s important to review the new features of the product, what makes it unique, how it is different from your existing product line, and how it separates itself from the competition. Your account manager will use this information to select relevant keywords and write compelling ad copy for your new product.

Additionally, a deep dive can make sure that you and your manager are on the same page regarding marketing goals and budgets. In the example of a new product launch, your PPC manager may not have all of the necessary product information to launch a profitable paid search campaign. Does he know that your margins are different for this product, so you’ll need a separate return on ad spend goal? Does she know that this is a business-facing product, so ad copy and keywords should focus on attracting enterprise leads? Taking a step back from standard PPC calls to host an in-depth discussion around the new product will help simplify the product launch process and ensure stronger results early on.

Don’t Forget These Steps for Success

You should take a few simple steps to host a successful deep dive with your paid search account manager.

• Agree upon a set of goals for the meeting. If you’re planning to launch a new product, make sure the goal is to give your account manager enough information to begin marketing this product.
• Create and agree upon an agenda. This will help keep the conversation focused. It’s easy to go off topic when you’re excited, so having an agenda will better manage everyone’s time and ensure you hit your goals.
• Be ready to answer open-ended questions. A deep dive is an informational discussion, so you’ll want to be prepared to share as much information as possible with your paid search manager.
• Be open and honest. Don’t hesitate to say that you’re not sure who are the most likely customers for your new product, or what your cost per lead goal should be. Your account manager can’t help you answer these questions if she doesn’t know that you need help.
• Finally, always review the meeting recap with your account manager. It’s important to keep a record of the meeting that you can reference to ensure that your account manager has enough accurate information to lead your campaigns towards success.

Conducting a deep dive with your PPC manager can help foster successful PPC efforts by sharing information and details of new product launches or business segments. Make sure you set aside time to specifically discuss business strategy and new products with your paid search manager.