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Focus on performance marketers who have verifiable performance. You want someone who speaks in numbers (e.g., ask vlookup vs index/match type questions) and is

by vgeek 3y ago

Focus on performance marketers who have verifiable performance. You want someone who speaks in numbers (e.g., ask vlookup vs index/match type questions) and is driven to test-- so look for someone who can explain different strategies (e.g. alpha/beta, how they segregate kws/match types, thoughts on long tail, negative management, manually managing bids vs automated systems, campaign structures, even basic things like constrained budget allocation) in a manner you feel comfortable with. Given your niches and scale, maybe place more emphasis on testing novel channels to help establish both CACs and LTVs, because much of automotive search will be likely weirdly high funnel because it is a highly considered purchase category. Marketers are going to be good self-promoters (it is their job, after all), and the good ones are worth a lot because they can save multiples of their comp in wasted spend, but most are unfortunately flunkies who parrot Google's talking points, always use automated bidding and constantly change KPIs.

tempestn 3y ago
That's the thing though; I have only passing familiarity with many of the concepts you listed. In order to evaluate someone on them, I would have to learn enough to differentiate a real expert from a talented bullshitter, and I'm frankly not confident in my ability to do so in the time I have available. We've tried working with several marketing firms specializing in ppc, and after a couple of failures have found one that's getting decent results. They understand our business and can write reasonable ad copy. And the traffic driven by the ads is at a CPA that works for us, and has meets the KPIs I'm interested in on-site, in terms of conversions, time on site, retention, etc. However, I have no idea whether it's possible to do considerably better than they are. And as I mentioned initially, I feel the amount spent might be better put toward an in-house employee, who could devote greater effort than I assume the agency does, as well as performing non-ppc marketing tasks. But beyond just trying people who seem good until I find one who gets results, I'm not sure how to find that person. Maybe that's exactly what I should do.

by vgeek 3y ago

tempestn 3y ago

That's the thing though; I have only passing familiarity with many of the concepts you listed. In order to evaluate someone on them, I would have to learn enough to differentiate a real expert from a talented bullshitter, and I'm frankly not confident in my ability to do so in the time I have available. We've tried working with several marketing firms specializing in ppc, and after a couple of failures have found one that's getting decent results. They understand our business and can write reasonable ad copy. And the traffic driven by the ads is at a CPA that works for us, and has meets the KPIs I'm interested in on-site, in terms of conversions, time on site, retention, etc. However, I have no idea whether it's possible to do considerably better than they are. And as I mentioned initially, I feel the amount spent might be better put toward an in-house employee, who could devote greater effort than I assume the agency does, as well as performing non-ppc marketing tasks. But beyond just trying people who seem good until I find one who gets results, I'm not sure how to find that person. Maybe that's exactly what I should do.