Are PPC Agencies On The Verge Of Extinction?
There has always been the debate surrounding the benefits and setbacks of going with "In-House" vs. Agency as the best solution to maximize the companies efforts through Search Engine Marketing. However, due to the recent results from SEMPO's second in-house salary survey the report mentions that Salaries for Search Marketing Professionals increased significantly, even considering the lackluster economy that we endured over the past few years. So, in theory, this is a good thing right? Sort of......
Download SEMPO-2009-In-House-Salary-Survey
Even though some of the salary figures listed on this report are a little outrageous to say the least, I am more concerned about the agency world who is not only struggling to keep clients from going "in-house", but also dealing with an overall decrease in the monthly Ad spends and/or continued commitment for ongoing optimization. With that said, there is an apparent trend happening and it begs us to ask the question, whether or not Search Marketing Agencies are still worth their weight in "Google Gold" anymore. Has the evolution of Blogs, Social Networking and of course "Conferences" just made it easier for companies to do this on their own?
Let's discuss the benefits and differences of both "in-house" and Agency.
Benefits of hiring an Agency:
- Depending on contract, the ROI is much better than having to hire "in house" and deal with medical insurance, 401k, etc...
- Generally speaking, agencies provide the client with faster adoption of the latest techniques and strategies than most "in-house" (However, conferences and blogs are definitely making it easier for the "in house" marketer to stay up to date with latest trends)
- "Outside the Box" perspective that can lead to much better results, than compared to "in-house" where different strategies are often stifled by company ideologies.
- Depending on the agency's overall experience and client management, most of them will go above and beyond to meet or beat your expectations to win the account for another year.
Benefits of Hiring "In-House":
- Employee will have deeper understanding of the product or service.
- Has a unique understanding of companies past and current successes and failures. (eliminates making the same mistakes twice)
- There are usually better "Utility Players" who will be assigned other responsibilities to help the company achieve its goals.
- Better access to Seasonality trends, calendars and new products/services coming to market. (this is especially important for PPC efforts)
According to the SEMPO Report, the study finds the following:
- Salaries have increased since last year’s SEMPO in-house salary survey.
- 2009 yearly salaries for an individual contributor with 1-3 years relevant experience range from $40,000 to $80,000; senior manager salaries range $70,000 to $120,000; and vice presidents with responsibilities for large SEM campaigns or a team of specialists earn from $160,000 to $250,000.
- The majority of respondents are working to maintain or increase the ROI from search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns with flat or restrained budgets for the remainder of 2009.
- Practitioners also are responsible for a broadening spectrum of online marketing activities including: organic SEO and SEM programs; social media campaigns; email marketing; graphical ad campaigns; paid inclusion programs; vertical search engine targeting; affiliate marketing programs; and shopping engines.
According to SEMPO, Here are some important notes to consider:
- The majority of respondents to the SEMPO 2009 in-house salary survey were in-house managers.
- From across the U.S. and Canada with a high concentration from California
- Most work for companies with less than 1,000 employees.
- Respondents are paid, on average, between $40,000 and $80,000 annually.
- Salaries have increased since SEMPO’s previous survey, regardless of how much experience
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More people now are working online due to the demands of online marketing. Competition between the agencies and "in house" i very rampant now since there are more individuals who specializes this field and can compete with the agencies.
Posted by: search engine marketing consultant | Saturday, December 19, 2009 at 07:21 PM
Great post!
You have some great points on the in house vs. the agency. More and more people are learning about ppc on their own rather than paying someone to do it for them. With some many "gurus" out there teaching it every day it will continue to be harder for the agencies to continue success in this field.
Jason
Posted by: Jason Braud | Monday, December 21, 2009 at 03:20 PM