WHAT DOES A UK PPC AGENCY DO? PPC MANAGEMENT SERVICES EXPLAINED (2026)
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UK PPC agencies plan, build and optimise paid advertising campaigns across platforms like Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising to generate profitable leads or sales. They handle keyword research, tracking, ad creation, bidding, landing-page testing and reporting, then continuously refine targeting and budgets to improve ROI. The right agency acts as a growth partner, not just an account operator.
Updated for 2025. Written for UK businesses that want profitable paid advertising (and don’t fancy burning budget to “learn lessons” the hard way).
Pay-per-click (PPC) is one of the fastest ways to generate demand—if it’s run properly. When it isn’t, it’s also one of the fastest ways to waste money with very confident-looking dashboards.
This guide breaks down what a PPC agency actually does, what “PPC management” should include in 2025, and how to choose a partner that protects your margin—not just your click volume.
If you’d rather skip straight to getting a plan, our UK team can put together a practical proposal for your business here: PPC services. (No hard sell. We’re “help first” people.)
PPC in the UK in 2025: what’s changed (and what still matters)
PPC hasn’t become “set and forget”. It’s become data and creative heavy. Automation is doing more of the bidding and placement work, but it’s brutally unforgiving if your inputs are weak (poor tracking, lazy messaging, or a landing page that doesn’t convert).
The macro trend is clear: UK digital ad spend is growing, and search is still the biggest slice. IAB UK reported the digital ad market hit £35.5bn in 2024, up 13% year-on-year. Video display spend grew 20% to £8.3bn, and search accounted for 47% of all digital ad spend (about £16.6bn).1
And if you’re wondering where to prioritise, StatCounter’s UK data shows Google remains the dominant search engine (e.g. 92.47% share in Nov 2025), with Bing at 4.75%.2 Translation: start with Google Ads, but don’t ignore Microsoft Advertising if your audience fits.
- Automation is the default: Smart Bidding uses Google AI to optimise for conversions or conversion value in every auction (“auction-time bidding”).3
- Campaign types are broader: Performance Max lets advertisers access all Google Ads inventory from one campaign to complement keyword-based Search.4
- Creative is modular: Responsive search ads test different combinations of headlines/descriptions and learn which combinations perform best over time.5
- More transparency (slowly): Google has been adding more visibility and control features to Performance Max, including channel performance reporting and negative keyword list options.6
What PPC management services should include
“PPC management” is more than setting up campaigns and checking the spend. A proper service ties your budget to outcomes: leads, sales, bookings, pipeline—whatever your business actually runs on.
Here’s what a good PPC management service typically covers. (If you want to compare this against a supplier quote, our own PPC management page outlines what we deliver for UK clients.)
| Service component | What it means | What you should receive |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy & forecasting | Targets, budgets, priorities, and a plan aligned to margin. | Channel plan, initial budget split, and success metrics. |
| Tracking & measurement | Conversion tracking, events, attribution, and lead quality feedback. | Verified conversions, dashboards, and a clear definition of “a lead”. |
| Account build & hygiene | Campaign structure, keyword strategy, audiences, and negatives. | Clean structure you can understand (and audit). |
| Ad creative & messaging | Ad copy, assets, extensions, and testing for relevance. | Testing plan and a rationale for messaging choices. |
| Ongoing optimisation | Bid strategy, search terms review, landing page tests, budget shifts. | Documented improvements and next-step experiments. |
Hard truth: if your conversion tracking is wrong, PPC optimisation becomes superstition. You’ll “improve” the wrong metrics and scale the wrong campaigns. Fix tracking first, then scale.
Agency vs in-house: where a PPC agency really adds value
In-house PPC can work brilliantly—especially if you have a dedicated specialist and a culture of testing. The problem is that many businesses don’t have the time, tooling, or process to keep campaigns tight week after week.
Here’s where a good agency earns its keep (and where a bad one hides behind jargon):
- Speed to competence: you get proven frameworks for account structure, testing, and reporting.
- Better diagnosis: experienced eyes spot problems fast (tracking gaps, poor query quality, weak landing pages).
- Continuous optimisation: real PPC is iterative—bids, queries, creative, and landing pages are never “done”.
- Cross-channel thinking: PPC works best alongside SEO, conversion rate optimisation, and lifecycle marketing.
- Governance: budget protection rules, QA, and processes that prevent expensive mistakes.
If you’re weighing paid search against organic growth, it’s worth reading our view on the trade-offs in SEO vs PPC. The best answer is often “both”—but only if each channel has a job to do.
How to choose a PPC agency in the UK
This is the bit where we’re going to be candid. The UK has no shortage of PPC agencies. Your job is to filter out “button pushers” and find a partner who can link spend to outcomes.
- Do they talk about margin? If the conversation is only CPC and CTR, run.
- Do they insist on proper tracking? They should validate conversion tracking before scaling.
- Will you own the account? You should retain access and ownership (it’s your data).
- Do they have a testing plan? Ask what they’ll test in the first 30–60 days.
- Can they explain their work simply? If they can’t, they probably don’t understand it.
- Do they improve landing pages? PPC can’t rescue a weak offer or confusing page.
- Do they report “why” and “next”? Reports should include insights and actions, not just charts.
If your website isn’t converting, that’s not a PPC problem—it’s a business problem that PPC will make painfully obvious. A website audit can quickly highlight friction points that inflate your cost per lead.
Also: be wary of guarantees. No reputable provider can promise “position 1” or a specific ROI without seeing your margins, sales process, and tracking setup. “Humbly confident” is good. Arrogant certainty is not.
Typical PPC agency pricing in the UK (and how to judge value)
Pricing varies because “PPC management” can mean anything from basic account maintenance to full-funnel performance work (measurement, creative testing, landing page improvements, and ongoing optimisation).
Common models:
- Retainer (fixed fee)
- % of ad spend
- Hybrid (retainer + %)
- Performance-based (be very clear on definitions)
Value test: ask how they’ll connect spend → conversions → lead quality → revenue. If they can’t explain that chain, you’re buying activity—not outcomes.
How Whitehat runs PPC campaigns (UK-wide) — without wasting your budget
Whitehat was founded in 2011 and we’re built on a simple ethos: help first, do the right thing, and be open and honest. In PPC terms, that means we’d rather tell you “don’t spend yet” than happily take your money while your tracking is broken.
PPC doesn’t live in a silo, so we often combine paid search with broader digital marketing services such as SEO, conversion optimisation and HubSpot-enabled reporting (where relevant). The goal is simple: profitable growth you can explain.
- Discovery & goals: we map your offer, margins, and what a “good lead” actually looks like.
- Measurement first: tracking QA, conversion definitions, and reporting that makes sense to your team.
- Build & launch: campaigns structured for intent (not “everything in one ad group”).
- Query quality control: search term reviews and negative keyword strategy to cut waste.
- Creative testing: ads and assets tested against real conversion data, not opinions.
- Landing page collaboration: we fix conversion blockers because clicks alone don’t pay the bills.
- Reporting & iteration: clear monthly insights, actions taken, and next tests queued.
Want the short version? If you can’t see where your leads came from and whether they turned into revenue, we’ll sort that first. Then we’ll scale what works.
PPC optimisation levers that matter most in 2025
PPC “optimisation” can mean a thousand tiny actions. The best agencies focus on the levers that move profit, not just platform scores. Here are the big ones we prioritise for UK accounts:
If your conversion actions are wrong, Smart Bidding will optimise the wrong thing. We validate tracking, review lead quality feedback, and make sure you’re measuring what the business cares about.
Search terms matter. We protect spend by continuously reviewing queries, adding negatives, and separating campaigns by intent (research vs ready-to-buy) so budgets go where conversions happen.
Responsive ads reward strong assets. We test offers, proof points, and positioning so your ads qualify the right people (and discourage the wrong ones).
A 20% improvement in landing page conversion rate can reduce cost per lead without increasing spend. That’s why we often recommend landing page improvements alongside PPC.
Scaling is a decision, not a vibe. We set guardrails (profit thresholds, lead quality checks, learning periods) and then increase spend where performance is stable and repeatable.
PPC reporting & KPIs: what to track (and what to ignore)
A monthly PPC report should answer three questions: what happened, why it happened, and what we’ll do next. If you’re only getting screenshots, you’re not getting reporting—you’re getting admin.
- Conversions (defined properly: lead, sale, booking, demo)
- Cost per conversion (ideally split by campaign and intent)
- Conversion rate (ad + landing page effectiveness)
- Revenue / pipeline (where you can pass this back from CRM)
- ROAS or profit proxy (where eCommerce or strong attribution exists)
What to treat carefully? Impressions and clicks are useful diagnostics, not business outcomes. They help you spot problems (or opportunities), but they’re not success on their own.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does PPC management cost in the UK?
Costs depend on ad spend, complexity and how much hands-on optimisation you need. Many UK SMEs pay an ongoing management fee (or percentage of spend) plus media budget. What matters more than the fee is whether tracking and reporting tie spend to leads, sales and profit.
How quickly should PPC start generating results?
You can usually see early signals (impressions, clicks, initial enquiries) within days. Reliable performance tends to take a few weeks as conversion tracking beds in, bidding learns, and ads and landing pages are tested. If an agency promises instant perfection, be sceptical.
Is PPC worth it for small businesses?
Often, yes—if you can track a real conversion (lead, sale, booking) and you know your margins. Small businesses can win by focusing on tight geo targeting, specific intent keywords, and strong landing pages. If you can’t measure outcomes, PPC can become expensive guesswork.
Should I advertise on Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, or paid social?
Google Ads is usually the starting point because it captures high-intent searches. Microsoft Advertising can be a strong secondary channel, especially in B2B. Paid social is ideal when you need demand generation or remarketing. The best mix depends on your buying cycle and audience.
What KPIs should a PPC agency report on?
At a minimum: spend, conversions, cost per conversion, conversion rate, and revenue or pipeline value where possible. Good reports also explain why performance changed and what will be tested next. Vanity metrics (like impressions alone) don’t pay invoices—profitability does.
Next steps
To make PPC work reliably, lock down measurement, protect budget from waste, and commit to continuous testing. That’s the boring part—and it’s the part that makes the numbers behave.
- Define “conversion” properly (and what it’s worth).
- Fix tracking first, then scale spend.
- Test relentlessly: ads, queries, audiences, and landing pages.
If you’re ready for a second pair of hands, we can review your current account, your tracking, and your landing pages and tell you what we’d do next. No fluff, no ego—just a practical path to better performance.
Request a PPC proposalReferences
Sources used for the statistics and platform definitions referenced in this article (all links verified live at time of update).
- IAB UK — Digital Adspend 2024: UK’s overall digital ad market hits £35.5bn (29 April 2025)
- StatCounter Global Stats — Search Engine Market Share in the United Kingdom (accessed Dec 2025; example month: Nov 2025)
- Google Ads Help — About Smart Bidding (accessed Dec 2025)
- Google Ads Help — About Performance Max campaigns (accessed Dec 2025)
- Google Ads Help — About responsive search ads (accessed Dec 2025)
- Google Ads Help — Unlock more visibility and control in Performance Max (7 Aug 2025)
Note: Advertising platforms and policies change frequently. Always confirm the latest requirements inside your ad platform account and official documentation.