How much to charge for CPC Management

What should I charge to manage a CPC Campaign

[bayzing]

I am a long time web developer... and have managed to avoid getting tangled up with SEO for my clients, but have just recently got into CPC Management using Google Adwords and Overture. Problem is... I don't know how much I should charge!

Using the traditional Ad Agency commission scheme, I would think to use 15%. However, most of my clients are smaller businesses that will typically have a campaign of about $500/month. Charging just $75 per month to manage such a campaign doesn't seem like enough money for my work... especially considering the OUTRAGEOUS price some firms are charging for organic SEO.

I could charge a flat fee - say $1000 per month - and that would probably be more than enough to guarantee top position on some of the requested key words (with a tidy profit left over for me). Also I like the idea of keeping it as simple as possible for the client... and sometimes it's nice for a client not to know the wholesale cost of adwords/overture. The problem is, I don't want to grandfather a client into a certain monthly budget that leaves me vulnerable if the price on keywords is bid up over time.

For those of you who charge for CPC management services. What do you usually charge for your services? What are you profit margins?

[briggidere]

hi there,

i think a lot of people charge a percentage of the spend or a minimum of say $x, whichever is higher. you can change the figures to suit you but i think 15% is about the highest you would go % wise, and then set the minimum charge at whatever you think the minimum charge you could do it on with a profit.

Does this help

Briggidere