PPC project management: A comprehensive guide for agencies

Your client could be throwing out thousands of dollars per month on PPC campaigns by not checking in on them regularly.

This is where your agency comes in.

Beyond working with clients on their PPC strategies, strong project management is a key to success. Keep reading to uncover components of PPC project management, how you can build your project management process, and general best practices. 

Project management components to optimize in PPC

First, let’s jump into what exactly makes up great project management for PPC campaigns. This includes documentation, reporting, file organization, time management, and more. 

Documentation of project and tasks

Accurate and timely documentation in PPC project management is vital for your client’s success. Consider utilizing a project management tool to document each task necessary for a PPC project and to support its overall lifecycle. This will also ensure nothing is forgotten or overlooked.  

Teamwork is the only project management tool you’ll need!

Recurring tasks

After documenting the overall project and tasks involved, process optimization is the next thing you should consider. Task automation will offload the repetitive and manual work that you and your team members often spend hours organizing.

With Teamwork, you can choose from a gallery of existing automation templates to streamline your process faster or build your own customized workflows to address bottlenecks.  

Reporting and milestones

Setting milestones — as well as checking in on those milestones — for your PPC project is another important component to incorporate.

If you set milestones upfront and track them in project management software, you’ll be able to continuously check in on progress and look from a birds-eye view at how close you are to hitting milestones. 

Naming conventions for project files

Use strong naming strategies for project files as another way to keep your PPC projects organized. This can save a lot of time when sorting through different campaigns.

In a way, this practice is like creating an internal language that only you and your agency team members can understand. It can make your project management process flow more easily. 

Appropriate time management

Good time management is key in any type of work that has many moving parts.

Here are some great time management strategies when managing PPC:

• Use blocks on your calendar to designate times you need to work on something in-depth.

• Put a “do not disturb” option on your email or chatting applications.

• Say “no” to tasks that are beyond your scope at any given time.

Spreading yourself too thin is a surefire way to throw even the best time management practices off kilter. 

How to build your PPC project management process

Now that we have the basic components necessary to optimize PPC project management, let’s dive into how to build your PPC project management process. 

You can look at this like you’re creating a methodology to apply to marketing projects of all kinds — PPC and otherwise. 

1) Define goals, outcomes, and any budget constraints

Take time before you jump headfirst into your project to meet with necessary team members to define its goals and any budgetary concerns.

If you set aside some time to think through the seemingly small things now, it can save a lot of time down the road.

2) Set performance benchmarks

Setting performance benchmarks goes hand-in-hand with reporting and milestones when managing a PPC project.

Meeting a benchmark is often seen as an end goal. Setting them upfront will allow you to better establish necessary milestones along the way.

To set benchmarks, think about which fundamental key performance indicators (KPIs) are necessary for your project and what kind of outputs you want to see.

3) Establish your project plan and processes

Once you set benchmarks, establish your overall plan for the project and general processes. Look at this as the rough timeline or outline of the project.

Organizations that undervalue project management report an average of 67% more of their projects failing outright.

4) Break the project down into tasks

Still looking at the outline of your project plan, you can next break down the project into tasks. Think of these tasks as added points in between your various milestones. 

Consider the finer details necessary to support the project's goals. This is where a project management tool can be extremely helpful. Teamwork allows for as much granularity in tasks as you need — and it’s ideal for managing multiple complex client projects at once.  

5) Determine project communication channels

If you’re working as part of a team, you should decide which communication channels you’ll use to discuss project updates.

You can think about basic options like email or chat, but consider integrating a project management system into your strategy to streamline the process and keep all communication in one place.  

6) Integrate opportunities for feedback

Along your project timeline, be sure to include opportunities for feedback from multiple stakeholders, including both team members and clients. 

More specifically, this group could include :

• Social media manager

• Business analyst

• Anyone helping to execute the project

Just be mindful of not including too many job titles, as this can create problems where there aren’t any. Building opportunities for feedback can also be a risk management tool that can nip potential issues in the bud sooner rather than later.

7) Regularly review and monitor performance

When building your PPC project management process, the final step is to incorporate regular reviews and performance monitoring. This could overlap with client reviews, but make sure you and your team review the project regularly.

Remembering to perform these checks is made simpler with Teamwork’s task features and automated reminders.

Best practices for PPC project management

Once you have your project management process established, tap into best practices for the project’s duration.

Some best practices include great communication, setting clear expectations, checking in regularly, and using data to track performance. 

Demonstrate exceptional communication with clients

Communication is at the core of every good client experience.

As an agency, communication can also be something that is built into your portfolio management strategy.

To do this:

• Be clear about how communication will happen (email, phone, chat, etc.).

• Use positive language instead of negative language.

• Focus on building connections using empathy. 

Check out more ways to improve client communication with Teamwork.

Set clear expectations and timelines

Expectations also go along with great communication.

Ensure that you and your team set clear expectations and timelines upfront. Also, let your clients know if certain aspects of their project are shifting along the way. You can do this by establishing regular check-ins with them to share any important updates. 

Regularly check in with the team

To follow the point above, set up regular check-in calls with your clients. These don’t need to be every week, but a bi-weekly or monthly call can be especially helpful to keep everyone in the loop.

Leverage data and analytics for performance

Tracking data and analytics throughout a PPC campaign is vital for not only your project management efforts but also for your client.

If you keep track of PPC data, you’ll be able to spot things that may be going sideways before they become a huge problem.

It can also be helpful to track analytics and data from project to project to look for trends or patterns.

Benefits of effective PPC project management 

There are many benefits of effective PPC project management for both your agency and your clients. A positive experience for your client is also positive for your agency. 

Enhanced client relationships

If your agency is known for great PPC project management skills, your client relationships will see direct benefits. Clients will be happier and will feel they are partnered with you rather than seeing the relationship as strictly transactional.

This can bring a welcome human element to an otherwise stiff relationship.  

Improved team coordination

Effective project management means they’ll run a lot smoother.

Everyone on the team will know their role and which tasks need to be done by what date. That leads to efficiency.

Increased efficiency and productivity 

Efficiency and productivity are great for both your agency and clients.

A thoughtful, streamlined PPC project management strategy will ensure it runs smoothly. Team members understand what is expected of them along the way. 

Without this, there can be a lot of wasted time amongst team members trying to figure out who is doing what.

Manage your PPC projects for client success with Teamwork

If you use the tips and strategies outlined in this article and couple them with a great project management solution, you can expect to see effective project management for your agency’s PPC assignments and beyond.

However, choosing a project management tool shouldn’t be a shot in the dark. Be sure to find an option that aligns with your agency’s project management strategy. 

Teamwork can be a great option for teams creating their project management process for the first time, in addition to well-established agencies looking for a highly-customizable solution to support and encourage additional optimization. Sign up for Teamwork to give it a try today.