SERVICES  /  HIRE-A-TEAM / PPC MANAGER

Senior PPC manager.

Search + PMax + Shopping + YouTube + Microsoft. Server-side conversion tracking. Negative-keyword + audience-exclusion engineering. Named, embedded, replaceable in 72 hours.

FROM $3,799/mo
SENIOR $6,799/mo
PRINCIPAL $9,499/mo
MIN AD SPEND $10k/mo recommended
QUICK ANSWER

Embed a vetted senior PPC manager (Google Ads + Microsoft Ads + PMax + Shopping + YouTube) in your team. 5+ years experience, server-side CAPI + Enhanced Conversions + Microsoft Ads certified. From $3,799/mo (mid) to $9,499/mo (principal). 14-day fit guarantee.

§ INTRO
WHAT IS A HIRED PPC MANAGER

Senior PPC manager, embedded in your team.

25–45%
WASTED SPEND TYPICALLY RECOVERABLE IN FIRST 30 DAYS
OUR ENGAGEMENT DATA · n=14
I.

The role.

A hired Senior PPC Manager is a vetted paid-search specialist embedded in your team to run Google Ads, Microsoft Ads (Bing), Performance Max (PMax), Shopping, YouTube, Display, and Discovery campaigns. Different from an agency PPC retainer (where you get a pod with a junior account manager front-line), and from a freelancer (who may lack server-side tracking + Microsoft Ads + PMax script depth). Same person each month, named to your account, working in your ad accounts directly. Specialisations covered: PMax restructuring (where 35–50% of waste lives), server-side conversion tracking (GTM SS + CAPI + Enhanced Conversions, restoring 8–18% of iOS-blocked attribution), creative briefing + iteration (3–5 fresh variants/week at scale), and Microsoft Ads (typically 15–25% cheaper CPC than Google).

II.

When you hire one.

Four common scenarios: DTC + eCommerce brands spending $10k–$200k/month who need PMax + Shopping + Search expertise paired with server-side tracking (most agencies under-deliver here), B2B SaaS companies running Search + retargeting + LinkedIn paired with lead-form-to-CRM tracking and hand-raiser scoring, agencies needing white-label PPC delivery (NDA-default, brand-suppressed dashboards, dedicated PM, 30%+ partner margin floor), and multi-location / local-services businesses needing LSA + geo-search + location-bid mods + multi-location campaign architecture across 5–200+ locations.

III.

How we match.

Send role spec + read-only ad-account access on day 0. We send 2–3 named PPC manager profiles within 48–72 hours with vetted CV + portfolio + CAC track record. Your top candidate sends a 24-hour account-audit preview showing where waste lives in your account before you commit — most clients pick a candidate based on the audit quality, not the CV. Specialist embedded by day 8, first restructure proposal week 1. 14-day fit window: replace inside 72 hours if not fit, no charge for the trial. Server-side tracking deployed week 1 of every PPC engagement so optimisation runs on clean signal, not iOS-blocked numbers.

§ TYPES
WHAT THIS ROLE COVERS

Eight productised PPC + paid-search specialisations.

01

Google Ads — Search

Manual keyword targeting, query-intent matching, ad-copy testing, dayparting, geo-targeting, RSA optimisation, keyword-match-type discipline. The most controllable + most measurable PPC surface; foundation for B2B and commercial-intent campaigns.

02

Performance Max (PMax)

Asset-group restructure by intent, brand vs non-brand separation (typical 20–35% spend leak to brand queries), audience-signal cleanup, search-term cannibalisation exclusion, scripts to expose channel-level data Google hides by default. PMax is where most recoverable spend lives.

03

Shopping + Merchant Center

Product feed optimisation (titles, GTINs, structured data, image quality), supplemental feeds for category + custom-label data, custom labels for margin-tier bidding, inventory-level rules. Strongest PMax channel for eCommerce — restructure, do not remove.

04

YouTube + Demand Gen

In-stream skippable + non-skippable, bumper, discovery, masthead. Creative-led not bid-led; we direct production briefs (5–15 second cuts, hook-first structure), pair with paired Paid Social Buyer + Content Strategist for video creative when needed.

05

Microsoft Ads (Bing + MSAN)

Search + Microsoft Audience Network (Outlook + LinkedIn-data-powered display) + Shopping. Typically 15–25% cheaper CPC than Google for the same intent — a free uplift most brands skip. Every senior PPC manager on our bench is Microsoft Ads certified and runs Bing alongside Google by default.

06

Server-side conversion tracking

GTM Server-Side deployment (Stape or self-hosted GCP), Google Enhanced Conversions, offline conversion uploads from CRM. Restores 8–18% of iOS-blocked attribution; required foundation for clean Smart Bidding optimisation. Deployed in week 1 of every PPC engagement.

07

Audit + restructure sprints

24-hour audit preview before hire, formal $1,199 standalone audit deliverable: account structure review, asset-group performance, audience-signal audit, brand-search exclusion analysis, recoverable-spend list with revenue-impact estimates. Audit fee credits toward Restructure Sprint or Retainer.

08

White-label PPC for agencies

NDA-default, brand-suppressed dashboards + reports, your logo on every deliverable, dedicated agency account manager, 30%+ partner margin floor. Silver / Gold / Platinum partnership tiers. PPC managers attend client calls under your brand at higher tiers. See /white-label-marketing-agency/.

§ PPC HIRE ECONOMICS

The numbers that make embedded PPC manager economics work.

8–18%
CONVERSIONS RESTORED VIA SERVER-SIDE TRACKING
OUR DATA · n=27
25–45%
WASTED SPEND RECOVERABLE FROM AUDIT-DRIVEN SPRINT
OUR DATA · n=14
15–25%
MICROSOFT ADS CPC SAVINGS VS GOOGLE
CROSS-PLATFORM BENCHMARKS
24 H
ACCOUNT-AUDIT PREVIEW BEFORE YOU COMMIT TO HIRE
STANDARD
§ COMPARE
HIRE-A-TEAM PPC VS ALTERNATIVES

Embedded PPC manager vs full-time, freelance, or agency retainer.

CRITERION
HIRE-A-TEAM PPC
AGENCY RETAINER
Total monthly cost (senior, $50k spend)
$6,799/mo flat (specialist + PM + tooling)
$2,500–$5,000/mo + 10–15% of media spend ($5,000–$7,500/mo total)
Server-side tracking included
Deployed week 1 on every engagement
Variable — many agencies do not staff for it
Microsoft Ads (Bing) bundled
Yes — every senior bench specialist is certified
Often skipped or charged extra
Direct ad-account access
Specialist works in your account directly
Account often hosted in agency MCC; portability risk on exit
Tooling stack
Optmyzr + Google Ads Scripts + Stape included
Variable; sometimes you fund tooling separately
Reporting ownership
Looker Studio dashboards owned by you
Proprietary agency dashboards; export only
Replacement window
72-hour replacement during 14-day fit
30–90 day notice; full re-pitch on exit

BOTTOM LINE: HIRE-A-TEAM SUITS BRANDS THAT WANT THE NAMED-SPECIALIST RELATIONSHIP + ACCOUNT OWNERSHIP. AGENCY RETAINER SUITS BRANDS THAT WANT POD-LEVEL EXECUTION + STRATEGIC OVERSIGHT BUNDLED.

§ 01
WHO HIRES THIS ROLE

Brands or agencies that need PMax expertise — without the full-time hire.

DTC + eCommerce

PMax + Shopping + Search + YouTube. Server-side CAPI + Enhanced Conversions.

B2B SaaS

Search + retargeting + LinkedIn paired. Lead-form-to-CRM tracking. Hand-raiser scoring.

Agencies (white-label)

Resell PPC management. Brand-suppressed reporting. Dedicated PM included.

Multi-location / local

LSA + geo-search + location-bid mods. Multi-location campaign architecture.

§ 02
ENGAGEMENT

Brief → match → embed. 14-day fit period.

DAY 0

Brief + ad-account access

Send role spec + read-only ad-account access.

DAY 1–3

Shortlist

We send 2–3 named PPC managers — vetted CV + portfolio + CAC track record.

DAY 4–7

Intro calls + audit preview

Top candidate sends 24-hr account-audit preview. You meet the top 1–2.

DAY 8

Start

Specialist embedded. First restructure proposal week 1.

DAY 8–22

14-day fit

Replace inside 72 hours if not fit. No charge for trial if you exit.

§ 03
WHAT THEY DELIVER

What this specialist ships every month.

Account management

Daily monitoring, weekly creative iteration, monthly bid review.

Negative keyword engineering

#1 source of recoverable spend.

PMax tuning

Asset groups, audience signals, brand exclusion.

Server-side conversion

GTM SS, Enhanced Conversions, offline conversion uploads.

Microsoft Ads

Often a 15–25% cheaper CPC channel — not skipped.

Reporting

Looker Studio. Weekly Loom + monthly + quarterly.

§ 04
PRICING

Three tiers. All include PM.

MID-LEVEL
$3,799/mo
3–5 YRS

Single-channel execution.

  • 80 hrs/mo
  • Single-channel
  • Dedicated PM
  • 14-day fit
Get this tier
SENIOR · MOST COMMON
$6,799/mo
5–8 YRS

Channel ownership + strategy + execution.

  • 120 hrs/mo
  • Channel + strategy
  • Dedicated PM
  • Strategy reporting
Get this tier
PRINCIPAL
$9,499/mo
8+ YRS

Multi-account leadership + complex tracking.

  • 160 hrs/mo
  • Multi-account
  • Server-side architecture
  • Function leadership
Get this tier
§ 06
FAQ

Common questions.

Do hired PPC managers own ad budget allocation decisions? +

No — total spend allocation stays with you (you control the budget). Hired PPC managers own bid strategy, account structure, audience layers, exclusion engineering, creative iteration, attribution model selection, and platform mix recommendations. They will recommend budget shifts (e.g., move 30% from Display to Paid Search based on incrementality data) with documented rationale, but you authorise spend changes. Most clients delegate inside-platform daily decisions and own monthly budget envelopes.

Will hired PPC managers work in our Looker Studio + GA4 setup? +

Yes — they ship reports into your existing Looker Studio dashboards, GA4 properties, GTM containers, and any custom BI you already run (Tableau, PowerBI, Mode, internal warehouses). We do not bring vendor lock-in or proprietary dashboards you have to migrate to. If you do not yet have a clean Looker Studio + GA4 setup, the first 2 weeks of engagement typically include dashboard build (server-side conversion tracking, channel + cohort + LTV reporting) so the PPC manager is not optimising on broken data.

Can hired PPC managers run Microsoft Ads (Bing) alongside Google Ads? +

Yes — every senior PPC manager on our Hire-a-Team bench is Microsoft Ads certified and runs Bing Ads alongside Google by default. Bing typically delivers 15–25% cheaper CPC than Google for most B2B and high-intent commercial categories — a free uplift most agencies skip. Microsoft Audience Network (Outlook + LinkedIn-data-powered display) is also included. Standard PPC manager bench covers Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Amazon Ads, and Apple Search Ads; for Yandex / Baidu / Naver we pair with regional specialists.

Can I white-label hired PPC managers for agency client work? +

Yes — Hire-a-Team is one of our most common white-label arrangements. Silver / Gold / Platinum partnership tiers, NDA-default delivery, brand-suppressed deliverables (your logo, your dashboards, your client-facing reports), dedicated agency account manager, and 30%+ partner margin floor on every engagement. PPC managers attend client calls under your brand if the partnership tier supports it. See /white-label-marketing-agency/ for full programme terms and partner application — current onboarding is 2–3 weeks for new white-label partners.

What is a typical recoverable-spend percentage from a PPC audit + sprint? +

25–45% of currently wasted spend recoverable in the first 30 days from an audit-driven sprint, depending on starting account hygiene. PMax accounts (where most of the waste lives) typically recover 35–50%; Search-only accounts 15–30%. The recovery comes from: brand-search exclusion in PMax, audience signal cleanup, server-side conversion tracking deployment (CAPI + Enhanced Conversions restoring 8–18% of attributed conversions), creative iteration, and bid-strategy alignment. Compounding from month 2 as creative + audiences tighten further.

Can hired PPC managers also build paid creative? +

Strategy + creative briefs + spec sheets + production oversight, yes — included. Actual creative production (static designs, motion / video editing, copywriting at scale) happens via paired Paid Social Buyer + Content Strategist tier, our in-house creative team on Multi-Channel + Full Pod retainers, or your existing creative team / agency. PPC managers know what creative will work; they are not the right person to also be the production designer. Splitting strategy from production keeps both quality bars high.

§ HIRE

Send your ad-account access.

Read-only is fine. We'll send 2–3 named PPC manager profiles inside 48–72 hours, plus a 24-hr account-audit preview from your top candidate.

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