ZATO has been around since 2011 (with a rebrand somewhere in there), and one of the most consistent things we have seen is that starting PPC business budgets have remained the same, while costs have risen (both platform costs and agency costs) making it more difficult for small budgets to get great PPC management.

As we grew, we determined that the investment we needed to put into an account, any account, required a certain amount of time and energy and thus required our minimum pricing to be higher than many small businesses could afford. We found ourselves among a large group of agencies and consultants, since those who were willing to do the work required at the time in PPC, were also the ones who were (unsurprisingly) the most expensive.

What has changed?

The reality of PPC, is that machines are getting smarter. While some consider this to be a concern, or even threat to their jobs and businesses, we at ZATO see this as an opportunity. With advances in machine learning so ad testing, bidding, and overall recommendations and automation is improving we are able to offer services at lower rates than previously because we are able to rely more on automation... and pass along that savings to the consumer (you!).

Your New SMB PPC Program Awaits

Because of these advancements, we're happy to officially announce what we've been testing for awhile now, our new Google Ads for Small Budgets program.  With this program, we have looked at every possible angle to reduce our agency overhead so we can still invest top-tier PPC work into your accounts, but at a rate that the smaller businesses of the world can actually afford!  How have we done this? It's not magic, it's math. We investigated every area of typical agency overhead cost, and made them more efficient with automated processes (sound difficult? It was!).A few of those many ways are:

• Invoicing
• Contract Building
• Internal Task Management
• Communication
• Reporting
• Research
• Account Building
• Ongoing Management
• Ad Testing
• ...& More!

What do you mean by "Use Automation"?

In this program, we utilize automated targeting solutions within Google, as well as some third party softwares to identify key opportunities for us to make the most important changes in an account. We believe this successfully marries the two crucial aspects to managing PPC: smart human-led, machine automation. Automation for those easily repeatable areas of an account, but always with human oversight and accountability to ensure the account is always heading in the right direction.

What does Communication in the Small Budgets Program look like?

We have discovered that communication is something that can make or break a client, agency partnership. If communication revolves around frantic, nitpicking of KPIs and constant-questioning of agency decisions... that's not a relationship that will last, since there is no trust. The reason we can offer such low fees in the SMB program is because we make sure the majority of our valuable, human (not algorithm!) time is spent managing the account rather than talking about it. In that sense, we've found it helpful to limit communication in the SMB program to support email tickets that are responded to by our SMB team within 48 hours (excluding weekends and team holidays). This allows you to still have questions answered, but allows us to ensure we are able to best service all accounts we are tasked to manage.

What Can We Expect In Terms of Reporting & Key Takeaways?

We send an automated monthly report ~1 week into each month that includes account KPIs and graphs (in accordance with your account goals and how you measure success). Unlike the Full Service option however, this does not include key takeaways or custom updates.  The core idea for this Program is that it is a lower cost option for clients who don't mind not knowing all the inner workings of the account and just want to affordably hire the experts to manage it, while getting updated on KPIs so they can still be fully aware of program performance. We only communicate the specifics of what we've done in any account if a client is curious and emails us requesting that information.

Who Is the Google Ads for Small Budgets Program For?

We purposefully did not name this the "Small Business" program, but the Small Budget program. We understand there are a variety of reasons why an account may be a smaller budget size...regardless of the size of the business itself! Because of that, any projects, local businesses, or national eCommerce brands who aren't yet able to scale up to larger PPC budgets will find value in this program. It truly is a great program for any business that wants to invest a lower amount into Google Ads before scaling up, or even the business that just wants to have a solid PPC agency on their accounts...even if you have no future plans to scale dramatically. It's Google Ads for the Smaller Budget!

Do You Also Help Us with Google Analytics, or Bing Ads, or Other Account Questions in this Program?

In order for us to keep this program as affordable as possible, it is for Google Ads only. We need to keep our internal processes as streamlined as possible for both task management, switching costs, and communication variables. This means we focus solely on your Google Ads account. The one exception to this is Google Merchant Center for Ecommerce shops. Because Google Merchant Center is required for Google Shopping Ads, MAKROZ will assist in getting things set up in GMC in Ecommerce Accounts.

Do I Own the Account & Data?

With the ZATO Small Budgets Program, we believe that account ownership is 100% your right. You as the advertiser are paying for the valuable data that you are receiving, as well as our work to get the account setup (which is why we charge a setup fee), and that means we believe you own the Google Ads Account and Data, period."WHAT, doesn't that mean I can cut ZATO's access at any time and leave?!"Yes, but that's why we believe we can keep your business because of our great account work... not because we're holding your account hostage over your head. We prefer to do business with people because, you know, it's mutually beneficial. Not because we're holding you hostage.

Does ZATO/MAKROZ Do Whitelabeling on the SMB Program?

We typically haven't seen this program work well as a whitelabel service. Our primary concerns with whitelabeling are that we have found that the Parent Agency (the one who hires us to whitelabel):

1. fails to adhere to our stringent communication requirements, even if agreed to in the beginning. That is, because of stress from the client on the Parent Agency, we are pressured to get urgent communication too often and that kills our ability to offer the program profitably.
2. typically feels more strongly about the specific way we should manage and organize the account. Another way the program actually stays very affordable (our Full Service rates are much higher than the Small Budget rates).

That said, if you are an agency that is interesting in whitelabeling this service and you agree to our program requirements, we will consider requests on a case-by-case basis.

Do I Need to Set Up Conversion Tracking?

Conversions are important to account success as they user engagement on your website, rather than just traffic or ad impression data. We strongly recommend that you take your top goal actions for your website, and add tracking code (using Google Ads conversion tracking or Google Analytics goal/event tracking) as this is how we make optimization decisions in Google Ads to make your account successful.We are happy to assist with conversion suggestions on which actions to track (things like pdf downloads, contact form submissions, or phone calls). Please note, ZATO can assist on setting up conversion tracking for an additional fee.

That should answer a lot of your questions, and give some insight into what this new program is all about. If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out to us through our contact form: Contact ZATO Here

‍Intrigued by this new offering? We'd love to tell you more! Check it out, and then let us know if you have any questions, or submit the form and get rolling!

Visit the Google Ads for Small Budgets Program