Get the Free PPC Proposal Template (With Sample Content)

What's in This Template?

  • The framework and real-life examples you need to save time and land more clients
  • The key to showing clients you understand what they really need and presenting your PPC skills as the solution
  • Layout and beautiful design to stand out in a sea of bland proposals and persuade dream clients to hire you
  • And more!

What Makes A Great PPC Proposal?

The best pay-per-click proposals are simultaneously thorough and simple.

Your PPC proposal should be thorough because it must present all of the vital information a client needs for approval. It’s got to define what exactly you are offering to do for the client, and what you require (including payment) to accomplish that goal.

If you’re not thorough enough, there will be ambiguities. Ambiguities can kill a proposal.

The proposal must also be simple. Your client has to understand it. They might not even know what PPC means. It’s up to you to make the language and structure of the proposal as easy-to-follow as possible.

If this balancing act sounds tough, don’t worry; we’ve got a PPC proposal template that will lead you through this process step by step.

The Vital Components of a PPC Proposal

There are no hard-and-fast rules to the structure of a PPC proposal. But following some general standards can help you make sure your proposal is strong and complete.

Here are a few conventions that the best PPC proposals follow:

  • Executive Summary - A one-page roundup of the purpose, execution, and requirements of a project. The ES is crucial with big corporate clients where busy higher-ups must give their approval to a proposal before it moves forward.
  • Our Team - A brief rundown of you and your team, qualifications, and achievements.
  • Business Objectives - The specific business intent for the initiation of a PPC campaign.
  • Service Scope - The services you (or your agency) are offering to achieve the business objectives.
  • Measurement/KPI - The metrics you’ll be using to determine the success of the PPC campaign.
  • Timeline - A detailed rundown of when each element of the PPC campaign will occur.
  • Ongoing Campaign Management - If you’re offering to continue management of the PPC campaign once it’s in place, detail what that will look like.
  • Requirements - The systems access, team contact, and budgetary needs for the campaign to occur.
  • Next Steps - A clear call to action.

What You’ll Need From The Client Before Writing A PPC Proposal

A proposal is not a final contract. But if you’re going to put together a really killer PPC proposal, there are some preliminary questions you’ll need the client to answer.

Here are some of the most foundational:

  • What specifically is the business goal being addressed with a PPC campaign?
  • Is there an existing advertising strategy that the PPC initiative should fit into?
  • Who is the target customer? (Which helps create a keyword list.)
  • What does success of the PPC campaign look like, in quantifiable terms?
  • What existing research does the client have regarding the target customer’s activity on PPC platforms?
  • Who on the client side must be involved in the campaign, and what is their expected role?

Common Mistakes in a PPC Proposal

Since PPC is such a specialized field, clients often don’t fully understand what it entails. This can lead to misinterpretation and rejected proposals.

Even if the proposal is accepted, these mistakes can result in faulty client expectations and a very frustrating working relationship.

A few of the most prominent offenders are:

PPC Niche Terminology

It’s very likely that the client does not fully understand pay-per-click marketing. They might not have even heard of PPC (or Google AdWords) before you came along.

Because your proposal is essentially a sales document, it’s got to connect with people who have no background in digital marketing. Don’t take it for granted that the reader knows what SERPs, Quality Scores, or even conversion rates are. If you have to use any specialized language, be sure to define it early on.

Even when you’re going into fine detail on your plan of action, use the simplest and clearest terms that you possibly can.

Social Media Omission

Social media advertising and PPC marketing used to be totally different beasts. But these worlds are bleeding into each other, as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and even Snapchat are offering PPC options for advertisers.

If your agency does deal with social media PPC, be sure to find out beforehand if the client already has a social media strategy they’re operating under. Show how your PPC solutions fit into that strategy.

If you do not deal with social media, clearly state that it’s not something you offer. Maybe even specify that you focus on other channels (like Google, or independent ad networks) to bring clients the best service you possibly can on that platform, rather than splitting your agency’s attention.

Poor Business Goal Alignment

Every marketing campaign begins and ends with a business goal. PPC is no different.

What’s the end objective? Clicking a ‘Buy’ button on a landing page? Entering an email address? Increasing brand awareness?

The PPC strategy is going to change depending on the ultimate goal of the effort. Never lose sight of the final objective.

Vague Services Offered

Specify exactly what you are willing, able, and offering to do.

If you consult for landing pages, note that. If you run PPC ads on Pinterest, specify that. Any ambiguous language in the proposal makes it possible (even likely) that the reader thinks you’re offering something that you’re not.

Even if the proposal is accepted, this can lead to unrealistic expectations and a breakdown in the business relationship.

Preview: PPC Proposal Template

PPC Proposal Template Cover Image
General Instructions: Follow the italicized instructions for each section below to create your own persuasive PPC proposal. Do your best to limit your proposal to 4-5 pages or less, as this should be all you need to identify the client’s problem, propose your services as the solution to that problem, and help the client understand all the ways your services will benefit the client. The most persuasive PPC proposals will give clients hard numbers – i.e., if you increase conversions from your paid campaigns by X%, you get X more leads and customers and can spend more money on ads to scale even faster. Also mention how targeted these leads will be because you’ll use behavior and demographics to narrow down who sees and clicks on ads.

Advertising Challenges Facing {client_name}

Instructions: Use the first paragraph to identify the problem or frustration that led the prospective client to offer the PPC project in the first place. Then use 3-4 bullet points to break down different services you’ll provide to help the client overcome that problem or frustration. Begin each bullet point with an “action word.” Finally, use the paragraph after the bullet points to talk about the negative consequences that will happen if the client doesn’t fix the problem.

Advertising Challenges

{client_name} only has a limited budget it can dedicate to advertising, and it needs to get the most leads and customers it can out of that budget to say competitive in the crowded market. Quality pay per click advertising services will:

  • Appeal to people {client_name} wants to become customers, wherever they are online
  • Maximize reach and response rate and minimize advertising expenses
  • Make data-driven decisions to make PPC campaigns even more effective over time

If {client_name} doesn’t invest in cost-effective PPC services designed to fit its unique needs, it will waste a huge portion of its limited advertising budget appealing to people unfit to become buyers. Over time, this could cost {client_name} market share and slow its long-term growth.

Overcoming {client_name}’s Challenges

Instructions: Use 3-4 bulleted sections to describe positive results your PPC services will create for the client. Focus on results you think the client will value and will last after you finish providing your services. Spend a few lines after each result you list to 1) describe why the result is helpful to the client’s business; and 2) break down the actions you’ll take to create that result for the client.

Overcoming Challenges

{my_company}’s pay per click advertising services will deliver the following results for {client_name}:

  • Increased return on investment on paid traffic – Whatever amount of money you’re spending on paid advertising right now, you can stretch your budget to bring in more leads and buyers. We’ll design and execute your PPC strategy to make the most of your resources. Applying our services will increase your return on campaigns no matter the size of your current budget.
  • Generated highly-targeted leads to your website – In the paid traffic world, every visitor who clicks on an ad is an investment. When these visitors aren’t suited to becoming your customers, they become poor investments and extra expenses. We combine geographic, demographic, and behavioral factors to serve ads to your ideal customers, making each investment more likely to pay off with leads and buyers.
  • Developed a profitable PPC formula you can apply on future campaigns – A lot of PPC agencies will just launch a campaign and move on to another client. We’ll stick around after we launch your PPC campaigns for as long as your budget allows. We spend this time analyzing the progress of each campaign and applying the insights we gain to make them even more profitable. You can leverage this information in future campaigns.

Solution

Instructions: Use this section to talk about the specific combination of services you believe will solve the client’s problem. Under each recommendation, talk about: 1) what actions you will take to execute it; and 2) how those actions will benefit the client. Don’t be afraid to recommend additional services like ongoing management, copywriting, or overhauling the client’s website for more conversions if you believe the services will help the client fix their problem.

To meet {client_name}’s needs, as outlined above, we recommend the following services as part of this project:

Paid Traffic Assessment

{my_company} will assess {client_name}'s current paid traffic efforts. Then, relying on its expertise and analytics data, {my_company} will identify all the potential areas {client_name} could get more leads and customers out of its current budget.

Development and Launch of Pay-Per-Click Plan

{my_company} will meet with {client_name}’s team to better understand its target market and immediate business goals. Then {my_company} will launch the most cost-effective paid traffic campaign possible within {client_name}'s budget. {my_company} will design the campaign, manage bids, create landing pages, and use keywords to target people who match {client_name}’s ideal customer profile, which will generate more and higher-quality leads.

Pay-Per-Click Optimization and Tracking

After putting {client_name}’s paid traffic plan into action, {my_company} will use analytics data to track its performance and identify potential areas for improvement. {my_company} will use these insights to make {client_name}’s paid traffic plan even more effective and deliver a status report to {client_name}’s team every two weeks for the entirety of the optimization period.

Instructions: Estimate the price for your service package and come up with a label for it that describes a clear benefit to the client. Breaking down your service package into 3 or 4 chronological phases (if applicable) will help the client understand what will happen when, as well as make your solution appear valuable. But keep the breakdown at a high level and don’t break down your price; it’s crucial your price is easy to understand.
Increasing Ad Revenue, Market Share, and Profitability Solution
  • Paid traffic analysis and strategy development – We’ll take a look at your current paid traffic efforts, analyze your campaigns for areas that have the potential for improvement, and incorporate our findings into a comprehensive paid traffic plan delivered to your team.
  • Paid traffic strategy implementation – We'll create your landing pages and put the paid traffic plan into action, tailoring every campaign we launch to target people by location, demographics, and behavior for the highest possible return on your investment.
  • Ongoing pay-per-click reporting and optimization – We’ll use analytics data to track how well your paid traffic strategy performs. This data is instrumental in providing you with biweekly reports and spotting opportunities to streamline our strategy and make it even more profitable. We’ll use this data to continuously optimize your strategy to attract more customers.
$7,440

The {my_company} Advantage

Instructions: Use this section to talk about the special value you can add to the client’s business that no other PPC agency can. In the first paragraph, describe what the client will save or get (profitable ad campaigns, hands-off leads and customers, and more time to focus on other parts of their business are all good options) if they hire you. Break down your company’s most compelling assets into bullet points and emphasize why those assets are important for the client’s business.

{client_name} needs the profitability a well-executed paid traffic strategy provides without the hassle of worrying about the details. That’s why you want a company like {my_company} to help develop a strategy to fit {client_name}’s budget and maximize its results. Our expertise, resources, and deep commitment to our craft make us the ideal choice to meet {client_name}’s advertising needs. We’ll bring the following strengths to our work for {client_name}:

  • {my_company} stays on top of all the latest PPC trends – Technology changes at a rapid pace in the paid traffic world. That’s why we devote a substantial amount of time and money staying on top of the latest trends. We leverage cutting-edge tactics to get you more leads and customers and phase out the ones that aren’t as effective anymore.
  • {my_company} hires copywriters and data specialists – Our team understands the importance of using data to make paid traffic strategy profitable, but we also recognize the importance of tapping into human psychology. Our copywriters work alongside our data specialists in a balanced approach that treats visitors like people, making the ads and landing pages we create for you incredibly profitable.
  • {my_company} is dedicated to refining and optimizing your PPC strategy – We won’t just launch a few paid traffic campaigns for you and move on to a new client. Our services include ongoing campaign optimization and reporting because we understand how important it is to make the most of your limited advertising budget.

Project Timeline

Instructions: Use this chart to break down your PPC services into chronological phases. Describe what each phase entails in the “activities” section and give an estimated completion date for each phase. You might not need to use this section for short, one-off jobs, but most PPC projects run for long enough time to make this section useful.

Should {client_name} choose {my_company} to execute this solution as proposed, our timeline for this project is as follows:

Phase Activities Completion
PPC Campaign Strategy Development Assessment of {client_name}’s current paid traffic efforts and campaign performance; creation of a budget-conscious strategy designed to bring in more customers and qualified leads. 4/30/XX
PPC
Strategy Launch
Comprehensive keyword research and bid management, creation of landing pages, and launch of {client_name}’s paid traffic strategy to get more high-quality leads and ensure a healthy ROI. 05/21/XX
PPC Optimization, Reporting, and Tracking Tracking performance of {client_name}’s paid traffic strategy; biweekly reports from {my_company} delivered to {client_name}’s team to share the findings; ongoing adjustments by {my_company} to maximize ROI. N/A

Next Steps

Instructions: This is your “call to action” section. Make a limited offer that expires on a certain date, which motivates the client to act. Use bullet points to specify exactly what the client has to do to accept your offer. Finally, tell the client what will happen immediately after they accept the offer to set expectations.

To take advantage of this proposal and proceed with the project as outlined, {client_name}’s next steps must be to:

  • Accept the proposal as-is
  • Discuss desired changes with {my_company}
  • Finalize and sign the contract
  • Submit an initial payment of 50 percent of total project fee

Next Steps

Once completed, {my_company} will contact {client_name} to schedule a project launch meeting to make introductions and gather information before beginning the work.

We’re happy to make changes to project scope on {client_name}’s request at any time, but may be subject to additional billing.

Terms and Conditions

Instructions: This section protects you from potential legal liability. Use it to talk about who owns your work product, whether you’ll be able to use portions of it on your website as examples, and how legal proceedings will go down if something goes wrong. Have an attorney look it over to give you guidance on how to apply it to your specific business.

Once project fee is paid in full to {my_company}, any elements of text, graphics, photos, contents, trademarks, or other artwork furnished to {client_name} for inclusion in website are owned by {client_name}.

{my_company} assumes {client_name} has permission from the rightful owner to use any code, scripts, data, and reports are provided by {client_name} for inclusion in its materials, and will hold harmless, protect, and defend {my_company} from any claim or suit arising from the use of such work.

{my_company} retains the right to display graphics and other web content elements as examples of their work in their portfolio and as content features in other projects.

This agreement becomes effective only when signed by agents of {client_name} and {my_company}. Regardless of the place of signing of this agreement, {client_name} agrees that for purposes of venue, this contract was entered into in [STATE] and any dispute will be litigated or arbitrated in [STATE].

The agreement contained in this contract constitutes the sole agreement between {client_name} and the {my_company} regarding all items included in this agreement.