Foundations
Part of What England buyers should check before choosing a paid search agency
Build a demand case for PPC agency services using eight public data signals
Eight demand signals for PPC agency services in England, from IAB UK adspend data to Companies House filings, plus a worked example to size prospects.
What to take away
- Eight public sources can carry a demand case for PPC services: IAB UK's digital adspend report, ONS business counts, ONS retail statistics, Companies House filings, the Meta Ad Library, paid-search job adverts, UK procurement notices and Google Trends.
- Lead with a market figure, then prove intent company by company. IAB UK sets the size of the prize and Companies House supplies the names.
- Four screens turn a regional business count into a call list you can defend in a pitch.
- LinkedIn advertising data and ASA rulings qualify a prospect rather than measuring demand.
- Refresh cycles differmarket data annually, company filings quarterly, job adverts and tenders monthly.
The eight signals and where each one lives
The eight signals
| Signal | Source and dataset | What it supports | Refresh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market ad spend | IAB UK and PwC digital adspend report | Direction of UK search budgets | Annual |
| Business population | Government business population estimates; ONS business counts | How many firms trade in a region and sector | Annual |
| Online retail share | ONS retail industry statistics | Whether a sector sells online | Monthly |
| Trading health | Companies House accounts and confirmation statements | Turnover direction and director changes | Continuous |
| Live advertising | Meta Ad Library; Google ad transparency data | A prospect is paying for paid media now | Continuous |
| Hiring intent | Paid-search job adverts on job boards | Budget moving into PPC | Monthly |
| Confirmed budgets | Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, council portals | A funded contract exists | Weekly |
| Regional interest | Google Trends | Whether buyer searches are rising | Weekly |
Market size comes first. IAB UK and PwC publish the digital adspend report, covering UK advertising expenditure including search. Its most recent full-year edition put UK digital ad spend above £35bn, with paid search the largest single format.
[figure 1]
UK digital adspend
IAB UK annual report
Covers paid search spend
Shows budgets up or down
Market figure for pitches
The supply side is separate. The government's business population estimates count around 5.5 million UK private sector businesses, and only about 1.4 million of them employ anyone.
ONS business counts let you filter that population by region and industry, turning a national total into an England-only target set. Our PPC agencies: England market guide for 2027 explains how those regional counts change the pitch.
Ecommerce context and company evidence
Retail prospects need a different frame. ONS retail industry statistics track the online share of retail sales, so you can show a shop how much of its sector trades through a website before you discuss search spend.
Companies House carries the company-level evidence. Accounts show turnover direction; confirmation statements show director changes. The Companies Act 2006 sets out what directors must file, so you know which documents exist for a target and how current they are.
How to size a prospect list in four steps
Size a prospect list
- Set geography and sector. Filter ONS business counts to England and to two or three SIC codes where paid search converts.
- Screen for trading health. Keep Companies House records showing rising turnover or a marketing hire in the last 12 months.
- Confirm live advertising. Check each shortlisted name in the Meta Ad Library and in Google's ad transparency data.
- Score intent. Add weight for a live PPC job advert, a tender notice or a rising Google Trends term in the region.
Keep the count at every stage. "412 firms to 38 advertisers to 9 calls" is more defensible than a rounded headline total. Our commercial opportunities for PPC agencies maps where those clusters sit by sector.
Example: a West Midlands ecommerce list
Estimates for this example only: 2,000 ecommerce firms in the region, 10 per cent with turnover above £1m, a fifth of those already buying ads, a 20 per cent reply rate and a £1,500 monthly retainer.
Filtering the 2,000 firms on Companies House turnover leaves about 200. An advertising check suggests 40 already buy paid media. Eight reply to a first approach and two sign, which is £36,000 of illustrative annual recurring revenue.
Treat the win rate and the retainer as planning numbers, not forecasts. Before pitching a retailer, the Google Ads agency for ecommerce checklist covers the tracking and feed questions buyers raise.
Checks that qualify a prospect, not a market
LinkedIn's ad best-practice guidance and the ASA's Copy Advice service do not measure demand. Use them as filters instead. The first shows whether a prospect already buys paid media; the second flags sectors where compliance risk makes an audit offer land.
Common questions
Which signal should I start with?
IAB UK for market size, then Companies House for names. Any other starting point gives you volume without evidence.
Do these sources cover England only or the whole UK?
IAB UK, Companies House and the procurement portals cover the UK. Filter ONS business counts to England when the pitch is England-only.
How often should I refresh the data?
Market sources annually, Companies House quarterly for screening, and job adverts and tender notices monthly.
Can these signals guarantee a client result?
No. They support a demand case, not a performance forecast, so quote the retainer as a test-period estimate.
