Tools and providers
Part of A buyer's guide to PPC agency tools and providers
When to run a PPC agencies supplier comparison
A practical guide to running a PPC agencies supplier comparison, covering what changed in UK procurement, ISBA and IAB UK expectations and fair scoring.
What to take away
- Run a formal supplier comparison when spend, scope or reporting needs change, not on a fixed calendar date.
- Recent UK attention to supply chain transparency means asking what sits behind the media you buy, not just the headline management fee.
- ISBA guidance treats the client-agency relationship as something you govern, so comparison should test working style as well as price.
- A scored comparison beats a spreadsheet of quotes because it forces you to weight what you will live with for the contract term.
- Before you shortlist, check the basics in PPC agencies vendor due diligence in England so you compare eligible suppliers, not just cheap ones.
Why comparison timing changed
Procurement cycles used to follow the financial year. Now the trigger is more often a change in platform rules, tracking, or how much budget sits in automated bidding. If your agency cannot explain where your data flows, that is a reason to compare.
The IAB UK Gold Standard letter sets out supply chain transparency commitments that advertisers increasingly ask about during paid media procurement. It is not a ranking of agencies, but it gives you shared vocabulary for questions about where spend ends up.
Comparison also matters when your team changes. A new marketing lead often wants evidence that the incumbent still fits, and a structured process is a fairer test than a hunch.
Other triggers are quieter. An account drifting towards one platform, or a reporting pack nobody reads, points to a mismatch worth testing. Comparing suppliers is also the fairest way to judge whether in-house delivery would suit you.
What a comparison should actually test
Price is the easiest column to fill and the least useful on its own. Ask each supplier to describe how they structure paid search management, who does the daily work, and what you own if you leave.
ISBA's agency management guidance frames the client-agency relationship as ongoing governance rather than a one-off purchase, which is the right lens here.
If paid search sits alongside B2B paid social, ask how the supplier links the two. A company page is often the landing point for B2B campaigns, so ask who maintains it. LinkedIn's guidance on creating a company page covers what a supplier should know.
Before and after: what changes when you compare properly
Before a structured comparison
- Brief
- Vague request for a proposal
- Questions
- Mostly about fees
- Scoring
- Gut feel and one strong pitch
- Contract
- Signed after a verbal agreement
- Handover
- Assumed to be simple
After a structured comparison
- Brief
- Written scope with spend, targets and exclusions
- Questions
- Fees, data ownership, team structure, transparency
- Scoring
- Weighted scores agreed before meetings
- Contract
- Terms reviewed against what was promised
- Handover
- Documented plan for accounts, data and access
How to score providers fairly
Agree your weightings before you see any proposal. If transparency matters more than fee, say so in the scoring sheet, not after the pitch.
Fair scoring checklist
- Agree weightings before proposals
- Score evidence, not presentation
- Keep shortlist to three or four
- Record reasoning while fresh
Score evidence, not presentation. Ask for accounts with similar spend and constraints, and what went wrong on a previous contract.
Keep the shortlist small. Three or four suppliers is enough to test the market without turning the process into a full-time job.
Record the reasoning behind each score while it is fresh. If two suppliers finish close together, that written trail is what lets you explain the outcome to finance or a board months later.
The wider PPC agencies: tools and supplier guide for 2027 sets out the categories of tooling and supplier you will meet, which helps you ask comparable questions across different providers.
Questions to ask every supplier
Who will run the account day to day, and what is their caseload? Ask for names and roles, not a team slide.
What do you need from US to hit the numbers in the brief? A supplier that asks nothing is either guessing or planning to blame you later.
What happens to our accounts, data and historical reporting if we leave? The answer should be short and boring, not evasive.
How do you report spend that leaves the platform, such as fees and third-party costs? This is where the IAB UK letter becomes practical.
Ask what they would change in the first month, and what they would leave alone. A supplier that wants to rebuild everything on day one is usually selling activity rather than progress.
Common questions
How many suppliers should we compare?
Three or four is usually enough. Fewer gives you no real choice, and more turns the process into a project without improving the decision.
Should price decide the outcome?
No, but it should be visible in the same format for everyone. Ask for a fixed management fee, any percentage of spend, and costs that sit outside both.
Can we compare without pausing current campaigns?
Yes. A well-run comparison runs alongside live delivery, and you should tell the incumbent once the shortlist is set.
