Yes, you can run PPC ads yourself, but you should hire an agency when your budget, competition, or tracking needs are high enough that mistakes get expensive.
If you’re a hands-on owner or marketer in Orlando, DIY can work well when you have a simple offer, a small monthly budget, and time to learn the platform. The catch is that paid search is not “set it and forget it.” You’re bidding in an auction, competing with businesses that test constantly, and your results will only be as good as your conversion tracking, landing page, and follow-up process. If you’re not measuring calls, forms, and booked jobs correctly, you can spend money and still feel like nothing is working.
DIY vs. agency: what changes in the real world
| Option | Best for | What you handle | Typical tradeoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run ads yourself | Small budgets, one location, one or two services, you can spend 2 to 5 hours per week learning and checking results | Account setup, keywords, ads, budgets, search terms, tracking, landing page edits, weekly maintenance | Slower learning curve, higher chance of wasted spend, results swing more when competition changes |
| Hire an agency | Competitive categories (dentists, attorneys, home services), multiple services, multiple locations, you need consistent lead flow | You approve goals, offers, and budget, the agency builds and maintains everything, including reporting and testing | You pay a management fee, results depend on the agency’s process and communication |
| Hybrid | You want control, but need expert setup and guardrails | Agency builds the account and tracking, you handle light ongoing edits, or the agency runs monthly check-ins | Works well if roles are clear, breaks when nobody owns the weekly work |
One non-negotiable either way is conversion tracking. Google Ads works best when you track real actions like calls, form submissions, chats, and booked appointments, not just clicks. Google’s own guidance also points businesses to the Google tag for more accurate conversion tracking, and Google Ads certifications are available through Skillshop if you want a structured learning path.
When DIY makes sense
DIY is a good fit if you can answer “yes” to most of these:
- You can clearly define one primary service and one primary service area (for example, “emergency plumber in Orlando”).
- You can build a dedicated landing page with a strong headline, proof, and one clear call-to-action.
- You can set up call tracking and form tracking so you know which keywords and ads produce leads.
- You can review search terms weekly and add negatives to block irrelevant clicks.
- You can pause or adjust spend quickly if lead quality drops.
If you go DIY, keep the structure simple: one campaign per service category, tightly grouped keywords, and ads that match the exact intent. If you want a quick refresher on how intent shapes keyword choices, our FAQ on search intent and the main types ties directly into building cleaner paid search traffic.
When hiring an agency is the smarter move
Hire an agency if any of these are true:
- Your clicks are pricey (common in legal, dental, and many medical services), so small targeting errors cost a lot.
- You need advanced tracking (calls, offline conversions, CRM imports, booked appointments, or multi-step forms).
- You want to run multiple campaign types (Search, Performance Max, Local, remarketing) without overlap or mixed signals.
- You’ve tried ads before and got low-quality leads, wrong service-area calls, or spam.
- You do not have time for weekly maintenance and testing.
In Florida, we also watch compliance details closely for regulated categories, especially healthcare and legal. Your ads and landing pages should be truthful and consistent, and you should not use fake reviews or misleading testimonials. The FTC now has a specific rule addressing deceptive reviews and testimonials, and that matters because paid traffic amplifies whatever claims you put on the page.
What should you expect from a good partner? Clear tracking from day one, a focused account structure, regular search-term cleanup, landing page feedback, and reporting that ties spend to calls, forms, and booked jobs. If you’d like us to run the heavy lifting, our PPC management work is built around lead quality first, not just impressions and clicks.
A simple rule of thumb
If you’re spending under a few thousand dollars per month and your offer is straightforward, DIY can be a smart starting point. If you’re spending enough that one bad month hurts, or you’re in a high-competition niche, hiring an agency usually costs less than the waste it prevents. Either way, your landing page matters as much as your ad account, so if your site is slow or confusing, fixing that often lifts results fast, and that’s where our web design team helps paid traffic turn into real appointments.
