White label PPC services for agencies: pricing, benefits, and risks

TL;DR:

• White label PPC lets you resell expert PPC under your brand.
  
• Use it to scale fast, fill skill gaps, and cover peaks.
  
• Price work by flat fee, percent of spend, or hybrid.
  
• Lock quality with SLAs, playbooks, and clean ownership.
  
• Start with a pilot, then standardize and scale.

White label PPC is when a third party plans and runs paid ads for your clients while you keep the client relationship and brand. You handle sales, strategy, and reporting style. The fulfillment partner does the day-to-day work inside agreed rules.

This model helps agencies add or expand PPC without hiring full time. It works for Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, and paid social. Some partners also cover analytics, conversion tracking, and landing pages.

Who should use it

White label PPC fits agencies that:

• Sell SEO, web dev, or social, and want to add PPC fast.
  
• Have overflow work during peak seasons.
  
• Need niche skills like Performance Max, Shopping, or B2B lead gen.
  
• Want to offer 24×5 coverage without shift hiring.
  

If PPC is already a core profit center and you have steady volume, in-house may win. Compare total cost, speed, and quality before you decide.

Benefits for digital agencies

Faster time to market. You can launch PPC in days, not months. You skip hiring and onboarding.

Flexible cost base. You pay per account or scope, so costs scale with revenue. Industry surveys show common pricing models include flat monthly fees, 10 to 20 percent of ad spend, or a hybrid of both.

Access to certified talent. Many partners staff certified specialists. Google’s Partner program checks three areas, performance, spend, and certifications, and requires at least half of account strategists to be certified in relevant product areas.

Breadth of platform knowledge. A seasoned partner has playbooks for many verticals. That reduces trial and error and shortens ramp time.

Risks and how to reduce them

Loss of control. You are not in the keyboard every day. Fix this with clear workflows, account access, and change logs.

Quality variance. Not all vendors are equal. Reduce risk with trials, audits, and references.

Dependency. If a partner fails, your delivery fails. Keep backups, playbooks, and in-house basics so you can bridge for a month.

Margin squeeze. Poor pricing can erase margin. Pick a model that matches client budgets and complexity. Flat fees give predictability. Percent of spend scales with budgets. Hybrids mix both.

Pricing models that work

Most agencies use one of three models.

1. Flat monthly fee. Simple to sell. Good for low or stable spend. Tie the fee to a scope, for example, campaigns managed, platforms, and monthly tasks. Benchmarks show flat fees often start in the low hundreds for small budgets, then rise with complexity.
   
2. Percent of ad spend. Common ranges are 10 to 20 percent. Add a floor to protect margin on low-spend accounts. Add a cap for very large budgets if needed.
   
3. Hybrid. A base fee plus a smaller percent. This covers fixed work like reporting and QA, while aligning upside with spend. Many teams favor this because it balances effort and incentive.
   

Whichever model you pick, publish it inside your partner playbook and SOWs. Include minimum terms, onboarding fees, and out-of-scope items like analytics fixes or landing pages.

What to ask before you sign

Capability. Do they run Search, PMax, Shopping, and remarketing. Can they handle lead gen and ecommerce. Ask for anonymized case studies by vertical.

Certifications and status. Confirm Google Ads certifications on the team and, if relevant, Google Partner or Premier Partner status. These programs require ongoing performance and training.

Process. How they do audits, build structures, set bids, and test ads. Ask for a sample 90-day plan.

Tracking and data. Who installs conversion tags and server-side tracking. Who owns the GA4 property. Make sure you keep admin access.

Communication. Who attends client calls. You usually want partner to be invisible. Some vendors can join as “your PPC lead,” but most agencies keep them backstage.

Security. NDA, data handling, and IP ownership. Access via your MCC with least privilege.

Continuity. What happens if a manager leaves. Ask for documented SOPs and shared playbooks.

Must-have SLAs and guardrails

Treat your white label partner as a production team. Put these in writing.

• Kickoff timeline. Example, discovery within 3 business days, plan by day 7, launch within 14 days after approvals.
  
• Response times. Slack and email within 1 business day, emergencies within 4 hours.
  
• Pacing checks. Daily budget and performance checks for active spend.
  
• Optimization cadence. Weekly bid and query work. Biweekly ad tests. Monthly experiments.
  
• Reporting. Branded monthly report by the 3rd business day.
  
• Change control. No structural changes over certain thresholds without written approval.
  
• QA checklist. Pre-launch and change QA with named approver.
  

Well-defined SLAs prevent scope drift and set clear expectations for both sides. Guidance from outsourcing leaders also stresses setting realistic expectations and defining boundaries early.

How to onboard a white label PPC partner

1) Run a paid pilot. Pick one friendly client and a clear, small scope. For example, one market, one platform, one conversion event. Run it for 60 to 90 days.

2) Standardize inputs. Use one brief template and one asset folder. Include brand rules, negative lists, geos, goals, and KPIs.

3) Decide your structure. Keep ad accounts in your MCC. Create a shared naming system for campaigns, ad groups, and assets.

4) Align on measurement. Lock conversion definitions, attribution windows, and thresholds. Define what counts as a sales qualified lead.

5) Build the reporting layer. Set a Looker Studio template with your branding. Feed it from Google Ads, GA4, and the client CRM.

6) Train on your voice. Share past reports, client FAQs, and the tone you expect in emails. Provide approved snippets for common client questions.

7) Schedule business reviews. Hold a 30-minute QBR to review goals, wins, and blocks. Log actions and owners.

What good delivery looks like

A strong white label PPC team will:

• Start with an audit and a 90-day plan.
  
• Rebuild tracking if needed, then confirm with test conversions.
  
• Propose a structure, for example, PMax for Shopping plus Search for branded and non-brand.
  
• Set budgets and targets by product or service line.
  
• Launch with a test matrix for assets and offers.
  
• Use shared negative lists and placements.
  
• Review queries and budgets weekly.
  
• Test landing pages and forms.
  
• Report with clear wins, losses, and next steps.
  

Common pitfalls to avoid

Selling before scoping. Always check tracking and site speed before you promise results.

Hiding the partner. Be transparent in your MSA that you can use sub-contractors. Clients care about outcomes and data access.

Letting fees drift. Tie your margins to the delivery hours you buy. Reprice when spend or scope changes.

Weak intake. Missing CRM access or broken forms will sink even the best ads.

No growth plan. Add quarterly tests to find new channels, offers, or geos.

Quick comparison: in-house vs white label

Factor	In-house	White label
Speed to launch	Slow, hire and train	Fast, days to weeks
Cost structure	Fixed salaries	Variable by scope
Control	Full control	Shared control
Coverage	Limited hours	Extended hours possible
Expertise breadth	Depends on your team	Multi-vertical, certified talent
Scalability	Harder during peaks	Easier, add capacity

Compliance and access

Keep client accounts in your or the client’s ownership. Invite the partner via your manager account. Use least-privilege roles, then review access quarterly. Require change notes and use scripts or alerts for large spend spikes.

If your sales material references Google credentials, confirm facts. Certification passing scores are 80 percent with time-limited exams, and Partner requirements are checked daily across performance, spend, and certifications.

A simple rollout plan

Week 1 to 2, pick the pilot client, sign the SOW, and run discovery.
Week 3, fix tracking, finalize plan, and start build.
Week 4, launch and begin weekly optimization.
Month 2, stabilize performance and test new ads and landing pages.
Month 3, run a QBR and decide on expansion.

Why it matters

White label PPC frees you to sell and manage client happiness. You add a profit line without adding headcount. With clear SLAs, tight measurement, and smart pricing, you can scale faster and keep quality high.

Quick checklist for agencies

• Pick and score three partners.
  
• Define your pricing model and floors.
  
• Write SLAs, SOW, and change control.
  
• Standardize briefs, naming, and reports.
  
• Keep account ownership and admin access.
  
• Pilot for 90 days.
  
• Review results, then scale.
  

Sources:

• Google Ads Help, How to become a Google Partner or Premier Partner, https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9702452, 2025-09-29
  
• WordStream, PPC Agency Pricing Models: Flat Fee vs Percent vs Hybrid, https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2015/07/15/ppc-agency-pricing, 2024-06-12
  

AgencyAnalytics, How Much To Charge for PPC Management in 2025, https://agencyanalytics.com/blog/ppc-pricing, 2025-07-17