PPC and CRO Agency Pricing Options: How to Choose a Model That Drives Revenue

Understanding PPC and CRO agency pricing options

When evaluating PPC and CRO agency pricing options, founders and marketing leaders should prioritise revenue impact over flat fee totals. Pricing models influence incentives, reporting clarity, and whether an agency optimises for profitable growth or vanity metrics. This guide explains common pricing structures, real-world tradeoffs, and how to match a model to your growth stage and margin profile.

Common pricing models

• Monthly retainer: fixed fee for ongoing strategy, execution, and reporting.
• Percentage of ad spend: fee tied to media budgets (common for PPC management).
• Performance-based: agency fee varies with agreed KPIs (revenue, CPA, ROAS).
• Project or sprint pricing: fixed price for one-time audits, migrations, or builds.
• Hybrid models: retainer plus performance bonus or a lower percentage of spend with a CRO milestone fee.

What each model means for incentives and attribution

Retainers align with long-term optimisation and experimentation. Percentage models scale with spend but can bias agencies toward higher budgets rather than efficiency. Performance-based fees can align incentives to revenue or CAC goals but require clear, clean attribution - including server-side tracking and consistent GA4 measurement - to avoid disputes. Hybrid contracts often balance stability and outcome orientation.

For examples of how a technical-first approach supports clean attribution, see our overview of core services on the Services page.

Pricing tiers - sample ranges (US-focused, illustrative)

These ranges are illustrative for US companies and depend on deliverables: ad creative, landing page builds, server-side tracking, experimentation cadence, and dedicated data engineering all increase scope. For a quicker orientation on how we structure retainers and technical work, read about Prebo Digital on the homepage.

How pricing maps to the Strategy → Build → Test → Scale → Report cycle

• Strategy: discovery, baseline metrics, and target CAC/MER (usually included in retainers or initial project fees).
• Build: tagging, server-side tracking, and landing page templates (often one-time or included in higher retainers).
• Test: multivariate and A/B tests on CRO hypotheses (monthly experimentation budget recommended).
• Scale: channel expansion and bid strategies once profitable signals are proven.
• Report: clean attribution reports, GA4 alignment, and MER-focused dashboards.

For a practical explanation of our agency approach and team experience, see the About page.

Choosing the right pricing option for your business

Select a pricing model that aligns incentives with profitability. If your priority is reducing CAC and improving LTV, prefer a hybrid or retainer structure that funds reliable experimentation and includes CRO deliverables. For raw scaling where budgets and reporting are already mature, a percentage of ad spend model can work - but insist on attribution guarantees and server-side tracking to protect ROI visibility.

Contract elements to negotiate

• Clear KPIs (MER, CAC, AOV) and how they are measured with GA4 and server-side events.
• Data ownership and access to raw dashboards and GTM containers.
• Experimentation cadence (minimum number of tests per quarter).
• Deliverables list (creative, landing pages, tracking implementation).
• Performance bonus terms and dispute-resolution for attribution disagreements.

A transparent scope and reporting cadence reduce scope creep and align teams. If you want a practical walk-through of a typical engagement and inclusions, our services overview provides a breakdown of core offerings.

Example scenario - US Shopify store

A US-based Shopify brand doing $120,000/month revenue with $40,000 media spend might choose a mid-market retainer of $8,000/month plus a 5% performance bonus on incremental revenue above target. Estimated benefits from a combined PPC and CRO engagement could include a 10-25% increase in conversion rate over 6-9 months depending on testing velocity and average order value. These figures are estimates and will vary by product margins and audience quality.

Practical checklist for evaluating agency proposals

• Do they show attribution methodology and GA4 / server-side setup examples?
• Is there a clear experimentation roadmap tied to revenue metrics?
• Are deliverables and reporting frequency explicitly listed?
• How do they handle media spend thresholds and overages?
• Can they integrate with your Shopify or WooCommerce stack and analytics?

Final considerations

Pricing should reflect the technical depth required to deliver clean attribution and profitable scaling. Ask prospective partners about their approach to server-side tracking, GA4 alignment, and long-term experimentation. For questions about engagement structure and how we price combined PPC and CRO retainers, visit our contact page to request details specific to your business.

Sources

• Google Analytics 4 measurement principles
• Google Tag Manager server-side tagging guide
• Shopify partner integration notes and best practices