We have quite a few PPC (Google Paid Search) and SMM (Social Media Marketing) clients. But with the exception of just a few of them, budget is ALWAYS an issue. Simply put, to be successful in digital marketing, you need to get good at doing more with less. So how do we do it?
Part of the reason you hire a digital marketing agency like DanMatt Media is because you’re too busy running all the other aspects of your business to focus on your marketing. But the biggest reason you hire someone like us is our expertise. Anyone can run a paid search campaign on Google, or a paid ads campaign on Facebook and Instagram. These companies have a vested interest in making their marketing services available to everyone. But that doesn’t mean that everyone SHOULD run their own marketing.
When I speak with a prospective client, I always quote them an entry level figure that we feel we must have to give the campaign a realistic chance to succeed (as well a high end figure, to give them a range of options to choose from). Yes a PPC or SMM campaign can be run at any budget, but we have no interest in taking people’s money if we can’t deliver results for them. Google Ads is an auction, and no matter good your ad copy or your bid strategy are, if your competition has 10X your budget, you’re going to struggle. But if we have the minimum budget we feel we need to succeed, we can almost always get new clients enough of an ROI to where they are pleased and looking to expand.
Without giving away the keys to the kingdom, I can tell you that our ability to stretch budgets is directly related to two things. The first is to do the research and get a very good idea of what keywords to prioritize, and what times of day to run the ads. With a limited budget a client will have to make some sacrifices, such as forgoing certain expensive keyword phrases and # 1 rankings. But that doesn’t mean they can’t occupy the top 2 spots for at least SOME of the time each day. Indeed, they need to, because that’s what drives the phone calls and leads. The trick is balancing it all, and that takes experience and research.
The second way we stretch limited budgets is by writing better ad copy than the competition. The more attractive we can make a client’s ads and ad extensions, the more likely a searcher is to click through those ads to the website. That raises quality score and CTR (Click Through Rate), and drives more calls and leads, which in turn increases ROI. A better ROI equals a happier client.
Most businesses have a need to advertise and market their products and services. At the same time, almost all of them will have budget constraints. It’s the job of the marketing agency to be honest with their clients about what budget is required for success and what results the client can expect for that investment. And then of course, the hard work begins. Can you take that limited, entry-level budget and stretch it to get the best results possible?
Here at DanMatt Media, we’ve got that dialed in.