bing code

November 20, 2020

Atilus Video Q&A: Marketing Budgets & Common Roadblocks

Author: Valerie Baker

Struggling to understand why your PPC campaigns aren’t performing? What about how to set your digital marketing budget? Listen to this video from Kristen and Gaby from Atilus, a Florida digital marketing company.

We’ll cover:

  • Top reasons your marketing campaigns fail
  • How to set your marketing budget
  • How to make changes to help performance

Watch Our Marketing Budgets & Common Roadblocks Video Q&A

Full Video Transcript

Kristen:

All right. Welcome back everyone to our Atilus Q&A video series. So this month we’re going to focus a little bit on marketing budgets and common roadblocks. So, I’ve been in this space since 2012 and I know that Gabby’s been with us for a little while now too so as the two “digital marketing professionals” on the team wanted to take a couple of minutes to just talk through some digital marketing, what we recommend and just some common issues that we run into that hopefully we can help you avoid.

Kristen:

So the first one, and I would say the first question I’m going to ask this is posing it to Gabby and myself, talking to myself, is if we were to recommend one form of digital marketing out of all of them, out of Facebook Ads, out of LinkedIn, out of Google, out of all of these ad avenues out there, which one would we recommend. And I think I can speak on behalf of Gabby and Atilus as a whole that the first one we always recommend is Google Ads and very specifically the Search Network and here’s why. And Gabby chime in whenever you have something additional to say.

Kristen:

With Google Ads everybody knows there’s the different ad networks, there’s the Search Network, the Display Network, there’s YouTube, there’s Shopping Ads. But what we found in our experience is that the search Ads tend to perform better and when I say perform better, more conversions, higher click through rates. And in general, it just connects a business directly with somebody who is searching for their product or service. So all things equal if I think we were to pick one thing to recommend to a client honestly, this depends on your industry, it would probably be Google Ads and the search network.

Gaby

Well, if you think about it everyone is on Google. I mean, how many times do we search something on Google or whenever we are interested in looking for a product or a service we usually just go on Google. So everyone is on Google regardless. So it’s definitely one of the best ways to get to your customers and you’re targeting by keywords and you’re targeting by intent. So it’s easier to get to that person that is actually interested in what you’re offering.

Kristen:

Exactly. And I think in terms of the cost per acquisition or cost per conversion we often found that it’s the lowest. So if you think about a TV ad that you might run for let’s say $5,000 a week for a quarter or whatever you have planned in your marketing budget you don’t really have a way to gauge if people are coming from there unless you have a specific phone number or a landing page. But with Google Ads too with the Search Network you can drill down to the exact keyword how somebody converted, where they convert on your website, I think even the time of day, there’s just all kinds of reporting along with the Google Ads search network. So, I think that just supplements why. If we were to recommend one out of everything it would be Google Ads search with pay-per-click.

Gaby:

Especially for the targeting. The targeting is very, you can narrow it down and really, really target the people that you’re interested in.

Kristen:

Yeah, exactly. And then to segue into the next topic we wanted to go over was we run a pay-per-click campaign. There are all kinds of things that we want to turn the campaign on, ads are showing, clicks are happening, people are converting that’s the ideal scenario. But we have run into instances before with some of our previous clients and even for ourselves where we found that maybe a pay-per-click campaign might not have been performing the way that it could. So I wanted to talk a little bit about what those roadblocks might be.

Kristen:

So when we look at a pay-per-click or search campaign there are a few different variables. Obviously there’s the key word, which is number one. There’s the ad copy so the ad itself that gets shown on the search engine results page. And then there’s the landing page. There are extensions and all kinds of things. So, if you’re running into an instance where your pay-per-click campaigns might not be performing, the first thing that we always look at is the landing page. That’s usually culprit number one so if a campaign is getting really high click through rate but no conversions that’s usually where the landing page comes in which means that it might not be relevant enough. Or I know Gabby you’ve worked on several campaigns where we’ve had to make a lot of tweaks to a landing page, right?

Gaby:

Yes. Just use the same terms, the same keywords that you’re trying to target on Google on the landing page. Because if someone is looking, for example you’re running a campaign or a specific survey for a massage or something like that and people click on your ad and they land on a page where you’re not talking about massages, you’re talking about waxing or you’re talking about other services people are just going to think, “I probably clicked on the wrong thing,” and that’s why they go away. So, if you’re talking about massage and you’re doing a campaign targeting for that service then you have to work your way around it or have the wording on your landing page talking about that service. Honestly, the more specific you get on your landing page the better because people are looking for a specific thing when they click on your ad. So just give them information on whatever that thing that they’re looking for.

Kristen:

Yeah, definitely. And we always find that it depends on your goal so if you’re a company that sells products online where you’re going to want that person to land is on a page where depending on the keyword they searched for that page is filled with products that they searched for. They can add it to their cart. They can quick buy or quick purchase. And then if it’s something where you’re trying to generate leads maybe it’s the landing page has information about that service related to that keyword and maybe there’s some sort of downloadable piece of content you can offer if they submit their information to you. There’s a lot of different ways to approach it. And so typically as I mentioned, if there’s a high click through rate on your ads but a low conversion rate definitely take a look at your landing page first and make sure that there are no tweaks that you need to make there.

Kristen:

A couple of other roadblocks that I’ve encountered which ties right into the next topic is the budget. So the wonderful thing about Google Ads and the Search Network is that your budget is very flexible. If you want to spend $50 a month you can do that. If you want to spend that $5,000 a month you can do that. But you really need to consider are you going to have a budget that is impactful enough? Are you going to be able to compete in the same space as your local competition? So, a really good example of this is the web design industry. So obviously Atilus we’re a web design and digital marketing company and what we’ve found is that the keywords that we would run for ourselves are very expensive. So on a cost-per-click basis we’re looking at maybe $15 to $20 a click which is pretty significant compared to some other industries where a click would be 50 cents or something like that.

Kristen:

So when you consider the industry that you’re in for us for example $100 a month budget isn’t going to make any sense because it’s a very expensive competitive space. So when you’re defining your marketing budget you really need to make sure from a pay-per-click side that you’re able to compete where everybody else is. I won’t get into all the details about how the Google Ads auction system works but the amount that you’re willing to pay-per-click is definitely a factor. And if I were to give a blanket starter budget I would say that the minimum that you’d want to invest if you’re running a Google Ads search campaign I would definitely say at least $500 a month. That will go up and down maybe depending on where you are, what you have available to you. But I would say to make any significant impact $500 a month is a minimum wouldn’t you say Gabby too?

Gaby:

Yes, I do agree with you $500 would be a good starting point because the cost-per-click can go up depending too on the competitors that you have around you and obviously based on your industry but that’s definitely a very good starting point.

Kristen:

All right. Well, that was our quick five minute video about marketing budgets and common roadblocks. So, we always have resources on our blog. You can check us out at atilus.com/blog. And then if you have any comments or questions just leave a comment below and we’ll get back to you. So thanks for watching and we’ll see you next month.

Valerie Baker

Valerie is the Support Lead here at Atilus. Her background includes digital marketing and web development. She takes amazing care of our clients and assists with overall website updates and development.

Similar Posts

Blog image Digital Marketing for Home Services Businesses
Digital marketing isn't just a buzzword; it's the lifeline that connects your home services business to customers in the digital age. In a world where consumers turn to the internet...
Read More Digital Marketing for Home Services Businesses
Blog image How to Choose the Right CRM for Your Business
In the dynamic world of business, staying connected with your customers is paramount. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software has emerged as a vital tool, helping businesses build lasting relationships and...
Read More How to Choose the Right CRM for Your Business
Blog image The Power of Positioning: How Knowing Your Brand Can Help You sell more
In today's highly competitive market, it's crucial to know your brand's positioning. Positioning is the way you want customers to perceive your brand, and it plays a crucial role in...
Read More The Power of Positioning: How Knowing Your Brand Can Help You sell more