Your marketing dollars should be deployed strategically, in a way that can be tracked against relevant key performance indicators, that eventually can be calculated into a numerical ROI.
There’s a general idea that all marketing is a line item expense. Because of that mindset, the consensus has always been that spending has to be tied to a numerical number. I hear all the time that trades businesses should re-invest 10-15% of revenue back into marketing. To a degree there is some truth to that.
But part of our job at Armada Digital is to have a fiduciary responsibility in regards to our clients’ marketing budgets. With that in mind, that means we have to consider:
How do we create the greatest ROI for our clients by minimizing spend yet maximizing output?
For most trades businesses or professional services, there isn’t the free cash flow nor is there the desire to “spend their way to the top.” A PE backed roofing company might be willing to spend $1m on PPC ads in one year just to buy market position.
But for most roofing companies, that’s just not realistic. The real key is to always be thinking about how to strategically deploy spend.
Here are three examples:
1. Optimize Your Google Business Page
There are a couple main reasons to start here. Primarily, it’s free. It just requires claiming your page and verification. Optimizing your page will also be extremely important if you’re running local service ads, as that’s where Google draws a good deal of their keyword matching information/data from.
Finally, Google business pages are extremely important for mobile. With over 70% of your traffic likely coming from mobile now, your Google Business page will be one of the first things a potential customer sees when searching for your business online. This is free traffic. Take it.
2. Make Sure The Left Brain And Right Brain Are Working Together. Balance Your PPC Spend Against Your Organic Traffic.
There are two primary ways to acquire traffic on Google. Organic (free) and paid (ads). Google ads are one of the most effective ways to drive leads online. However, they can also be expensive and a source of huge marketing budget bloat for businesses.
One of the most common mistakes I see when clients “DIY their PPC” is bidding on terms you already have a strong presence organically. You’re essentially deploying marketing dollars towards potential customers you might get for free.
This isn’t just a hunch. By Google’s own estimate, organic search clicks are roughly 70% as commercially valuable as paid clicks, which means the traffic you’re already earning for free is worth protecting, not competing against with your own ad spend.
Use your PPC strategy to expand your reach. Not double down on the same traffic.
Suggested reading: our guide to balancing your marketing channels
3. Do Not “Set And Forget” Your PPC Budget
PPC management has become very akin to being a stock trader. The values and demand of terms change. A term that might cost $3 per click when you create the campaign could cost $8 a click 8 weeks later.
That’s a $5 spread you didn’t budget for.
LSA’s and PPC are meant to be somewhat more dynamic now, however, that doesn’t mean your approach to your budget should follow. Broad matching and other new features can be a boom for calls and leads, but are they the right leads? Are you now paying for bad leads but just boosting your output numbers?
Margins matter when considering PPC costs. Profitability matters.
The future of marketing is a more hands on approach than we may realize. Managing spend is now one of the primary responsibilities of our team at Armada. Not just deploying marketing dollars from a budget.
If you’re a trades business or professional service trying to make every dollar count for your marketing campaigns, reach out to us today.
