I’m currently paying a marketing firm around $1200 per month to manage my SEO and Google Ads campaigns. I’m also spending around $30 per day on the Ads campaigns. The company created the landing pages, manages the ads, and makes adjustments based on leads generated.
This is really starting from to dig into my bottom line. I’m a 1 man operation, and max revenue I can generate is around 12k per month with an average around 7k. I’m spending close to 20% of expected revenue on marketing. To make things worse, last month I was seeing crazy jumps in clicks (3,000%) with no increase in leads.
I’m considering dropping the marketing firm and taking over the Ads myself, or even looking for an alternative company more reasonably priced. I don’t know that I need more on my plate, but I feel like saving that $1200 per month would be smarter.
Thoughts?
$30 a day spent on ad campaigns? That’s not a lot of spend.
I hired an agency to run my ads a couple of years back. Up until then I was running my own ads so I was capable of going into Google ads and seeing what was being done.
To be fair, they’d given some good advice on how to make my website better. But they didn’t perform with the ads. I asked them to get the conversion costs down. They couldn’t.
They spent most of their time playing around with text based ads when my products are jewellery and people need to see the images. Their ad copy wasn’t great. They didn’t use the tone or style of the business.
They’d have happily played around with the ad copy forever and carry on collecting their money. Not delivering any solid results.
My advice would be to shop around for someone else if they’re not delivering after a couple of months.
In regards to SEO. I can code and do SEO. A lot of people will scam you with SEO. Try to get a breakdown of what they’ve done each month. If they try to bamboozle you with technical terms, look them up. You might want to look up googles guide to SEO and become familiar with it.
Look at how much of your sales come directly from the marketing firm. Then if you’re not happy with the results, reach out with them and let them know. Give them a chance to do better. If they don’t, you can always look for a better company or even a cheaper one for the same results.
As long as you look at the numbers and you don’t get your worths from paying someone to do the ads, then you should look into doing it yourself
It’s not that I think they’re doing a bad job, I’m just wondering if I could do the same job. I’m not completely ignorant to marketing. I have full access to the Google Ads account, landing pages, etc…I see what keywords are working and aren’t working and what demographics are generating the most revenue or clicks.
Couldn’t I basically copy or use the existing model that is already proven effective, but save myself the $1200 per month? Not much changes with what I do (pet training), so it’s mostly uniform aside from a few outside the box clients with special issues.
I meant by that you can always go to them to let them know you’re not getting what you want out of it, even if you are. That way they can give you a better result and try harder on it. I suggest it as a first option. Basically, to see if the cost of it outweighs the results. It might even be better to just stay with them if it will save you time. But that’s just the first option. In my opinion, you’re always better off doing things on your own. Even if it means working harder and longer. In the long run you’ll save money and you’ll get experience. But if leaving them will impact your earnings, then you gotta try prior options rather than just dropping them.
Or you can even let them know that you’re going to pause their services for some time, just say you’re on a budget for the next 2 months, and try it then. That way if you have any discounts or set rates, they don’t change them if you ever try to go back to them. Just a back up plan
Know that up to 80% of Clicks etc are fake/bots.
Know what % of revenue is attributed to ads. (Ex $10K - 50% from ads = $5K from Ads)
Sum up all the costs (management costs + creative + ad spend) to figure out your ROAS. Then calculate - Revenue/Total Costs.
If you’re getting ROAS of 3:1 (300%) I’d keep doing it.
Increase your price 20% to cover the mgmt cost. Would be a better option.
Good luck.
I’m very much getting my money’s worth. They’re doing a good job, I’m just not totally convinced it’s a job I couldn’t do myself. I guess I’m stuck in the mentality of why pay someone to do this if I can cut costs and be equally effective simply by copying what they’re already doing for me.
How much of average 7k is coming from those leads?
Is everything being tracked? What’s your conversion rate and cost per conversion? Everything should be tracked with paid ads. You should know exactly where your conversions are coming from and that would make this decision a bit easier. $1200 a month seems a bit high. However, you should’ve paid for the landing pages outright. The price is subjective based on the details of the campaign. Let me know if you have questions.
Conversion rate is 13.64%, cost per conversion is $73.06. That $1200 per month covers the landing pages, an email notification system, and the lead connector app. Calls from the landing page go through lead connector, which is like a digital answering service. Then it sends me notifications as well automated messages to potential leads, should I not answer the calls.
I prefer not to use lead connector apps and automated answering services. However, this also depends on your industry. Typically, you are losing conversions through all of this.
13.64%
How much of the $1200 a month is going towards the landing pages or are you “renting” the landing pages indefinitely? How many landing pages? That’s a big variable in all of this. A 13.64% conversion rate is ok. However, conversion rates can differ by industry. The scope of your SEO and website matters too. Off the top of my head, $1200 seems high for only spending around $900 in Google Ads. That would imply that you’re spending around $700 on SEO and landing pages a month.
It’s just the one landing page, which kind of covers everything as a more streamlined version of my website. I’m a private pet trainer who also has a handful of part time contracts for security K9 services. I don’t advertise security K9 services through this outlet, but they are on my website. I should have said earlier, this particular marketing company does advertising solely for pet trainers.
Can you elaborate on the lead connector concerns? I like how it collects the contact information and provides the auto text to clients. I’m a one man operation, so it might be late at night or the next day before I can answer a lead. I feel like this at least lets them know I’m not willfully ignoring them. It’s also easier to answer a with a quick text during an appointment as opposed to a phone call. I’m open to suggestions and insights.
Thank you for your help!
You have a very specific niche and your conversion rates should be higher. Especially, at a premium price. The automated notification service is good for all form fill leads. However, answer as many live leads as you can. I don’t like live calls going to an automated service. The drop off could be significant. Google Ads management fees are usually around 20%. That would infer you’re paying around $1000 for your SEO, the lead connector and that one landing page every month. Ask them to break down those fees and see where your money is going. I wouldn’t recommend “renting” the landing page indefinitely. That’s where your wasting money. How much organic traffic do you get each month? Do you own your main site?
Yeah I’m new at doing this for myself as a business owner. My background is running K9 programs for the federal government and a Fortune 500 Defense contractor. Managed to climb the ladder high enough to make just enough money to warrant being laid off. So I went out on my own. Definitely a little out of my element, learning as hard and as fast as possible.
My entire business, including the website, was set up through Zen Business. I can add landing pages as well. I’d say I’m at about an 80/20 split with firm/organic traffic. Though I went straight to the marketing firm as soon as I was up and running, so all I know is business with them. I’m only 9 months into this.
Zen Business
I would try to steer away from them and start owning your property in a transparent manner. This will save you a lot of money in the long run. I’ll send you a message tomorrow if you want to continue the conversation.