Today we will present a store that entrusted us with advertising since its birth, which took place a year ago – that is, quite recently. This situation is a special responsibility for us. The owner had an idea, access to the products and set up an online store, but it was our responsibility to demonstrate that online trading can be satisfactory! Fortunately, we like to carry responsibility on our shoulders.
Linking advertising channels
Enabling more advertising channels can greatly develop any online store. If your business has a limited advertising budget, then you need to focus – at least in the initial stages – on the most effective channel. Then, successively, you can turn on new ones, when the investment begins to bring the first profits. This is a standard operating methodology, because most entities do not have the resources or the courage to invest large amounts of money in advertising, including multi-channel advertising. However, the example below shows that courage, supported by our experience and knowledge, pays off.
The discussed example shows that a quick and decisive investment of the advertising budget in even a new online store brings the expected results. It is also important to combine individual channels into one coherent communication vision.
Why is consistent, high-frequency display across multiple channels so important?
Because we buy impulsively. Some channels inspire us, in others we look for answers or recommendations, and still others find us at this “perfect moment” to buy. You need to be a brand at each of these stages. Otherwise the opportunity will escape to another company.
The presented data comes from an online store operating in the DOM and GARDEN industry. In January 2020, this store was not on the market yet.
SEO
Search engine optimization was the first service chosen by said client. Keep in mind that positioning takes time, and therefore attracting customers through only organic results in the initial stages of the store’s operation may be unsatisfactory. This is for two reasons.
First of all, we compete with other companies that have been on the market for longer and, after all, also invest in website optimization. The effectiveness and time horizon of taking over customer data also depends on the adopted strategy and budget allocated to activities.
Secondly, you can’t be aggressive when it comes to SEO. Creating a website on a step-by-step basis, not spread out over time, is an “unnatural” action for the Google search engine (or actually the indexing robots responsible for evalsuating the page), and therefore will not be as effective as consistency in action. It can also be dangerous and result in a filter being applied to the page.
As a rule, therefore, entrepreneurs who initially invest in positioning immediately add another channel to it (e.g. Google or Facebook ads), which will quickly prove that a given store is prospective, and treat positioning as an investment in the future.
Let’s go back to positioning, however. In March 2020, when we started our cooperation.
SEO March 2020
Due to the infancy, it was therefore very fragile – the store simply did not exist in the consciousness. After 9 months of cooperation – in January 2021 – we gained visibility, which generated 60,000 dollars in revenue and, of course, will only grow in the coming months. There were a dozen or so phrases in top3, over 50 for top10 and over 300 for further positions, which heralds the arrival of even better results with the same commitment.
SEO January 2021
From the beginning of cooperation, the budget for SEO activities, in this case, was $ 3,500 per month
We have already written dozens of articles on our blog about Google Ads. Measurable, budget flexible and great for optimization. In addition, you only pay when a potential customer clicks on your ad.
In the case of Google Ads, there is no one-size-fits-all budget that will guarantee your success. Too small amount in your industry may prevent you from generating enough traffic to start converting and bring not only profits, but also specific data that allows you to optimize your campaign. On the other hand, there are industries where there is no point in spending more, because we will start to burn money into groups that convert less well.
Google Ads May 2020
At the beginning of the cooperation, the budget was $ 12,000. It generated $ 98,000 in revenues. Sounds good, but as it turned out, it could get even better.
Google Ads October 2020
Spending at $ 17,000, revenues grew to nearly $ 180,000 per month. Compared to May, the marketing budget in October increased by ~ 30%. Interestingly, however, revenues increased by as much as 47% compared to May. This happened for two reasons.
First of all, May 2020 was the second month of our cooperation in the field of running Google Ads advertising. The result was already satisfactory, but we knew that the “learning” campaign in the coming months would produce even better results. Our self-learning algorithms usually take 3 months to obtain repeatable and the best possible results from the right amount of data.
Secondly, we saw after the first weeks of the campaign that we had room to increase the budget. The client was open to this, which allowed us to more meaningfully divide the funds between the different channels.
The combination of an increased budget, a fully optimized campaign, but also the customer’s trust in our competences (sometimes this is the key) – all this allowed us to stabilize the campaign at a very satisfactory level.
Facebook Ads
Ultimately – to have everything under one umbrella of Paraphrase-Online.com and seeing that we can make it – the client transferred to us activities related to Facebook Ads and running a fanpage. In this case, it is best to see how the “learning” of the campaign pays off in the case of algorithms. The budget has remained the same, and there is no significant seasonality of sales in this particular assortment.
Facebook turned out to be a great sales channel in this case.
The Facebook Ads marketing budget was $ 2,000 and generated $ 12,000 in revenue. This result had to improve a bit and we worked hard on it. The real revolution came after the holidays.
Facebook Ads October 2020
In October, ad spend did not increase and remained at $ 2,000. However, revenues soared to over $ 90,000.
In addition, the client entrusted us with the issue of running a corporate Fanpage, which was faced with softer goals, such as strengthening brand recognition, working on the reputation and supporting the store’s users. This is of paramount importance for customers who, when buying, need more time and factors to finally decide on a given store.
Joining advertising channels – benefits
At the time of writing, the client’s cumulative budget for all advertising efforts is approximately $ 20,000 per month, which generates approximately $ 500,000 in revenue. Every dollar spent on marketing therefore generates $ 25.
Of course, it is not the case that every industry and every product will provide such a good return on investment. All this is a component of many factors – from the store’s UX, through well-optimized campaigns in each advertising channel and seasonality, ending with the store’s complaint policy or such nuances as the cost of delivery or the company’s tons of answers to users’ questions on the fanpage. We are also convinced of the exceptional need to combine advertising channels. Of course, when financial resources are modest, then you cannot divide them and focus on the most effective one. Overall, however, if you can invest more, you should be present on many levels. Connected channels work better together than each of them separately.
As there are many factors of success, cooperation between the client and the agency is also crucial. For our part, we always provide hints about the customer’s experience, the solutions he prefers on the websites, but also about advertising investments for a given industry. By running several thousand campaigns, we already have excellent insight into what works and what does not necessarily bring good results. We take full responsibility for this know-how.
