Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out, happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance based on what you've shared. Paid advertising can be a maze, but breaking it down usually helps.
When we look at campaigns that aren't quite hitting the mark, it's often a few key areas that need attention. It's not always just about throwing more money at it, quite often it's foundational stuff.
We'll need to look at traffic quality and your website...
Honestly, before you pour significant budget into ads, particularly if you're finding they aren't converting or costing too much, your website is the first place to check. We see this all the time. You can drive all the traffic in the world, but if the site doesn't do its job, you're just wasting money.
Is the start page really clear about what you offer and who it's for? Does it immediately lead people towards the action you want them to take? For most businesses, especially in B2B or services, this means getting a lead. So, that might be filling out a form, booking a call, or getting a quote. That page needs to be super persuasive, explaining the value and making that next step easy and compelling. Sometimes, getting a professional copywriter in just for this landing page can make a huge differance.
I've seen websites where visitors drop off really quickly, like getting to the homepage but barely anyone clicks through to product or service pages. That points to wrong traffic or maybe the website just isn't engaging enough or products aren't a good fit. Or they get to product pages but no add-to-carts or leads - then it's probably about the offer, pricing, maybe lack of trust. For example, looking at one eCommerce store we worked with, the product images were poor, no descriptions, and the site looked a bit dodgy, didn't have any trust signals. Adding customer reviews, links to places they also sell like Etsy, social proofs, and proper contact info completely changed things.
If you're in B2B, especially selling something like software, it's a big decision for a business to switch. They need to see real value and usually need to try it out. Offering a free trial, even if time-limited or with limited features, usually works much better than just a demo. It lowers the barrier to entry significantly. Think about it, would you sign up for a new accounting system without trying it first? Probably not. We had a SaaS client with a similar issue, only offering demos. Introducing a free trial made a massive difference to their conversion rates from ads.
Optimising your campaigns is crucial...
Once you're confident the website is converting visitors properly, we can really look at the ads themselves. The most basic thing is making sure you're optimising for the right goal. If you want leads or sales, you absolutely must optimise your campaigns for conversions. Seems obvious, but you'd be surprised.
Then, it's all about testing. You need to constantly be split testing different ad creatives (the images, videos, text) and different targeting options within the same campaigns. This is how you find what resonates best with your audience and drives down costs while improving performance. We've seen clients get huge ROAS increases just by dialling in the creative and targeting.
Retargeting is another big one often missed, particularly if the sales cycle is long or it's a considered purchase. People rarely buy or sign up the very first time they see your ad or visit your site. Showing ads specifically to people who visited your website, watched your videos, or engaged with your social media can significantly increase conversions and lower your overall acquisition cost. It keeps you top-of-mind.
Finding the right platform and audience...
Where are your ideal customers hanging out online? This determines the best ad platform. Are they actively searching for the service or product you offer? If so, Google Search Ads is usually your starting point. You bid on keywords people are typing into Google when they need a solution like yours. For local services, Google Local Service Ads can also work really well. We're running ads for an HVAC company right now, and while it's a competitive area, search ads are bringing in leads, costing them around $60 per lead. For a home cleaning company, we got it down to £5 per lead with search and display. It varies massively by industry and location.
If your audience isn't actively searching – maybe they don't even know a solution exists yet, or they're in a specific professional role – then social media or display ads might be better. For B2B decision makers, LinkedIn Ads is usually the go-to because of the detailed professional targeting options (job title, industry, company size). We've seen B2B software clients get leads for around $22 on LinkedIn. For B2C or small businesses, Facebook and Instagram can work with interest-based targeting or limited B2B options like 'small business owners'. Getting the platform wrong means your targeting options are limited, and it makes getting results much, much harder.
Think about your ideal customer profile in detail. Who are they? What are their pain points? Where do they spend time online? This informs both your platform choice and your targeting within that platform.
A quick overview of where we might start:
| Area | Initial Assessment & Action |
|---|---|
| Website / Funnel | Review conversion points (forms, calls, etc.). Evaluate messaging and offer (e.g., trial vs. demo for B2B). Identify trust barriers. Improve landing page copy & design to drive desired action. |
| Ad Platforms | Determine best platform(s) based on target audience behaviour (searching vs. browsing). Focus initial efforts there. |
| Campaign Structure & Optimisation | Ensure campaigns are optimised for conversions. Implement rigorous split testing for creative (images, copy, video) and targeting. Set up retargeting campaigns. |
| Targeting | Refine audience definitions based on ideal customer profile. Test new audiences based on demographics, interests, behaviours, job titles (for B2B), or keywords (for search). |
This is just a starting point, of course. Paid advertising, especially when scaling or dealing with more complex offers like B2B software or high-ticket services, requires ongoing work, testing, and expertise. There are always more audiences to test, new creative angles, and ways to refine the funnel. Campaigns can hit a ceiling, which is normal, but then you need specific strategies to break through that, like improving LTV or exploring new channels, as we've done with various SaaS clients.
Navigating all of this effectively, from the initial strategy and website foundations to the daily optimisation and testing, can be time-consuming and complex. Getting it right requires deep platform knowledge and experience across different industries and scenarios. That's where expert help can really speed things up and get you better results for your budget.
If you'd like to discuss your specific situation in more detail and explore how these principles could apply to your business, we'd be happy to book in a free initial consultation.
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
