5 Signs You Need a Paid Search Expert
The top 3 paid ad spots get 46% of the clicks. That’s a powerful statistic, but it’s meaningless if those clicks aren’t turning into customers. For startups, every wasted click represents a drain on limited resources. Are you confident your paid search and paid social campaigns are driving qualified traffic, or are you paying for clicks that lead nowhere?
We spoke with Sam Fiorillo, our very own seasoned paid search expert, to identify the five key signs that you might need expert help to transform those clicks into conversions.
Sign 1: Your Campaigns Are Draining Your Budget (Without Delivering Results)
One of the most obvious signs that you need help is if you’re burning through your budget without seeing any return. If your spending is high, but your conversions are low, something is amiss. It’s like a leak. Small at first, maybe a few dollars a week wasted on irrelevant clicks, but over time, these small leaks can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars lost. On average, small and medium businesses spend around $10,000 on paid search ads each month – even a fraction of that spend going to waste can wreak havoc on your CPLs.
This wasted spend can manifest in several ways: You might be targeting too broadly, reaching people outside your ideal customer profile. Perhaps your ads are showing up in irrelevant places, generating clicks that don't convert. Even seemingly minor issues, like failing to regularly check and adjust settings, can compound over time, leading to significant losses.
A paid search expert can help you stop the bleeding. They bring a deep understanding of the platforms, and they know where to look for those hidden budget drains and how to fix them. They'll analyze your campaign performance data, pinpoint the sources of the wasted spend, and develop a budget-conscious strategy that aligns with your business goals.
Sign 2: You're Overwhelmed by the Technicalities
Paid search and paid social is a technical beast. It’s not just about knowing the jargon - CTR, negative keywords, conversion tracking attribution models … the list goes on and on. It’s about understanding how these metrics interact, how they influence your campaign performance, and how to leverage them to your advantage. Beyond the terminology, navigating the complex settings and ever-changing platform interfaces can feel like a full-time job in itself. Each platform has its own quirks, hidden menus, and advanced options that can impact your results.
You could launch the perfect campaign, only to discover weeks later that tucked away, in a sub-menu of a sub-menu, buried deep within the platform, has been quietly sabotaging your efforts. Maybe your ads have been showing on irrelevant partner networks, or a default automated bidding strategy has been overspending your budget. These "gotchas" are common in Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and others, and they can be incredibly frustrating for those unfamiliar with the platform's intricacies.
A paid search expert lives and breathes these technicalities. They’re intimately familiar with every nook and cranny of different platforms, and they know how to avoid common pitfalls. Here's how they can help you navigate the technical maze:
- Initial Setup and Configuration: Experts can set up your campaigns correctly from the outset. They’ll navigate the complex settings, optimizing every option for maximizing impact and avoiding wasted spend on ineffective strategies.
- Ongoing Optimization: Paid search and social isn’t a “set it and forget it” kind of endeavor. Platforms are constantly evolving, and what works today might not work tomorrow. Experts continuously monitor your campaigns, making adjustments as needed to maintain peak performance.
- Time Savings: Perhaps the biggest benefit of working with an expert is the time you'll save. Instead of spending hours poring over documentation and troubleshooting technical issues, you can focus on other critical aspects of your startup, knowing your paid search campaigns are in capable hands.
Sign 3: You Don't Have Time to Keep Up
Digital ad platforms are constantly evolving. Algorithms change, new features are rolled out constantly, and best practices can change in an update. Staying on top of these changes requires significant time and dedication - a commitment you likely can’t make.
You're already wearing multiple hats, especially if you've been managing your own paid campaigns. Trying to keep up with the demands of paid search and paid social is likely pulling you away from other critical tasks. That's probably why you're considering a digital ads expert in the first place.
Think about everything involved in staying current with paid search and social:
- Monitoring Industry News and Trends: This means subscribing to industry blogs, following relevant influencers, attending webinars, and constantly absorbing new information from various sources.
- Testing New Features and Ad Formats: Platforms are constantly rolling out fresh features and ad configurations, and you need to be actively testing and experimenting to determine what works best for your business.
- Adapting to Algorithm Updates: Algorithm updates can drastically impact your campaign performance, sometimes overnight. Staying informed and adapting quickly is crucial for maintaining momentum and avoiding setbacks.
Sign 4: You're Not Seeing Consistent Growth
Fluctuating results are common in paid search and social. One month your campaigns might perform exceptionally well, and the next they could fall flat. Some level of variation is expected due to seasonality, competitor activity, and changes in user behavior. However, consistent stagnation or lack of overall growth is a serious red flag. It signals that something isn’t working as it should and requires further investigation.
Initial campaigns often have higher costs per lead (CPL) as targeting and messaging are refined. The key is to observe a downward trend in CPL over time as optimizations take hold. If your CPL remains stubbornly high or plateaus without further improvement, it's a sign that adjustments aren't being made or aren't effective. Simply increasing your budget without addressing underlying issues is rarely a sustainable solution.
A paid search expert brings a data-driven approach to identifying the root causes of inconsistent performance and implementing strategies for stable, predictable growth. Their expertise lies in:
- Data Analysis and Interpretation: Experts have the skills to analyze campaign data, identify patterns, and uncover hidden insights. They go beyond surface-level metrics, diving deep into conversion rates, audience demographics, competitor activity, and other key performance indicators to understand what's driving (or hindering) your results.
- Identifying and Addressing Problems: Experts diagnose the underlying issues contributing to inconsistent growth. This might involve identifying poorly performing keywords, optimizing landing pages for conversions, or refining targeting parameters to reach a more qualified audience.
- Developing Growth Strategies: Based on data analysis, experts develop and implement tailored strategies for achieving consistent, sustainable growth. They often leverage insights from other marketing channels, such as organic social media, email marketing, and SEO, to inform their paid search strategies.
Sign 5: You're Ready to Take Your Campaigns to the Next Level
Maybe your paid search and paid social campaigns are performing "okay." You're generating some leads, seeing a decent return, and generally feeling good about your efforts. But you want more than "okay." You want exceptional. This is a clear sign you're ready to take your campaigns to the next level, and a paid search expert can help you get there.
Even when campaigns perform reasonably well, there's often a plateau. At this point, simply increasing your budget yields diminishing returns. You need a more strategic approach to unlock further growth. You've optimized what you know, but you need a fresh perspective and deeper expertise to break through.
This is where an expert's strategic thinking and deep platform knowledge become invaluable. They can:
- Identify New Opportunities: An expert can analyze your current performance and identify untapped opportunities for growth. This might involve expanding into new markets, targeting different demographics, or exploring new ad formats and platforms. They can also help you identify new keywords and refine your messaging to better resonate with your target audience.
- Scale Campaigns Effectively: Beyond basic campaign setup and optimization, experts understand advanced techniques and strategies. This might include sophisticated bidding strategies, audience targeting and retargeting, or effective experimentation strategies.
- Integrate with Other Marketing Efforts: Scaling campaigns requires careful planning and execution. Experts can help you scale strategically, maintaining performance and efficiency as your budget increases. They'll identify the most effective channels and tactics, then optimize your bidding to maximize ROI.
Final Thoughts
Paid search and paid social can be incredibly effective growth drivers, but only when managed strategically. For startups especially, where resources are limited and every dollar counts, maximizing the impact of your paid advertising is essential.
If any of the signs we’ve discussed resonate with you - from a draining budget, to technical overwhelm, to the desire to reach the next level - it’s clear that expert help could be invaluable.
Want to see the results a paid search expert can deliver? Contact us today.
