Question 1

Is there any spillover from paid ads to organic search ranking?

Accepted Answer

On average, you will see about a 10 rank jump in organic search rank after you start running paid ads. Part of this is because Google counts all traffic to the website as “traffic.” Which means anyone who clicks on an ad gets points towards traffic. In [Google Search Console](https://search.google.com/search-console/about) (in the “Performance on Search Results” report) you can see organic search performance for the site. Compare the last 3 months with the previous 3 months to see the difference in average position, average CTR, total clicks, and total impressions.

Question 2

How we organize and execute our client management process

Accepted Answer

Ever wonder what the team here at Solutions 8 does behind the scenes to get our clients the results they want?

Here’s a sneak peek:

Clear communication, detailed instructions, and exceptional collaboration.

More specifically, our whole process helps our team execute a million to-do lists without sacrificing quality and ad performance. We follow proven SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) that never fail, giving our clients a delightful experience as soon as they get onboard.

The result? Deadlines are met, campaigns are well-optimized, and clients are satisfied. Here’s what the process looks like:
![Screenshot_2021-05-07 Our Client Management Process(4).png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/MpD6OKc9u8/resources/iJXnCvNnuS/Screenshot_2021-05-07%20Our%20Client%20Management%20Process%284%29.png)
Let’s talk about Ongoing Account Management first.

### Ongoing Account Management
We always want to get the client updated about what’s going on in their account. The Ongoing Account Management is simply a list of things we do to keep their campaign in top performance. This is handled by the Client Manager (CM), Specialist, and Call Tracking Metrics (CTM) reviewer. 
![Screenshot_2021-05-07 Our Client Management Process(3).png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/MpD6OKc9u8/resources/GxT2lEr6yf/Screenshot_2021-05-07%20Our%20Client%20Management%20Process%283%29.png)
### Weekly Check-ins
Our specialists see to it that they identify, capture, fix, and report all issues on a weekly basis. Here are some of the activities that they do achieve this:

Check & Optimize CPA & ROAS Bid vs Target
Review and Qualify Search Terms –Negative Keywords, Positive Search Terms, Coded Negative Keywords
Check budget to ensure speed is on target
Check Eligibility of Ads, Extensions & Products
Check All Tracking Codes & Actions

Our client manager (CM) makes sure that:

Budget is on track for the month. Whether that’s making incremental adjustments or totally increasing the budget to get more and better results, the client manager and specialist work together to make the data-driven decisions.

Client’s goals are reached. To maintain pulse on the campaign’s performance, the CM monitors and ensures that the campaign is getting the lowest possible cost per lead (CPL) for lead generation and a high return on ad spend (ROAS) for eCommerce. If at any point we’re not close to hitting the main metrics (CPL or ROAS), we figure out how to fix it by:

Looking at the total month’s spend and comparing it with the client’s budget. Depending on how long the account has been running for and the data gathered so far, we calculate the difference (total spend and budget) and make adjustments. We also look for other alternatives by;

Brainstorming with all the specialists during weekly meetings. Getting inputs from our veteran specialists help us bring results-oriented decisions.

### CTM Review
Every time a lead calls from an ad extension or from the client’s website, we track it using a platform called Call Tracking Metrics. Our CTM Reviewer listens to every call to identify whether they’re good, bad, or low-quality leads, and manually scores each call. This process also helps us uncover any issues that might be negatively affecting conversion rates during the calls and gives us enough data that we can use to make improvements.

All call leads that we received in the previous month are imported into Google Ads and sent to the client.

### Monthly Check-ins
After all the weekly check-ins, our specialists meticulously go through a detailed 14-point checklist to make sure that nothing slipped through the cracks and we’ve done everything we can to optimize the campaign. We send a detailed report to the client every month.
![Screenshot_2021-05-07 Our Client Management Process(2).png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/MpD6OKc9u8/resources/iU4dIYP2q0/Screenshot_2021-05-07%20Our%20Client%20Management%20Process%282%29.png)
### Schedule of Communications and Optimizations
Once the onboarding is complete, our client manager takes care of the client’s account–from campaign creation to scaling–and walks them through the next process in each phase of the campaign.
![Screenshot_2021-05-07 Our Client Management Process(5).png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/MpD6OKc9u8/resources/y0D73LlvKY/Screenshot_2021-05-07%20Our%20Client%20Management%20Process%285%29.png)
### Weekly Check-Ins
When an account is new, the CM provides useful information– the things that they’ve been seeing, learning, and testing–on a weekly basis for the next three months. This helps the client understand what’s happening, why they’re happening, and what we’re doing about them.

### Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Recommendations
The CM works with the specialist to perform a site-wide website audit to uncover what it needs based on it’s product/service, target customer, and the client’s goals. Inch by inch, the CM looks for details (even the smallest ones) that would greatly increase conversion rates–from the website design, call-to-action buttons, text size, to the titles, descriptions, and content of individual pages.

### Bi-Monthly Updates
Every other month, the client receives insights about more growth opportunities in different areas:
Awareness
Marketing
Brand Building
Lead Generation
Sales

This is done every other month because for new accounts, it usually takes at least 60-90 days to understand patterns and get solid, realistic data to use for the long run. That’s why the insights that we’re going to share aren’t based on “common tips and strategies” that anyone can find on the internet. Instead, they are personalized insights based on proven methods that we have improved over years of consistent success and from the optimization results we have made on the client’s account.

Question 3

How did you create the estimated projections in the action plan?

Accepted Answer

Using tools such as [Google Keyword Planner](https://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/), [iSpionage](https://www.ispionage.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIr8C8oKHy5wIVDfDACh11eAdMEAAYASAAEgJl5PD_BwE), [SpyFu](https://www.spyfu.com/), and [SEMrush](https://www.semrush.com/), we craft a keyword strategy.
 
Next, we: 
1. Add the total monthly impressions of those keywords
2. Divide that number by a standard 2% click-through rate
3. Multiply that by the keywords’ average cost-per-click
Finally, we produce results based on a 3%, 5%, and 10% conversion rate.
 
This will give you a total amount of monthly leads/sales and cost-per-lead/sale.

Question 4

What is PPC?

Accepted Answer

That's a great question that deserves a great answer. [Read more here](https://sol8.com/what-is-ppc/).

Question 5

When do you update the ad copy?

Accepted Answer

Every month.

Here’s how it works:

After 100 clicks, we compare the performances of two ads.

We keep the ad copy with the highest click-through and conversion rate, pause the ad that didn’t perform as well, and build a new ad to compete against the winning one for another 100 clicks.

This cycle continues on a monthly basis.

Question 6

Do you do Bing search campaigns?

Accepted Answer

Yes!

Typically, we wait until we have maxed out Google Ads. But in some cases, if your target audience is older, Bing can be a great channel to reach them.

Bing has about 10% of the traffic compared to Google, but it is very inexpensive and full of high-quality leads.

Question 7

How are you different from other agencies?

Accepted Answer

**Our Qualifications and Experience**:

* We’ve been successfully at this since 2006
* Google Ads certified 
* Hubspot Certified Partners 
* Digital Marketer Certified Partners 
* Google Ads Partners 
* Our Ads team is a Google Ads Premier Partner 
* Forbes Agency Council Members
* Named one of the Best Digital Marketing Agencies in Phoenix by Expertise  
* We are digital marketers; however, we specialize in PPC 
* ...and get a load of our case studies

**Our Tracking and Reporting Methods**:
* We only use Google Analytics and Google Data Studio 
* Monthly reporting and tracking methods are easy to understand
* We never use proprietary reporting or dashboards where data can be manipulated or hidden

**Our Communication, Pricing, and Transparency**:
* You always maintain administrative ownership of your accounts 
* There is always a primary contact in charge of your campaign (i.e. a dedicated client manager) 
* We have clear communication schedules 
* We are clear on the work you need to contribute (and what your time investment will be) 
* Our fees are transparent and there are no long-term contracts

**Our Strategy, Setup, and Tools**:
* We have a rock-solid onboarding process 
* We take the time to understand your business before offering a solution 
* We offer a marketing strategy in addition to tactical, campaign-based recommendations 
* We are clear about the tools and software we use 
* We don’t use automated tools to manage our campaigns — everything is done manually

**Our Culture**:
* We work with clients who reflect our values and work ethic 
* We have the brand recognition necessary to pull in (and retain) top talent
* We care. A lot.

Question 8

Is my branded campaign stealing all my traffic from organic search?

Accepted Answer

In some instances, yes.

If you have a good organic ranking and good organic traffic, branded campaigns can steal your organic traffic. The way to subvert this is to bid very low ($0.05 per click) so it's not costly.

**But, the pros far outweigh the cons:  **

First, **running a branded campaign protects your brands from competitors**.

The first four spots on the Google search engine results page are all Google Ads listings. So, competitors who bid on your name can show as the first listing.

And because the highest you can rank organically is #5 on the page, all your organic traffic in this case would end up **seeing your competitors first**.

Let’s keep in mind that the #1 spot on Google has an average 20% click-through rate. So, competitors who bid on your name can be detrimental to your brand.

Suffice to say, **you should always want to be #1 on Google for your brand name**.

Next, running a branded campaign gives us the ability to see what keyword a user searched to get to your site (before leaving and coming back to search your brand name next).

This allows us to bid efficiently on keywords that introduce your brand to the masses, and also brings them back to the site to convert.

Question 9

How do we spend more without lowering ROAS?

Accepted Answer

When a campaign isn’t limited by budget, we can often increase the spend without lowering ROAS by much at all.

However, when that same campaign has maxed out its spend (meaning it reached its entire audience), **using a lower-spend outbound campaign** (such as YouTube or display) **can increase brand awareness and introduce your offering to a new audience**.

So, we recommend starting these campaigns with a lower budget to see how it affects the overall campaign performance. The main campaign should become more active, thus allowing us to increase the budget.

You will sacrifice ROAS with these new outbound campaigns, so it's best to keep the ad spend low in the beginning to test this.

Question 10

What is the $1,000 e-commerce start-up fee for?

Accepted Answer

We don’t like charging a startup fee. But for eCommerce clients, that fee covers necessary costs:

First, we have to rebuild and optimize your data feed — i.e. the massive data file that tells Google Merchant Center what products you want to advertise from your site. We do this using [DataFeedWatch](https://www.datafeedwatch.com/).

This usually means we have to do quite a bit of “cleaning,” in the ways of updating and adding product names, prices, images, descriptions, attributes, and much more. The reality is, most websites do a poor job of explaining all details of the products, so we rebuild it to have the most accurate and relevant data possible; this way, Google can do the best job at targeting users based on that information

Once this cleaning process is complete, we integrate with Google Merchant Center. ([GMC](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/188924?hl=en) is a tool that uploads your product listings into Google Shopping, Google Product Ads, and Google Commerce Search).

This is about when we rope in a Tag Implementation team to set up modified cart value conversion tracking and build out dynamic remarketing.

All this is to say:

Building an eCommerce campaign is extra complex.

Configuring [DataFeedWatch](https://www.datafeedwatch.com/) is time consuming. Conversion tracking is more difficult to set up. And this is all further complicated the more products a business has.

In fact, many Google Ads agencies refuse to work with eCommerce businesses because of this extra work.

We, on the other hand, love the challenge.

You can read more about why there is a startup fee in our blog [here](https://sol8.com/why-is-there-a-1000-startup-fee-for-ecommerce-campaigns/).