How to Build a Paid Ad Strategy That Works?

Did you know businesses typically make $2 for every $1 (Google Economic Impact) spent on pay-per-click (PPC) advertising? That’s a 200% return on investment (ROI).

Yet, 78.2% of companies struggle with paid ad campaigns (Neil Patel). Why? Learning how to build a paid ad strategy that works is complex and time-consuming, making it easy to leave money on the table. But we’re here to help – let’s break it down.

1. Define Your Paid Ad Goals and Target Audience

First, ask yourself: “What do I want to achieve with my paid ads?” Do you want to:

A. Identify Your Objectives.

• Increase brand awareness?
• Generate more qualified leads?
• Drive direct sales from your paid ads?

B. Create Detailed Buyer Personas.

• What is their demographic information?
• Do they have specific online behavior patterns?
• What pain points are they struggling with?
• Do they have preferred communication channels (social platforms).

For example, a LASIK clinic might target adults aged 25-45 who’re tired of dealing with contact lenses/glasses and want total visual freedom to pursue active lifestyles or career advancement without visual limitations.

The key here? Your goals shape your paid ad strategy while understanding your audience helps you craft compelling paid ad content.

2. Choosing Your Advertising Channel – A Breakdown of Paid Ads Cost on Each Social Platform

Here’s a breakdown of paid ad costs on each platform and what their strengths are:

A. Google Ads.

Google handles over 5.9 million searches per minute (SEMRush), making it ideal for capturing potential customers at the moment they’re searching for your products. Focusing on “near me” searches, Google Ads drives high-intent conversions.

• Ad Types: Search ads, display ads, shopping ads, and video ads.
• Most Common CPC: $2.69 (search), $0.63 (display) – all industries.
• Monthly Spend: $100-$10,000.

B. Facebook/Instagram.

With over 3 billion monthly active users (Statista), Facebook and Instagram offer unparalleled reach for boosting brand awareness and retargeting. Their visual nature is perfect for showcasing product features, customer testimonials, and brand stories.

• Ad Types: Image ads, video ads, carousel ads, stories ads.
• Average CPC: $0.44 (FB), $0.85-$1.19 (Insta).
• Monthly Spend: $200-$800 for small-medium sized businesses.

C. LinkedIn.

As the go-to platform for B2B marketing with 1 billion members, LinkedIn excels at targeting decision-makers in specific industries. While it has a higher CPC, its ability to generate high-quality leads is invaluable.

• Ad Types: Sponsored content, message ads, and text ads.
• Average CPC: $5.26-$5.58

D. X (Twitter).

X’s real-time nature is great for sharing quick tips and engaging with trending topics. It’s effective for businesses that can tap into current events or conversations and build up brand personality and visibility.

• Ad Types: Promoted tweets, video ads, carousel ads, follower ads, dynamic product ads, collection ads, moment ads, and text ads.
• Average CPC: $0.38

E. TikTok.

As the fastest-growing platform with over 1 billion monthly active users – primarily Gen Z and younger Millennials – TikTok’s creative ad formats are excellent for creating viral content.

• Ad Types: In-feed ads, branded hashtag challenges, top view ads, collection ads.
• Average CPC: $0.50-$2.00
• Minimum Campaign Budget: $50/day.

Your actual costs might dance around depending on your industry, target audience, ad quality, ad type, and time of year. There are other costs like CPM (cost per mille), CPA (cost per acquisition), and campaign management expenses that can impact your total advertising budget.

3. Crafting Your Paid Ad Budget

Now, you might be thinking: “Great, I know how much it costs per click, but this doesn’t tell me what my paid ads budget should be.” While there’s no fixed number, a general rule is to base it on revenue percentage:

• For B2B companies, look to spend 2-5%.
• For B2C companies, look to spend 5-10% (BDC).

Start small and monitor your return on ad spend (ROAS) closely to ensure you’re getting positive results before scaling your paid ads.

4. Implement Tracking and Analytics

Here’s where you may be faltering: setting up paid ads and…doing nothing else. You need to monitor key metrics to build a successful paid ad strategy that works.

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Measures how compelling your ad is.
• Conversion Rates: Indicates how many people take the desired action after clicking.
• Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): How much you spend to acquire each customer.
• Return On Ad Spend (ROAS): Reveals revenue generated for every dollar spent on paid ads.

Don’t sleep on using platform-specific analytic tools along with Google Analytics—without them, a staggering 97% of Google Ads campaigns fail (Neil Patel).

5. Focus on Continuous Improvement

To maximize your results, regularly refine your audience, adjust your bidding strategies to optimize for your goals, and complete regular A/B split testing on ad elements like headlines, images, and call-to-actions.

Want To Kick Off Your Paid Ads Without a Hitch? Get In Touch!

Building a paid ad strategy that works takes precision and careful planning. Why struggle through the learning curve when you can leverage our industry experience? Our team can do the heavy lifting for you and create tailored paid advertising strategies that drive real results. Contact us today to learn how Digital Space Marketing and our Paid Ads department can help your business!