Today, we're highlighting a store that has entrusted us with its advertising since its inception a year ago—so very recently. This situation presents a special responsibility for us. The owner had the idea, access to products, and set up an online store, but the onus fell on us to demonstrate that online commerce can be rewarding! Fortunately, we enjoy shouldering responsibility.
Combining advertising channels
Incorporating additional advertising channels can dramatically expand any online store. If a company has a limited advertising budget, it's crucial to focus—at least initially—on the most effective channel. Then, gradually, you can incorporate additional channels as the investment begins to generate initial profits. This is a standard approach, as most businesses lack the resources or courage to invest heavily in multi-channel advertising at once. However, the following example demonstrates that courage, supported by our experience and knowledge, pays off.
This example demonstrates that a quick and decisive investment of advertising budget in even a new online store yields the desired results. Combining individual channels into a single, coherent communication vision is also crucial.
Why is a consistent, high-frequency message across channels so important?
(The rest of the article can be found below the form)
Because we buy impulsively. Some channels inspire us, others we look for answers or recommendations, and still others simply find us at that "perfect moment" to buy. As a brand, you must be present at each of these stages. Otherwise, the opportunity will slip away to another company.
The data presented comes from an online store operating in the HOME and GARDEN sector. This store wasn't yet on the market in January 2020. Now, it looks like this:
Positioning
Website positioning was the first service chosen by this client. It's important to remember that positioning takes time, so attracting customers solely through organic search results may be unsatisfactory in the initial stages of a store's operation. This is true for two reasons.
First, we compete with other companies that have been on the market longer and, of course, also invest in website SEO. The effectiveness and timeframe for acquiring customer data also depend on the adopted strategy and the budget allocated for the activities.
Secondly , when it comes to website positioning, you can't be aggressive. Building a website incrementally, rather than over time, is unnatural for the Google search engine (or rather, the crawlers responsible for evaluating the website), and therefore won't be as effective as consistent action. It can also be dangerous and result in a filter being imposed on the website.
As a rule, entrepreneurs who initially invest in SEO immediately add another channel (e.g. Google or Facebook ads), which will more quickly demonstrate that a given store is promising, and they treat SEO as an investment in the future.
But let's get back to SEO. In March 2020, when we began our collaboration, the visibility of the store in question looked like this:
SEO March 2020:
SEO March 2020Due to its infancy, the situation was very fragile – the store simply didn't exist in the public eye. After nine months of cooperation – in January 2021 – we achieved visibility that generated 60.000 złoty in revenue, which, of course, will only continue to grow in the coming months. A dozen or so keywords appeared in the top three, over 50 in the top ten, and over 300 in the subsequent positions, heralding even better results with the same level of commitment.
SEO January 2021 :
SEO October 2020 From the beginning of our cooperation, the budget for SEO activities, in this case, was PLN 3500 per month.
Google Ads
We've written dozens of articles about Google Ads on our blog. Measurable, budget-friendly, and easy to optimize. Plus, you only pay when a potential customer clicks on your ad.
When it comes to Google Ads, there's no single, universal budget that will guarantee success. Too little in your industry may prevent you from generating enough traffic to convert and generate not only profits but also specific data for campaign optimization. On the other hand, there are industries where spending more doesn't make sense, as you'll start wasting money on lower-converting groups.
Please take a look here:
Google Ads May 2020
Google Ads May 2020 At the beginning of our collaboration, the budget was 12.000 złoty. It generated 98.000 złoty in revenue. That sounds good, but as it turns out, it could be even better.
Google Ads October 2020
Google Ads October 2020 Expenses totaled 17.000 PLN, while revenues grew to almost 180.000 PLN per month. Compared to May, the marketing budget in October increased by approximately 30%. Interestingly, revenues increased by a staggering 47% compared to May. This was due to two factors.
Firstly , May 2020 was the second month of our Google Ads collaboration. The results were already satisfactory, but we knew the campaign would "learn" even better in the coming months. Our self-learning algorithms typically take three months to produce consistent, best-possible results based on a sufficient amount of data.
Secondly , we saw after the first few weeks of the campaign that we had room to increase the budget. The client was open to this, which allowed us to more sensibly allocate funds across various channels.
The combination of an increased budget, a fully optimized campaign, but also the client's trust in our competences (sometimes this is crucial) – all this allowed us to stabilize the campaign at a very satisfactory level.
Facebook Ads
Ultimately, to have everything under one umbrella, Verseo, and seeing that we were doing a good job, the client transferred their Facebook Ads and fan page management activities to us. This case best illustrates how campaign "learning" pays off with algorithms. The budget remained the same, and there's no significant seasonality in sales for this particular product range.
In this case, Facebook proved to be an excellent channel for generating sales. At the beginning of our collaboration, the results were as follows:
Facebook Ads May 2020
Facebook Ads May 2020 The marketing budget for Facebook Ads was 2.000 PLN and generated 12.000 PLN in revenue. This result needed to be improved somewhat, and we worked intensively on it. The real revolution came after the summer holidays.
Facebook Ads October 2020
Facebook Ads October 2020 In October, advertising expenditures remained unchanged at 2.000 złoty. However, revenues rose to over 90.000 złoty.
In addition, the client entrusted us with managing the company's Facebook page, which had more subtle goals, such as strengthening brand recognition, building reputation, and supporting store users. This is crucial for customers who, when shopping, need more time and consideration before finally deciding on a particular store.
Combining advertising channels – benefits
At the time of writing, the client's cumulative budget for all advertising activities is approximately 20.000 PLN per month, which generates approximately 500.000 PLN in revenue. Therefore, every złoty spent on marketing generates 25 PLN.
Of course, not every industry and every product will yield such a good return on investment. This is all a result of many factors – from the store's user experience, through well-optimized campaigns across each advertising channel, and seasonality, to the store's complaints policy and nuances like shipping costs or the tone of the company's responses to user questions on its Facebook page. We also believe in the unique need to combine advertising channels. Of course, when financial resources are scarce, they cannot be divided, but rather focused on the most effective one. Generally speaking, however, if you can invest more, you should be present on multiple levels. Combined channels work better together than any one of them alone.
Because success factors are numerous, collaboration between client and agency is crucial. We always offer advice on client experiences, preferred website solutions, and advertising investments for specific industries. Having run thousands of campaigns, we have excellent insight into what works and what doesn't necessarily deliver results. We take full responsibility for this know-how.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- How to effectively combine advertising activities across different channels?
- How to use Google ads in a multi-channel campaign?
