Written by Meghan Jobson, Nine10 inc.
Are you spending money on ads and feeling overwhelmed? Or are you about to start and need a solid roadmap? We’re giving you a strategy session on where to spend your advertising dollars for the highest return, focusing on smart budgeting and data.
The Non-Negotiable Foundation: Your Brand and Website
Before you spend a single dollar on paid ads, you must get your foundation right. A great ad is wasted if it leads to a broken or confusing website.
Paid advertising is simply shouting your message louder. If your core message is confusing, you’re just paying more to confuse more people.
Your paid campaign must perfectly align these external brand elements:
- Audience Persona
- Differentiation
- Core Message
- Communication/Expression: Your ad copy and visuals must match your brand voice (e.g., if your brand is ‘friendly and local,’ avoid corporate stock photos and jargon).
Capturing High-Intent Traffic
Your customer, whether Business to Business (B2B) or Business to Consumer (B2C), is online and ready to buy, as Alberta is a highly connected province. The real power for local Alberta businesses lies in Local Intent.
A high percentage of local searches (like “plumber near me”) lead to a visit or contact within 24 hours. Your paid strategy should be built to capture this immediate intent.
The Two Pillars of Paid Advertising: Intent vs. Demand
Different channels solve different problems. To structure your budget strategically, divide your campaigns into two major categories:
1. Intent Capture (Bottom-of-Funnel)
This is the most powerful money you will ever spend because the user is actively asking for your product or service. This is referred to as ‘Bottom-of-Funnel’ marketing.
Intent Capture is primarily achieved through Google Ads. There are three key types of Google Ads to leverage:
- Search (Pay Per Click): Keywords are still king. Your goal is to bid intelligently on high-intent terms. The key benefit is capturing users based on their active search. Focus on Quality Score, if your ad and landing page are highly relevant, Google rewards you with lower costs.
- Local Service Ads (LSAs): These are essential for trades, contractors, and local service providers. LSAs appear above all other results and are “Google Guaranteed”. They deliver pre-vetted leads right to your phone.
- Google Shopping: This is the critical eCommerce engine for retailers. For Alberta retailers, this format immediately shows the product, price, and photo. It shortens the path to purchase and targets buyers who are already price-comparing.
2. Demand Generation (Higher-Up-the-Funnel)
This strategy involves interrupting the scroll on social platforms to create interest and awareness. This is often higher up the sales funnel and requires great creative and strategic targeting.
Demand Generation is often executed through Paid Social Media. Here are the nuances of the major platforms:
- Meta (Facebook/Instagram): This platform is best for B2C, high-visual appeal, and leveraging interest-based and ‘Lookalike’ audiences. Your most powerful tool here is the Pixel for remarketing and finding new audiences.
- LinkedIn: This is the B2B professional network. While it has a higher cost-per-click, it offers unmatched targeting accuracy for job titles, company sizes, and industries.
- Alternative Platforms: Think of platforms like TikTok, Pinterest, and retail media networks. These are usually reserved for the 20% ‘Test and Scale’ portion of your budget.
The 70/20/10 Budget Framework
The biggest mistake is putting 100% of their money into brand-new, unproven tactics. Use the 70/20/10 rule to split your ad spend and ensure stability and continuous growth.
70% (Proven Winners): Fund reliable revenue generators. These are the campaigns with the lowest Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) and highest Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
20% (Test & Scale): Dedicate this to trying new things. I.e. a new audience, a new platform (like TikTok), or a new creative concept. If a test hits your target CPA, move it to the 70% bucket. If it fails, kill it fast.
10% (Awareness & Exploration): The seed money for future demand. This is for brand building, display ads, or low-intent video.
Track the Metrics That Matter
If you don’t know your numbers, you’re gambling, not marketing. You must always tie your investment back to a financial outcome, focusing on the following key metrics:
CPA (Cost per Acquisition): The king of metrics. This is how much you paid for one paying customer/client. It must be lower than your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).
ROI (Return on Investment): Net Profit / Total Cost. This is what business leaders and the finance team care about most, as it measures profit, not just revenue.
CPL (Cost Per Lead): Essential for B2B and service businesses, measuring the cost to get one qualified inquiry.
Conversion Rate (CVR): Measures the health of your website or landing page. If CVR is low, you need to fix your website first.
⚠️ Beware Vanity Metrics! Likes, shares, and impressions do not pay the bills. These are supportive metrics, but CPA and ROI should always be your focus.
Embrace AI for Efficiency and Conversions
AI is already here and is streamlining paid advertising. Integrate AI into three key phases:
- Planning: Use AI to research keywords, analyze competitor ad copy, and define audience segments faster.
- Generation: Use tools to quickly generate multiple ad headlines, descriptions, and visual variants for testing.
- Conversion: Utilize AI-powered bidding in platforms like Google and Meta. The algorithm predicts which user is most likely to convert and bids higher for them, automatically optimizing your spend.
The key to successful paid advertising is a strategic approach built on a solid brand foundation and measurable data. Alberta businesses should divide their budgets strategically between Intent Capture (like Google Search ads) and Demand Generation (like Paid Social). By following the 70% Proven / 20% Test / 10% Awareness budget framework and focusing on financial metrics like CPA and ROI, businesses can move past vanity metrics and use AI-powered tools to streamline testing and improve conversion rates, ensuring continuous, profitable growth.
