It’s easy to waste money on Google
But done right, Google Ads and other pay per click advertising can be incredibly effective.
The trick is in knowing what you’re doing. And having the time to do it.
Failing that, you need to find the right search partner.
One with the skills and expertise to make paid search work for you.
SureFire is a certified Premium Google Partner and specialises in managing Google AdWords campaigns. Auckland based, we work for clients both in New Zealand and overseas.
We've been running paid search advertising campaigns for so long that we were doing it long before AdWords even became available in New Zealand.
In that time we've built a reputation for delivering results that make a difference to clients' bottom line.
So, if you’re looking for a trusted partner to deliver real results we should talk.
PAID SEARCH ADVERTISING THAT DELIVERS REAL RESULTS
“You get what you pay for”
Within our first month working together our results were staggering. For the first time, we had a partner that gave a damn about achieving results we required and not just an invoice. We now have a first-class partner that has delivered us savings through both acquisition and CPC campaigns. You get what you pay for.
“Second to none”
When looking for a digital agency partner there are many choices in the search space but Surefire has maintained an edge in the market. Their ability to look at an organisation's sales objectives and proactively put forward recommendations is second to none. I would have no hesitation in recommending them as a search agency to help maximise your online ROI.
“Improved our search performance”
We recommend SureFire — they’re great to work with, and really understand our business. They’ve not only improved our search performance but have been really open and transparent in how they go about things. They’ve also been generous in sharing insights that affect our whole online business, not just search.
“Our SEM is in good hands”
Engaging SureFire to look after our search marketing was an easy decision and it’s proven to be the right one. As well as delivering great results they keep us up to date on industry trends and best practice. It's given me time to focus on other projects and marketing activities while knowing that our SEM is in good hands.
“Performance improved dramatically”
With the switch to SureFire Freeview’s campaign performance improved dramatically. Proactive ongoing campaign optimisation by SureFire meant that Freeview website visitor numbers grew substantially but the cost per visitor dropped significantly - even with SureFire's campaign management fee included.
PAID SEARCH ADVERTISING THAT REALLY WORKS
Contact us now for a PPC advertising campaign to suit your needs.
Not sure if we’re the right agency for you? We’re often asked the following questions; our answers should help you decide if we’re the right fit for you.
1
There’s a lot of people and agencies out there running Google AdWords campaigns. So what makes SureFire different?
You’re right — there’s no shortage of people who can run your search campaigns for you.
We’re not the best fit for everyone. But our clients sought us out and chose to work with us for a range of reasons.
Some just weren’t seeing the results from AdWords they were expecting. Others had no idea what their agency was actually doing for them, or who was running things. And when they got to meet them, the person running their campaigns was always someone different.
So, yes - there are a lot of agencies and individuals who can run your paid search campaigns.
Our clients can tell you what, for them, makes us different. One thing they’re sure to tell you is that we live and breathe this stuff. So, if you’re ready to take things up a notch, let’s have a chat.
2
Our industry is highly competitive, and we don’t have a lot of budget. Advertising on Google seems really expensive for the results we get - should we spend more on Facebook instead?
Like most people, you probably use Google and Facebook, and if that’s also true of your customers then ideally you want to advertise on both.
But regardless of whether you’re advertising on Google or Facebook, the results you’re getting from your online advertising often come down to how effectively you are targeting your ads.
Improve your targeting and you’ll increase your conversion rates. That means sharpening your keywords, polishing your ad copy and creative, and adding pizzazz to your landing page.
It also means being selective; using audience targeting options to make sure your ads are shown to people more likely to become customers.
In the end, your business may get better results from Facebook than Google, or vice versa: we’ve seen it go either way. You should, at least, give them both a fighting chance.
You may even find that, in improving your campaigns, you can actually afford to advertise on both.
3
Our business is very seasonal and very profitable during high season, but we have to advertise online all year round. Can you help make sure we aren’t wasting money during off season?
You’re not alone. We work with other clients and businesses that need to keep promoting bookings and availability year-round, although they have a distinct high season and low season.
When business is booming there’s danger that searchers want to book for dates when there’s no longer capacity. When it’s slow, you might be paying more than you want for a visitor unlikely to book there and then.
We’ve developed some good ways to improve results in times of low demand. We’ve been able to lower CPA and control spend, while keeping conversion rates up during peak season.
It’s worked a treat for our clients. If that’s something you’re struggling with, then it’s likely we have a solution that will work for you.
4
Our website sales are down on last year. If you run our paid search campaigns, can you get us better results?
Maybe.
If your other marketing channels are struggling, it’s likely that simply changing who is running your paid search campaigns won’t produce the turnaround in sales you want.
If visits are down across the board, and conversion rates have fallen, we need to understand why before we can give you an honest answer to your question.
All that said, we often see opportunities to improve on the results companies are getting from paid search. It’s often true, too, that in fixing the issues impacting paid search performance you’ll see improvements in results from other channels.
If we honestly don’t think we can get better results from your paid search campaigns, we’ll tell you as much. But to turn “maybe” into “yes”, we’ll first need to review your current paid search activity and website analytics.
5
We want more search engine traffic. Should we increase our paid search budget, or invest in SEO?
We hear this a lot. If it makes sense and you have the budget, you should do both. If you don’t have the budget, you should still try to get it so you can do both.
Why? Because if you increase your paid search spend you’ll get more people to your site today and tomorrow, but you’re always paying for each person who clicks on your ad. You’ll get quick answers and quick results. And there's a bonus: you get to see what messaging works, what landing pages convert, and what doesn’t.
Now, if you’re also doing SEO, you can learn from what your paid search audience has told you.
SEO takes longer, but the results are longer lasting (unless you do it all wrong, but that’s another story). And you’ll usually find that the people who click on your organic listings aren’t in as much of a hurry as the ones who click on your ads. More often than not, they’re still researching and will come back later if they’re ready to buy, sign up or give you their contact details.
So, yes, it’s best to do both. But if you have budget enough for one but not the other, tell us about it. We can look at your site and what’s working and what’s not, so that the decision’s an easier one for you.
PAID SEARCH ADVERTISING THAT REALLY WORKS
Contact us now for a PPC advertising campaign to suit your needs.
Our Approach to Running PPC Campaigns
1
RESEARCH
You may not be paying much per click, but it’s too much if you’re not getting the right people to your website.
Whether you’re running a Google AdWords or Bing search marketing campaign, or a PPC campaign on YouTube or Facebook, it’s important your ads are in front of the people most likely to be interested in your products and services.
Your Goals
Once we understand what you’re trying to achieve with PPC advertising we can advise the best approach and recommend appropriate platforms. However, only with measurable KPIs will you know if your campaign is successful, and what needs to be done to improve performance.
Right from the start, we’ll help set goals and goal values that make sense for your business, and ensure the reliability of analytics data in tracking performance to your goals.
Your Target Audience
The more we know about your likely customers, the more likely your PPC campaign will attract them to your website.
Different ad platforms offer diverse audience targeting options, but the landing pages, keywords, and what we say (or show) in your ads can also be varied for greater appeal to your prospective customers.
PPC Keyword Research
For PPC search campaigns, we identify the search terms most likely to be used by your target audience when looking for what your company offers.
For contextually-targeted display campaigns, these are the words most likely to appear on relevant web pages where we want your ads to be shown. At the same time, we develop a list of negative keywords that will prevent your ads being shown for irrelevant but related terms.
2
implementation
Now that we know who you’re targeting and what you’re trying to achieve, it’s time to create your ad campaigns. You’ll be given opportunity to review and, if necessary, modify our proposed campaigns before anything goes live.
Set Up
Your ads will be grouped by target audience and keyword themes to ensure that only the most relevant ads are shown. With two or more ads per group, ads can be A/B split-tested with the goal of improving clickthrough and conversion rates, lowering your cost per click and/or cost per conversion.
Settings
Each PPC ad platform offers a range of campaign settings that, once specified, will ensure your ads are appropriately targeted. At very least, you’ll want us to make sure your ads are shown only to people in specific countries (or particular cities and locales), and that applicable languages and distribution options have been set.We’ll also take care of any other settings that will improve the effectiveness of your campaign budget in reaching your target audience.
Bids and Budget
We’ll set an appropriate cost per click for visitors to your site (based on their potential to convert and what you can afford to pay for a new customer, as well as what’s required for your ad to be displayed).
Depending on your campaign budget, we can also limit what you’ll spend per day, per month or over the duration of your campaign.
3
optimisation
Once your campaigns are up and running and we can see what results we’re getting, we can set about improving performance.
It’s likely that visitors for some search terms or from some websites are converting more readily than others, and we can adjust bids and targeting accordingly. However, we can also test other changes to your campaign.
Our goal is to ensure the constant evolution of your PPC program, adapting and changing your campaigns as necessary to produce better results.
Analysis
Without careful review of your campaign results, it’s difficult to know what changes need to be made and how best to apply them.
We know that, in improving your campaigns, it’s important to consider performance metrics in context, with due consideration for attribution models, typical time to purchase, and relative traffic volumes.
Refinement
Using both referral and performance data, we’ll identify what’s working and what’s not. We’ll make the changes designed to get you more visitors who convert or show strong interest in what you offer and fewer visitors that don’t.
Testing
Messaging, images, keywords, landing pages, bid strategy and targeting options – all should be tested and optimised over time, along with your offer.
PAID SEARCH ADVERTISING THAT REALLY WORKS
Contact us now for a PPC advertising campaign to suit your needs.