Happy Friday! As we approach the $12,000 limit on our ad budget earlier than expected, it's time to review how our investment has performed and plan the best way forward. Given the highly competitive nature of the financial advisory and planning space, our initial budget has been a solid starting point, even though it's quite modest compared to many of our competitors.
Embracing the Journey
Firstly, thank you for fully embracing the journey. Your willingness to create videos, allow interviews, and conduct seminars has been instrumental. These efforts have provided us with trustworthy content to leverage for future ads and enhance user engagement on our website.
SEO and Organic Growth
The progress we've made in SEO is significant. Over seven months, we've seen a rise from under ten monthly visitors to around 60 organic visitors. Key terms like "financial planning Victoria," "superannuation advice Melbourne," and "estate financial planning" have surged in rankings. This growth is remarkable given the competition, and our dominance on Google Maps in a 10-20 kilometre radius is noteworthy.
Google Ads Performance
Our Google Ads campaign has matured, with a stable cost per lead at $165. This figure is promising, considering the nature of leads in our industry. While not all leads convert immediately, our positive experiences can lead to referrals and future business. It's great that the snowball effect is beginning to mature; inquiries from people we may have spoken to a year ago result in referrals from their family and friends.
Budget Adjustment Strategy
For our ad strategy moving forward, I propose we maintain a $2,000 monthly budget for Google Ads. This will ensure a consistent flow of inquiries. Additionally, we should allocate $2,000-$3,000 for Facebook Ads when running seminars. This budget will vary based on the seminar's size and whether we invite current clients or target new audiences. The flexibility in our approach to Google Ads will allow us to adjust the budget as needed, depending on the influx of SEO inquiries. Think of it as a tap that we can turn up or down based on our lead requirements. This strategy allows us to maximize efficiency and adapt to changing circumstances.
Leveraging Seminar Content
The content we've captured from your seminars is invaluable. The shift from static images to video snippets in our ads has already shown increased engagement and interest. The video snippets, where you discuss topics like superannuation and retirement planning, have resonated well with our audience. These assets will continue to play a crucial role in our ad campaigns.
Continuous Marketing Investment
Regarding the overall marketing strategy, it's essential to understand that marketing is an ongoing investment. Regular reviews and adjustments are necessary to ensure we're getting the best return on our investment. Our focus on targeted ads and continuous performance tracking is key. We can enhance visibility and click-through rates by ensuring our ads are highly targeted to specific demographics and keywords. Additionally, high-quality content is essential for building trust and authority in the financial advisory space.
The Never-Ending Game of SEO
The nature of SEO means continuous effort. We must sculpt our online presence with regular backlinks, blog posts, and service page updates. Achieving and maintaining top positions will always invite competition, so we need to stay vigilant and proactive. The reality check is the more positions we jump to first or second, the more we trigger the attention of competitors. And because SEO is a never-ending game, we must continue adding backlinks, blogs, and service pages every month to expand our online presence.
Conclusion
Our marketing efforts have yielded significant results, but we must remain flexible and proactive. We can sustain and enhance our competitive edge in the financial advisory space by continuously refining our strategies, leveraging high-quality content, and adjusting our budget based on performance.
Happy Poets Day, and have an awesome weekend!
