I made the decision to dabble Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Social Media Marketing (SMM) using PPC (Pay Per Click). In 2014, I did a first-ever test advertising on facebook. I was spending may be about £5 a day to see how the ad performed. It’s not much, I know. I believe I stopped only about three days afterwards.
I used two distinct ad accounts to run facebook ads. It was sporadic rather than ongoing from day to day or month to month.
Advertising with Google adwords
In 2015, I also tried running ads on Google adwords, as shown in the screenshot below. Initially, I was running adverts as a test. Over time, I think I tested close to 50 different advertisements. Ads such as service, affiliate, e-commerce, dropship products and so on.
Microsoft advertising
Formerly known as bing ads. I also attempted Microsoft adversting. As seen on snapshot, I did little on Microsoft ads though, as compare to Facebook ads and Google ads. I was testing a finance and weight loss diet category.
Mgid and Propellerads (Native/Push notification)
I also put the Mgid and Propellerads to the test. While Propellerads focuses on push notifications and in-page push ads, Mgid is more focused on native display advertisements.
I discovered that my $100 fund would soon run out when running native ads. You would require enough money to test your advertisements. Native ads are run mostly by agencies or indiviuals who have had prior success with their ad campaign.
You probably have seen ads like these before on news website or any other entertainment website. These ad types are called native because they easily blend in with the site’s content.
Example of native display
Amazon ads
When I search for beard oil on Amazon, the first two items I see when searching for beard oil (highlighted in a green box) are sponsored products. Obviously the product’s owner or whoever manages paid search are running ad campaign.
I used to sell a few goods on Amazon a few years back. Beard oil was one of them. Hence the below example. I was using Amazon FBA to sell. I undoubtedly ran an ad campaign. This is an another story. Long story short, I ultimately lost money on the 400 or so bottles of beard oil that were in the inventory.
In total, I think I spent around £300 on Amazon advertisements, excluding the price of the products.
Total ad cost
Facebook ads (account 1 and 2): $225.76 + £475.89= £661
+Google ads: £1634.19
Microsoft advertising: £101.4
MGID and Propellerads: $100.65+$102.01= £166
Amazon ads: excluded
Net cost: £2562 (roundup)
+ There is a discrepancy in the cost of Google Ads. As shown in the ad campaign screenshot, the cost is £1.95k but the bill totals £1.63k.
Use of Clickcease and Clickmagick
I used Clickcease to stop competitors or bots clicking my ads. Yes, they will click on ads just like that. Stopping click fraud saves money. Their monthly plan starts at $59. And offer 7-day free trial.
I also used Clickmagick. Conversion tracking is the major focus of their business. Their monthly package ranges in price from $37 to $197. A 14-day free trial is available.
Overall ad summary
Although I simply displayed the ad expenditures. I did not provide comprehensive information about the advertising. Such as CTR, average CPC, clicks, impressions, etc. This is due to the fact that the post would be lengthier if I reviewed every single advertisement. Additionally, it would be really hassle to trace as I didn’t keep a journal from that long ago, especially with regard to Facebook advertisements. Perhaps I will do in-depth details about it in the future.
So what did I learn from all this?
Advertising on any platform is similar to tossing cards at a window to see which ones stick. Initially, you would always lose money testing which ads work and which do not while also performing A/B split testing. As general rule of thumb. I follow 3×3 formula. Each 3 individual adset from the ad campaign requires me to run at least 3 ads. Some advertiser do it differently. They may have 10 or more ads at one time. If any one of the three advertisements is a winning ad, I would concentrate more on it and eliminate the others. I would also increase my spending, make adjustments, and optimise it further to get a good return on investment from the ad spend.
Based only on conversion, this is how I evaluate advertising platforms.
- Google adwords
- Facebook ads
- Amazon ads
- Microsoft advertising
- MGID and Propellerads etc. (Native/Push)
Feature Photo by Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash