Tag Archive for: cpl

You Can’t Do That

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In April, we started working with a large national client. They came to us frustrated. Their previous agency, a global firm with offices in more than 25 cities, had told them something surprising:

“You can’t build campaigns targeted at each local market.”

Why They Said It

To be fair, I understand where that came from. It’s much easier to manage a few national campaigns than to build and maintain campaigns for 140 individual locations. Budget allocation is simpler. Reporting is cleaner. The workload is lighter.

From the agency’s perspective, it makes sense. From the client’s perspective, it doesn’t.

The Problem with “Easier”

This client doesn’t operate as a single national entity. They operate as 140 local markets, each with different demand, capacity, and priorities.

Sometimes Macon, Georgia is at capacity and doesn’t need more leads. At the same time, Daytona, FL may need more volume. A single national campaign can’t account for that.

And when your campaigns can’t reflect how your business actually operates, performance suffers no matter how “optimized” they look in the platform.

What We’re Doing Differently

We’re in the process of building campaigns for all 140 locations so the client can adjust budgets based on what each market actually needs. Yes, it’s more work. But it gives them something they didn’t have before: control.

  • Control over where leads come from
  • Control over how budget is allocated
  • Control over how marketing supports real-world operations

The Bigger Point

Platforms like Google and Microsoft Ads have their own ideas of what’s “optimal.” Agencies often follow those ideas because they’re easier to manage at scale.

But campaigns aren’t built to serve the platform. They’re built to serve the business. And sometimes that means doing things that are less convenient—but far more effective.

A Question Worth Asking

If your agency tells you, “You can’t do that,” it’s worth pausing for a moment.

Is it truly not possible? Or is it just not how they prefer to operate?

Because the right approach isn’t the one that’s easiest to manage. It’s the one that helps your business perform at its best.

Don’t Let Your Agency Hide Behind a Dashboard

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Do you hire a digital advertising agency to grow your business—or to grow their bottom line?

It sounds like a ridiculous question, but too many agencies act like you’re there to fund their retainers, not your results.

The Dashboard Dilemma

Dashboards can be a great tool… when used honestly. They can also be a convenient way to show you just enough to keep you from asking tough questions.

Too often, agencies use them to summarize performance without context. And without context, you can’t make informed decisions.

Simplicity Shouldn’t Mean Hiding the Truth

Dashboards often highlight one number: Average Cost Per Lead (CPL). Useful, sure. But it rarely tells the full story.

Here’s an example. Before we took over a client’s account, their agency showed them an average CPL of $37 – a great number for their industry. But 80% of those conversions were coming from branded searches – people already looking for the company by name.

Once we dug in, we found branded leads cost $26 each, but new customer leads (non-branded terms) were much higher. So, we restructured the account.

Within months, branded CPL dropped to $7, and non-branded leads – actual new business – came down to $75. That shift turned their ad spend from “maintenance mode” into a real growth engine.

Local Data, Informed Decisions

The same client has 37 locations across the East Coast. Their previous agency lumped everything into a handful of campaigns. It was easy… for them. But not so useful for the client.

We rebuilt it from the ground up: 147 campaigns by location and service line. That level of granularity gave them clarity they’d never had before.

Now they can see that leads in Charlotte, NC, cost twice as much as in Bow, NH, and make decisions accordingly. That’s what transparency looks like.

Demand the Data You Deserve

I hate seeing businesses spend good money on bad campaigns.

If your agency’s dashboard makes everything look “fine” but you don’t understand why it’s fine, or where your leads are really coming from, it’s time to ask for the full picture.

Simplicity should serve clarity, not hide it.

If your agency can’t (or won’t) give you that clarity, it may be time to find one that will.

Your Thoughts

What has been your experience with agency dashboards?