A Melbourne-based experience business had been running Google Ads for about 5 years. During the busy summer season, Google Ads delivered a healthy return, but in the cooler months it had never been able to break even, and with fixed costs still to cover, winter put serious pressure on cash flow and overall profit. The previous winter, the whole website had brought in only about a third of what was spent on Google Ads. So with the next winter approaching, the business paused Google Ads altogether, and was considering closing down operations for the season entirely, so contacted Calculate Marketing for a second opinion.

Summary

Google Ads now makes more profit in winter than it previously made in summer.

How I helped

The previous account had just 4 campaigns, 4 ad groups, 4 keywords (all broad match), and 4 very generic ads. As a result, ads were appearing for a wide range of irrelevant searches, including searches related to kids, DIY, and home delivery products, none of which the business offered.

Before any keywords were chosen, a lot of time was spent with the business owner exploring their target audience, demographics, and the psychology behind the product and its key appeal. This included the buying cycle, and the alternatives people were likely to consider. While nothing on the market was very similar, plenty of other businesses offered different products and services which met similar general needs.

The account was then rebuilt from scratch, with completely different keywords and completely rewritten ad messages:

• 105 campaigns
• 1,152 ad groups
• 3,035 keywords, across 20+ key themes
• 6,070 ad messages, tailored to each search theme

The business also made some minor changes to their website, so that the ads and the website shared a consistent message.

Campaign results

The new keywords and more tailored ad messages brought far more engaged visitors to the website. In an average month, clicks were spread across 260+ unique keywords, compared to just 4 keywords previously. Next year, compared to the year before:

• Visits from Google Ads rose by 301%
• Average cost per click (CPC) fell by 11%
• Pages per visit from Google Ads rose by 74%
• Return visits from Google Ads rose by 277%

Client results

In the very first month of the new campaigns starting in June, every $1 spent on Google Ads brought in over $4 in revenue, something the business had never achieved in the off-season. Even in July, during a particularly cold and wet Melbourne winter, Google Ads still brought in more revenue than it cost.

For the following peak season, compared to the year before:

• Revenue from Google Ads rose by 426%
• Orders from Google Ads rose by 239%
• Return on ad spend rose by 30%
• Revenue from Google Ads after ad costs rose by 453%
• Total website revenue rose by 469%

Calculate Marketing has now worked with the business for about 8 years. In the winters of years 4, 5 and 6, Google Ads revenue during winter was over 26-100% higher than in the summer before the rebuild, and revenue after ad costs was 13-88% higher.

The business went from asking “should I just close up shop for winter?” to making more profit from Google Ads in winter than it previously made in summer.

If your business is seasonal, and your quiet months are eating into your profits, get in touch today for a free analysis and review.