Adster Creative

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-owner of The Lawnmower Hospital, a lawnmower repair center. Our parents started the business over forty years ago.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Adster Creative?

We’re working from before the store open until well after it closes. Our business has picked up significantly since we bought the business from our parents. Because of this, it’s hard to do everything so we outsource parts of our business to external agencies like Adster Creative, who help us with marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Adster ensures that we stay busy. We use Adster to get our information out, keep the shop busy at different times and seasons, focusing on higher ticket prices or higher volume services so that we are maintaining our business year-round.

They work on drawing people to the website, building links to improve our SEO for parts, services, and sales. They help with PPC too. They’re helping us with everything online, like Instagram. I ask them for details of what the services are and they explain the lingo before we begin.

What is the team composition?

I’m mainly working with a project manager. Our interactions are one-on-one, but they have a team behind them supporting our project manager.

How did you come to work with Adster Creative?

We wanted to ensure we were working with somebody local. Somebody I knew worked with them and liked them, and I got the referral. We knew they were there to help our business and not to take the cash.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $11,000—$12,000 at this point.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in March 2020, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

This year is unique because we have Analytics set up so we know who’s coming and where they’re coming from. We’ve had an increase in sales. We’re doing well — we’re always busy and there’s never anybody in our competitors' parking lots.

How did Adster Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great at that. They give us structured dates, and they’re always ready at the time they say they will. We’ve never had a delay on their end, it’s always on ours. Whenever I have a question, they’re always quick with a response. I’ve never been steered the wrong way by them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re incredibly knowledgeable about what they do. We’re not just another shop to them, they did their research going into our partnership knowing how we’re different.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t know — everything they’ve done for us is exactly what we needed. We’ve never had a problem.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be more prepared than we are. Know more about online tools yourself and you’ll likely have an easier process. Knowing that they were always there to answer our questions was a great relief throughout the partnership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-owner of Modric Inc and I moderate sales and marketing, and business development. We are a laneway home and custom home builder. Our company builds accessory dwellings to primary dwellings, usually along a lane or in someone’s backyard. We try to accommodate multigenerational living or developers looking at a rental product.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Adster Creative?

We hired Adster Creative because we needed to get some Google AdWords presence right away. We worked with Michael (Account Manager) and the team to develop some campaigns and get some kind of presence on the first Google results page through paid efforts.
 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We asked Adster Creative to develop specific campaigns, some AB testings, PPC management, and provide us with data as it became available. Their deliverable involved co-developing several ads with us. They also conducted a forensic audit on our website and came up with several kinds of insightful recommendations.

We also hired Adster Creative to help us with the technical side to optimize the site for the Google ranking process.

What is the team composition?

Our main contact is the account manager, which is Michael, and then there is a project manager as well as a technical writer. So we have regular contact or semi-regular contact with three different individuals. I assume that within Adster Creative, they have technical people that develop and work on the backend of our website.

How did you come to work with Adster Creative?

I originally worked with Adster Creative about three years ago with a different company and then we came back to them when we first started our new company. I’ve had positive experiences with Adster Creative before and I was happy to come back and try another campaign with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $3,000 with Adster Creative per month, so probably around $36,000 a year, with a fair amount of that going toward ad spend. I’d say Facebook and Google get $2,250 and Adster Creative gets $750, as a ballpark.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in May 2020 and we are still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We went from literally crickets and tumbleweeds, maybe one inquiry via our website once every couple of weeks. We are starting to see an inquiry of 3–5 solid leads per week now. This is huge for us because these are qualified leads. They also increased our Instagram and Facebook followers.

How did Adster Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re right on top of things and have great communication. I’m the bottleneck usually. They are very organized and they have a rigorous process that keeps me accountable and I like that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I haven’t worked with a lot of other providers so I can’t speak to that direct experience. What I can tell you is that they are a small organization, they’re very hands-on, and they’re constantly monitoring our social media channels and our website performance. I think they do those things really well. They don’t just spit back data, they actually interpret the data for you and see opportunities that maybe others don’t see.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be organized, be prepared, and be ready to develop content in order for Adster Creative, Google, or Facebook to do their job or get the results that you want. You as a client have to do a whole bunch of work upfront in order to enable Adster Creative to leverage your assets, your website, your newsletter, or whatever it is.

Don’t expect Adster Creative to just step in and magically make everything happen. You as a client have to go do a lot of legwork upfront. They will guide you through the process. There’s a longer onboarding process than I expected, and I understand why.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of Sundance Mazda, an automotive dealership.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Adster Creative?

We hired Adster Creative to capitalize on our online ads and SEO efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Adster Creative supports us through SEO and PPC campaigns, including Google Ads. We work closely with their team on keyword research. They perform audits of our site and make adjustments, ensuring we’re not overlooking any opportunities for improvement. They’ve helped provide content and make our site more cutting edge. 

What is the team composition?

Lisa (Project Manager & Team Lead, Adster Creative) is our main point of contact and works on our project. 

How did you come to work with Adster Creative?

We followed a recommendation based on someone’s positive experience with Adster Creative. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spend between $80,000–$100,000 a year on their services. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since 2015 and our engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Adster Creative is able to maximize our budget; they spend less and earn more ROI than our previous provider. Year-over-year, we’ve seen a 50% increase in lead generation and have improved our exposure in a competitive marketplace. 

How did Adster Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been really great from a project management standpoint. We primarily use webinars and phone calls to communicate. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

In the automotive industry, it’s rare to have a strong understanding of the field and the online world, but Adster Creative has both. They show a better understanding of the industry than others in their field. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I can really think of. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re proactive and work well on their own, so allow them to do that. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I'm managing partner of a criminal defense law firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Adster Creative? 

Competitors are numerous and aggressive in our industry. I was doing all of the website optimization efforts myself, but realized I wasn't getting anywhere and it was taking a lot of time. We needed a professional to optimize our website and its performance in terms of successful links and searches to our business from potential clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Adster Creative started by conducting a full review of our site. They noted how the site was performing and made recommendations. They advised us if there were specific technical issues that had to be addressed. Initially, they wrote blogs for us. We found that wasn't effective due to the specificity required in our profession.

Currently, they manage our Google Ads account. They're constantly monitoring the effectiveness of the ad buy. They determine what days and what hours of the week we should target with our ad spend. They also work closely with our graphic designer on any technical changes to the website so that they aren't stepping on each other's toes.

What is the team composition? 

There was a recent change to our primary point of contact. We just started working with Kenzie (digital account manager, Adster Creative) at the beginning of this year. 

How did you come to work with Adster Creative?

I was in the market for an optimization partner when I received an email from them. I get a lot of email, but theirs was clearly the most professional and compelling. I attended a full-day orientation at their offices that was an introduction to their services. Their executives took us through how the basic optimization process works, what needs to be done, and the trends in the industry to keep competitive. It impressed me because I felt what they brought to the table was unique.

How much have you invested with them?

Not including the Google Ads spend, it’s about $24,000 a year on average. Their contract is quite clear about what everything costs. As we reduced the level of service (because most of the heavy work was done in the first year), we've seen a reduction in our monthly bill. That’s pretty unique in my experience for any contract service. 

What is the status of this engagement? 

We started working together in January 2016 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I've certainly been happy with the turnaround in the performance of our web optimization. The main impact is that Adster Creative helps us attract a greater volume of new clients. It’s been a steady increase over time and continues to grow. The bottom line is we want more high-quality business through the door. They’ve helped us to target private clients in certain areas of our province, and we’ve been successful in attracting more of that business. 

How did Adster Creative perform from a project management standpoint? 

Their team is excellent. They’re prompt and responsive. We usually communicate by email. They work directly with my webmaster when they need to make technical changes to the platform. They’re transparent about showing us in real-time what they’re doing, whether the problem was being fixed, or what else needs to be done. For the first year and a half, we had monthly check-in meetings. I now interface with them quarterly. They give me the level of communication I require, no more no less. 

Adster Creative has maintained the level of service that we require. They're always looking to initiate new ideas to enhance performance by establishing new links and getting reviews. They also urge us to do what’s needed to improve performance.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

I really appreciate that they're proactive about making changes to our approach as opposed to just waiting for me to ask. They're the only optimization company I've dealt with. However, in discussions with colleagues who use other companies, most aren’t happy. Some of them have horror stories about providers charging astronomical sums for poor results. I feel that I'm getting a very good value—in terms of increasing our client base and revenue—for the money we spend. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

No, I'm not aware of anything that they need to do better. They explain things clearly in our meetings so I always know what's going up, what's going down, and what needs to change. They're doing the work and keeping me up to date so I'm satisfied. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Meet with them and ask for an explanation of what's involved in their service. They know how to explain to lay people so that you understand how it works and why it's important. You're not going to appreciate what they're doing without that understanding. It’s important that everybody's on the same page as to what's possible and what's not possible.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the owner of Pure Wave Electric, an electrical contracting business that focuses on renovations and repairs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Adster Creative?

I approached Adster Creative to improve my Google Ads campaign. I had no previous experience with advertising and felt that my business needed professional help.

What were your goals for this project?

Through Google Ads, I hoped to achieve at least 60 leads per month.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Adster Creative was referred to me by a government-funded business loan service. One of their owners is a mentor through the company. After talking, I discovered that Adster Creative managed Google Ads for a company I used to work and felt confident in their skills that they would do an excellent job. The price was also reasonable.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Adster Creative manages our Google Ads campaign and monitors our website’s performance. Their team tracks leads, updates advertising monthly, and tweaks keywords.

What was the team composition?

Around four team members are working on my account.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our click-through rate has increased significantly, and the quality of impressions and leads have improved. Adster Creative makes sure the leads are valuable and will benefit my business.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Their team provides email updates every two weeks with clear progress reports. I can monitor their performance easily on a dashboard. The entire engagement has been comfortable and efficient.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I am impressed with the confidence Adster Creative exhibits. Their organization is also outstanding. With previous companies, the workflow has almost been chaotic. Their friendly team listens to all of my needs and provides any help requested. Adster Creative goes the extra mile for my business.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I’m pleased with their work, but there’s always room for improvement. I wish I could directly meet everyone involved in the process. This could prevent any communication issues.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and operations manager of Park Muffler Radiator Brakes & Tires, an automotive repair shop.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Adster Creative?

My father-in-law, who ran the business for 43 years, was reluctant to change anything about the company, but we had to make a push to increase our online presence.

After leaving a previous vendor, we needed help with SEO and digital marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Adster Creative developed our new website from scratch. They also deliver SEO and Google AdWords services.

The previous person we used for SEO couldn’t keep up with the changes Google requires. We had to rebuild our reputation with Google. My father-in-law cared about seeing his store at the top of the rankings. We lost some of our rankings because we had to rebuild closed sites, and Adster Creative helped us with that.

We do our reputation monitoring on our website and blog posts. We’re a seasonal service business, and their team will work with us to boost ads or work on campaigns based on that. Adster Creative also provides a customer service component by responding to our Google reviews.

Adster Creative provides services to our other shops. They help with Adwords and those websites.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Libriel (PPC Specialist, Adster Creative).

How did you come to work with Adster Creative?

They were recommended to us by someone locally before I was in my current role.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent approximately $108,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2015, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

It has taken time to build our campaign with Adster Creative, but we’ve seen huge gains regarding traffic through AdWords and SEO. Their team has done great, and we’ve been pleased with them.

A lot of people come to us because of our Google reviews, and their team has helped with that.

How did Adster Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

If Adster Creative can break it down to my father-in-law in his 70s in a way he feels comfortable, that’s a huge win. Their team is excellent with project management. Anytime I have an issue; I’ll send Libriel an email. If she can’t help, she sends it to someone who can handle the situation.

She visits at least once a year and meets with our staff to understand how we do business and what our values are. Libriel works hard to translate any difficult digital aspects for us.

We’ve had times where we had issues with phishing on our form submissions, and Adster Creative will fix it the same day. Their team constantly makes sure our website was updated.

Adster Creative is exceptionally responsive. We meet with their team at least once a month using GoToMeeting.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Adster Creative cares about getting to know our business to serve us better.

Are there any areas they could improve?

From a cost standpoint, we’d like to see our monthly costs decrease since our website is complete and we’ve referred them to others.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Finding the right fit with the person you work with is crucial. Getting to know the owner and their standards will translate into work. The personal touch is essential, and Adster Creative does a great job of that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the operations manager of a custom suits retailer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Adster Creative?

We engaged Adster Creative to provide digital marketing services to improve our traffic and organic search rankings.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Adster Creative provides digital marketing services, including keyword research, content creation for blogs and social media posts, and analytics reporting. They've helped us discover where our traffic is coming from and how many appointments are being booked through different sources. They also oversee customer ratings, allowing us the opportunity to respond to any negative reviews or comments.

What is the team composition?

I mostly work with Jillian (Digital Marketing Strategist, Adster Creative).

How did you come to work with Adster Creative?

I believe someone on our staff either reached out to them, or they reached out to us, but I wasn't involved in the process.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together since April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Adster Creative has helped us significantly improve our online presence overall. We're now more aware of where our traffic is coming from, engaging with more customers, and ranking higher on Google.

How did Adster Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

I have no complaints at all. We have regular meetings over the phone with their team, and they're pretty good at being responsive to our needs overall.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I don't really have anything to compare their work to since this is our first time dealing with a digital marketing vendor. But we've been happy with their services thus far.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They're doing a good job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner of a commercial painting business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Adster Creative?

Much of my business is based on referral marketing or some small print campaigns, but I previously didn’t have any kind of online presence. I hired Adster Creative to assist with my digital marketing efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Adster Creative set up a landing page and currently manages our PPC campaigns. Together, we identified keywords that we wanted to optimize, and through some trial and error, we settled on a combination that works well for our goals.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with two digital marketing specialists over the course of the engagement.

How did you come to work with Adster Creative?

I met one of their employees through a networking group, and, from that, I attended a couple of information sessions to learn more about the company. When I decided to expand my business, I knew they’d be the right fit. It was a costly investment, but it’s been well worth it.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $15,000 a year, so close to $50,000 total.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in September 2015 and remains ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The $50,000 or so that we’ve spent with Adster Creative represents about 1% of our sales over the course of three years, so the return on investment has been incredible.

How did Adster Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve watched them grow over the last three years, as well, and their customer service has remained a strength. They track our results well and make it easy for me to understand where my dollars are going.

What did you find most impressive about them?

A lot of SEO companies try to sell you on how much money they can make you or what kind of views they can get you. Adster Creative educates you about the impressions you get and how to better generate your organic presence. They teach you about the process, and not all companies do that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I think they do a good job of addressing any gaps in their services.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be comfortable making a commitment longer than three months. Some people will want to see a quick return on investment, but it takes time to understand your target audience and learn what time of day is best for ads to be posted.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner of Edmonton's International Beerfest.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Adster Creative?

We wanted to improve our ability to reach a targeted audience online through a variety of digital marketing campaigns.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Adster created a targeted PPC campaign to attract people actively searching for our event; a Facebook campaign targeting people most likely to be interested in the event; and display and Youtube campaigns targeting our target demographic. They also created key links and citations, including a Google My Business and Wikipedia page.

What is the team composition?

I work with Jillian (Digital Account Manager, Adster Creative) regularly, especially when we're starting new projects or making a lot of changes.

How did you come to work with Adster Creative?

They were referred to us and I liked their team after meeting with them. They were very focused on online presence and digital marketing, as opposed to other vendors who try to do too much at once. I liked that they just focused on providing two main services well.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent a little less than $10,000 thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around October 2017 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Adster's digital marketing services allowed us to cut our marketing spend in half with significantly better results. Their services resulted in over 2,500 e-commerce transactions and helped achieve 4% year-over-year growth in traffic. Our bounce rate decreased by 67%; average sessions duration increased by 39%; and average lead acquisition cost increased by 39% with an average cost of $5.44. Their work has accounted for a 13% increase in traffic to the site and a 20% increase in transactions.

How did Adster Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They manage projects very well; they're very responsive, organized, and concerned about customer satisfaction. We mainly stay in touch through email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their approach makes the whole relationship very easy. I have a lot of confidence in their team's ability to deliver results through their proven experience and expertise. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try not to micromanage their team, because they're very good at figuring out the best approach—trust in their abilities to deliver results.