Smarter PPC Clicks

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the marketing director of Improve Finance. We offer secure loans and mortgages for B2C customers. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Smarter PPC Clicks?

We were looking to launch into the market and wanted to work with a company who had the experience to give us a running start. In the financial sector, many businesses lose a lot of money when launching PPC campaigns if they don't have the required knowledge. Having known of Smarter PPC Clicks’ experience beforehand, we got in touch with them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Smarter PPC Clicks allowed us to start competing tactically and strategically with companies that had larger budgets right from the start. Their market insight helped us gain traction in the market right away without wasting lots of money on testing. We targeted keywords tailored to an audience that would convert. PPC is about not only getting more clicks but also attracting customers with the right intentions. Based on the search terms they use, the team knows which leads will actually convert into loans and mortgages. 

Thanks to our marketing partner, our site was already reasonably well done. Smarter PPC Clicks offered an initial consultation for conversion rate optimization to assess our strategy, then tweaked and optimized it for improved performance. The site was delivering reasonably well, considering we had just launched it to markets, but we weren't hitting our desired targets. The team made changes to step up to another level. They helped us set up and launch an intense PPC campaign to put our client into the right market and managed it ever since to target our desired growth.

What is the team composition? 

Our main point of contact at Smarter PPC Clicks is the owner and founder. 

How did you come to work with Smarter PPC Clicks?

We're both in the marketing business. Working with many other financial sector clients, we had crossed paths with Smarter PPC Clicks and seen their work. They came recommended by people we knew. When we first spoke, we could tell they knew what they were talking about. They commissioned something through our marketing business, and it was a no-brainer to employ them to manage our campaigns for a finance company. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around pounds 20,000 (approximately $26,300 USD) per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together since May 2016. After the initial consultation, it took a few months to implement their suggestions. We launched the campaign in the summer. We've been doing slightly different work since our company has grown. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Smarter PPC Clicks knows the industry quite well, which is a key reason we brought them on board. We didn't have to spend as much on their services as larger competitors would have charged. 

Our best outcome has been an improved conversion rate. Smarter PPC Click has brought in a steady volume of relevant site visitors. We don't get 100,000 applications per month, but the majority we receive are from people who genuinely want help with finance. They know who to target and how to do it.

We appreciated their consultation. Rather than executing the entire project, we wanted them to give us advice and consider our ideas. They adhered to all the necessary compliances for our industry and took full responsibility for the project. It worked out exactly as we planned. 

How did Smarter PPC Clicks perform from a project management standpoint?

Smarter PPC Clicks manages everything for PPC from start to finish, and they do it very well. They send us weekly reports and all the materials we needed. For anything granular, they break down results for specific parts of the business and profit senses. They help us increase or decrease our focus on particular areas. Initially, we had a few phone calls to explain our market and answer key questions. Most of the time, we communicated by email and followed up with phone calls when discussing the budget. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We worked with a few different PPC companies who produced textbook deliverables. The finance sector is costly to market. Smarter PPC Clicks helped us achieve the right outcome. The most significant benefit they provide is attracting leads with strong intent. They helped us target the right type of audience instead of random people who type anything about finance into a search engine. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

When a campaign goes really well, it's hard to see any negatives. Whenever I called Smarter PPC Clicks, they gave me an answer within 15 minutes. Everything went smoothly.