Your goal for online marketing should be to get more money out of it than you put into it. Simple, right? Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out this way.
See, you typically want to limit upfront expenses on your new online marketing so you can ensure you get a profitable return. However, when starting a new online marketing program, some business owners make mistakes early on that cause them to waste money instead of saving it.
In this post, we’ll highlight some of the most common ways business owners waste their money when starting a new online marketing campaign. Plus, we offer suggestions on how to avoid them.
1. Not Communicating With Your Former Marketer Before Leaving Their Program
It’s not uncommon for business owners to decide they want to switch gears and take their online marketing in a new direction. However, sometimes business owners make the mistake of not communicating this desire with their current marketer. Seeking to avoid potential conflict or discomfort, they suddenly quit their program and sign up with a brand-new marketer without any notice.
In many cases, though, the old marketer could have accommodated that new direction—or, at the very least, made the transition to a new marketer much less damaging to the client’s web traffic and rankings. If you talk to your marketer about your goals, chances are, they’ll have a satisfactory solution for you. Then, you can continue to work with them without any added risks. Alternatively, they can help you set up for a new marketer.
However, if you suddenly jump ship without talking to them, you’ll have to pay to start a new campaign with a new marketer all over again. You may also leave without getting all the information you need, including access to your business listings. It would be like switching to a new dentist without getting all your X-rays and medical history from your previous one. If you did this, your new dentist would have to spend the entirety of your first appointment taking X-rays and interviewing you about your medical history all over again. This eats up valuable time and increases your bill.
In other words, it’s better to just admit to your old marketer that you need a change. Even if they can’t give you what you need, they can at least ensure you hit the ground running with your new online marketing campaign.
2. Not Planning an Exit Strategy From Your Former Marketing Team
If you’re transitioning from one marketer to the next, you need to have a solid plan in place. You need to know exactly when you’re going to quit your former program so you can establish your new campaign as effectively as possible.
If there’s too much of a time-lag between when you end your previous program and when you begin your new one, your web presence will fall off substantially. On the other hand, if your programs overlap too much, there’s a real risk of conflict between your marketers and resulting Google penalties. Conflict and penalties can do even more damage to your web presence.
These dips in web presence will cost you jobs, and therefore money. Instead, you want to set everything up so one campaign transitions seamlessly into the next.
3. Not Cleaning Up Your Company’s Online Trail
A new marketing campaign means a new website. A new website may mean a new URL, phone number, address, etc. If you don’t correct outdated information or redirect old URLs once your new campaign begins, then your campaign is going to suffer. As a result, you’ll flush a lot of money down the drain on a campaign that’s flailing from the get-go.
If you don’t know how to clean up or redirect old links, ask your new marketer. They’ll be happy to do it for you, as it will ultimately make their job a lot easier and set you up for success.
4. Not Knowing What You Want Your Website to Look Like
If you aren’t clear about your vision for your website, then how will your marketer be able to create the appearance you want?
You don’t need to have every exact detail decided, but you should think about basic things like color schemes, photo subjects, and general layout themes. Take a look at some of your competitors’ websites to get an idea of what you like and dislike. Then, convey your general preferences to your marketer.
If you don’t give your marketer any guidance or direction, they’ll invest a lot of time on your site, but still come back to you with one you don’t like. Then, you’ll have to pay for multiple rounds of alterations while they try to guess what you want. These extra charges will add up quickly. You’re much better off taking some time and thinking about what you want before you get started.
5. Not Vetting a PPC Provider for Transparency
The amount you pay for Google AdWords or Bing Ads is largely dictated by your provider’s billing structure. If you don’t thoroughly vet whoever is handling your accounts, then you may get stuck with a provider who isn’t totally upfront about where your money is going.
If there’s no transparency, then your provider can charge you unspecified management fees, show you misleading metrics, and unilaterally decide how and when your ad money is spent. When a company keeps you in the dark about how your ad money is being handled, there’s a reason they don’t want you to know.
To gauge their level of transparency, ask your provider specifically about their management fees and how much input you can have in your ad schedule. If they dodge your questions, you have your answer.
Read more about how to handle PPC providers here: Four Ways Your PPC Services Could Be a Rip-Off
Start Off on the Right Foot.
Now that you know which behaviors lead to wasted money, you can more carefully navigate your new relationship with your marketer and get exactly what you want out of your program.
And, as always, feel free to use us as a resource if you have any questions or concerns moving forward. We look forward to helping you reach your new online marketing goals.
