Using Strategy to Launch a Successful Google Ads Campaign

When Meng’s Katy, a long-standing martial arts school, approached us at CXO Business Solutions, they had a clear goal: to make a mark in the Katy, Texas market with a limited budget. They had just moved to a new location within the city and needed to attract the right audience to fill their classes. What followed was a strategic journey that transformed their approach to advertising.

Defining the Audience: The First Step

From the outset, we knew that traditional planning wouldn’t suffice. We needed a tailored strategy that would resonate with Meng’s Katy’s unique clientele. Our newly established fractional strategy department, led by Connor Clarke, got to work, diving deep into customer data to identify three distinct groups:

1. Office Workers
   • University-educated, likely working in office jobs, average age of 35, predominately male, interested in self-improvement, and enjoys educational training aspects.
2. Military Veterans
   • With a background in self-defense/combat training, experienced learners, proud of military service, looking to keep up mental and physical self-defense skills.
3. Parents with Active Kids
   • Parents aged 25-55 with kids aged 8-12, highly involved in their children's activities, looking for structured and engaging extracurriculars.

With these segments defined, we were ready to launch the campaign, aiming to reach the right people from the very beginning.

The First 30 Days: Laying the Foundation

The campaign kicked off with high hopes and meticulous planning. For the first month, we closely monitored performance, gathering data and insights.

Ad Performance Metrics:

• Impressions: 2.3K
• Clicks: 113
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): 4.88%

We found that most impressions came from mobile devices, particularly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 5 PM and 11 PM. Interestingly, the majority of clicks were from females aged 25-45, spanning both the top 10% and lower 50% income earners.

Meng’s Katy had 28% of the impression share, often appearing at the top of search results. Despite the specific ad headlines that aimed to disqualify non-ideal clients, the campaign achieved a solid CTR.

Every 72 hours, we refined our keyword list, excluding irrelevant terms and incorporating new, relevant ones. This constant tweaking ensured that we weren’t wasting money on unqualified clicks.

The Next 30 Days: Refining the Strategy

As we moved into the second month, the data guided our next steps.

Ad Performance Metrics:

• Impressions: 4.24K
• Clicks: Increased by 82
• CTR: Consistent at 4%
• Conversions: 14 total; a notable increase in the second 30 days.

Mobile continued to dominate as the preferred platform for viewing ads. We noticed that ads performed best on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, particularly during lunch hours and after work.

The office workers segment emerged as the strongest, followed by the active kids segment, albeit with a higher cost-per-click. Based on these insights, we decided to reallocate our budget, focusing more on these high-performing segments and cutting back on less effective ones, like the military veterans segment.

Continuous Optimization: Key Recommendations

To maximize effectiveness and reduce costs, we made several strategic adjustments:

• Ad Scheduling: Targeting Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday from 10 AM to 9 PM.
• Device Optimization: Focused on mobile and tablets, excluding desktops.
• Demographic Refinement: Excluding the 55+ age group to hone in on the 25-44 demographic.
• Keyword Management: Removing "Meng’s Martial Arts" as a paid keyword, relying on strong organic search performance.

We also introduced discount headlines in popular ads to capture immediate attention and drive more clicks.

Conclusion: A Success Story

By leveraging our fractional strategy department and continuously refining our approach based on real-time data, we crafted a highly effective Google Ads campaign for Meng’s Katy. The results were impressive: increased impressions, consistent click-through rates, and a significant boost in conversions.

This campaign wasn’t just about numbers; it was about understanding the audience and delivering messages that resonated. At CXO Business Solutions, we pride ourselves on our ability to adapt and innovate, ensuring our clients not only meet but exceed their objectives. Meng’s Katy’s journey from a new market entrant to a leader in their space is a testament to the power of strategic, data-driven advertising.