As businesses continue to invest more in online advertising, the issue of wasted ad spend becomes increasingly significant. It’s a scenario in which businesses spend money on advertising campaigns that fail to generate the expected returns. The result is a significant loss of resources, which could have been put to better use in other areas of the business.
According to Next&Co Digital Media Waste’s Report, the numbers on wasted ad spend are simply staggering. In the first quarter of 2022, about 40% of the media spend was wasted— which amounts to billions of dollars. In fact, Google has stated that around 56% of Ad impressions were never really seen by customers.
Moreover, Proxima has estimated about $37 million of worldwide marketing budgets get wasted on poor digital marketing performance.
Fortunately, there are strategies that businesses can employ to eliminate wasted ad spend and maximize their return on investment (ROI). In this article, we’ll be discussing five of the most effective ways to do just that. These methods will ensure that you will not be blowing your precious hard-earned ad budget.
Strategy 1: Target Your Audience Effectively
One of the most significant contributors to wasted ad spend is targeting the wrong audience. If your ads are not reaching the right people, you’re essentially throwing money down the drain. Therefore, businesses must take the time to understand their customers and tailor their advertising efforts to match their needs and preferences.
To target your audience effectively, start by creating detailed buyer personas that outline your ideal customer’s demographics, interests, behaviors, and pain points.
Once you’ve identified your target audience, use the available targeting options on the ad platforms you use to hone in on this group. For instance, Facebook Ads allows you to target users based on interests, behaviors, demographics, and location.
It’s also essential to continuously monitor your campaign’s performance and adjust your targeting strategy as needed to ensure that your ads are reaching the right audience and maximizing your ROI. By targeting your audience effectively, you can reduce wasted ad spend and increase the chances of converting leads into loyal customers.
Strategy 2: Retarget Users at Different Parts of Your Funnel
Retargeting users at different parts of your funnel can help you to eliminate wasted ad spend and increase the chances of converting leads into loyal customers. A funnel is a representation of the stages that a potential customer goes through before making a purchase, starting from awareness to consideration, and then decision-making.
To retarget users effectively, you need to segment your audience based on where they are in the funnel. For example, if a user has shown interest in a particular product but has not yet made a purchase, you can retarget them with an ad that offers a discount code or a free trial.
Retargeting users who have abandoned their cart is another effective way to reduce wasted ad spend. By showing them ads that remind them of the items they left behind, you can entice them to complete their purchase.
You can also use retargeting to reach out to users who have previously engaged with your brand. For example, you can show them ads that highlight your brand’s values, new products or services, or promotions that might be of interest to them.
By retargeting users at different parts of your funnel, you can increase the chances of converting leads into loyal customers and reduce wasted ad spend by targeting users who are more likely to engage with your brand.
Strategy 3: Leverage A Cross Channel Approach
Another effective strategy for eliminating wasted ad spend is leveraging a cross-channel approach. Many businesses make the mistake of focusing all their advertising efforts on a single platform. However, this approach can be risky since it leaves your business vulnerable to any changes made by the platform or algorithm.
The cross-channel approach involves using a combination of advertising channels such as social media, search engines, and email to ensure that your ads are reaching a broader audience and maximizing your ROI.
To start, you need to identify the channels that your target audience uses the most.
For example, if your audience spends most of their time on social media platforms, you can leverage social media advertising to reach them. Alternatively, if your audience is more likely to use search engines to find products or services, search engine advertising can be an effective option.
Using a cross-channel approach also allows you to retarget users who have engaged with your brand on one platform but have not yet converted. For instance, you can use email marketing to reach out to users who have abandoned their cart and offer them a discount code to encourage them to complete their purchase.
By leveraging a cross-channel approach, you can ensure that your ads are reaching a broader audience and maximizing your ROI. This approach can help you to eliminate wasted ad spend by targeting users across multiple platforms and channels and increasing the chances of converting leads into loyal customers.
Strategy 4: Use Ads Grader Tool
The Ads Grader tool is a powerful resource for advertisers looking to eliminate wasted ad spend. This tool helps advertisers evaluate the effectiveness of their ad campaigns by providing a comprehensive analysis of their ad account’s performance. With this information, advertisers can identify areas where they need to improve and optimize their campaigns to reduce wasted ad spend and increase their ROI.
Using the Ads Grader tool is easy. Simply enter your ad account details, and the tool will analyze your campaigns based on various metrics such as click-through rate, conversion rate, and ad relevance. It will then provide you with a comprehensive report that highlights areas of your campaigns that are performing well and areas that need improvement.
The Ads Grader tool also provides personalized recommendations on how to optimize your campaigns based on your account’s specific needs. These recommendations can range from adjusting your bidding strategy to improving the quality of your ad copy.
By using the Ads Grader tool, advertisers can identify and eliminate wasted ad spend by optimizing their campaigns based on data-driven insights. This tool is an excellent resource for advertisers of all levels, from beginners to seasoned professionals, looking to improve the performance of their ad campaigns and increase their ROI.
Strategy 5: Run Ads at the Right Time
Timing is everything when it comes to advertising, and by identifying the best times to run your ads, you can improve your ad performance and reduce wasted ad spend.
To determine the best time to run your ads, you need to consider factors such as your target audience’s time zone, their daily routine, and their online behavior. For example, if your target audience is primarily located in a different time zone, you may want to adjust your ad schedule to ensure that your ads are running during their peak hours.
You can also use data and analytics to identify when your target audience is most active online. By analyzing user engagement and conversion rates at different times of the day or week, you can identify patterns and determine the optimal times to run your ads.
Running ads at the right time can help you to reach your target audience when they are most receptive to your message and increase the chances of converting leads into loyal customers. By avoiding times when your target audience is less active or engaged, you can reduce wasted ad spend and maximize the impact of your advertising efforts.
