Online Advertising for Small Businesses
Digital marketing is one of the most powerful ways for small businesses to attract new customers.
At Simple Digital Marketing, we help businesses grow by using practical strategies that actually generate enquiries.
From SEO and email marketing to conversion-focused websites and campaigns, our goal is simple: help you get more leads, more customers, and more sales.
How Online Advertising Makes Your Business Grow
Online advertising helps people who need your service find your business.
When someone needs a plumber, decorator, accountant, or any other service, what do they do?
The first thing they usually do is search online or scroll through social media.
If you do it right, when someone is looking, they find your business.
Online advertising means running ads on Google, Facebook, Instagram and more. With these, you can target your ads and measure their results.
Instead of 'hoping the right people see your ad,' with online advertising, you make sure the right people find you.
This means you use your advertising budget efficiently.
Word of mouth and leaflets are fine, but online advertising brings in many more leads.
In fact, quite often the biggest problem with online ads is what to do with so many enquiries!
To make the most of your incoming leads, it's good practice to send them marketing emails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the most common questions people ask about online advertising:
How long does it take for online advertising to start working?
Online advertising rarely produces the best results immediately.
In the beginning, campaigns need to be tested and refined.
Different audiences, images, headlines, and offers are tried until the adverts start generating strong responses.
This testing phase is an important part of successful advertising and helps identify the ads that produce the most enquiries or sales
Can online advertising generate a lot of leads?
Yes!
Once a campaign starts working well, it can sometimes generate a large number of enquiries.
Because of this, businesses need a clear process for handling and following up with leads.
Businesses that respond quickly and consistently to enquiries usually achieve the best results from their advertising.
How much do I need to spend on online advertising?
You cannot generate leads without spending some money on advertising.
Most businesses set a daily or monthly budget that fits comfortably within their marketing budget.
The key is to spend enough for your ads to reach the right audience and start producing enquiries.
Can I turn my advertising on and off?
Yes.
One advantage of online advertising is that campaigns can be paused or restarted at any time.
Many businesses run ads until they have enough enquiries, then pause the campaigns and restart them when they need more leads.
Do I need a website for online advertising?
No, you do not necessarily need a website to run online advertising.
Many businesses run ads that send potential customers directly to a phone number, a contact form, or a social media page.
However, having a website has clear advantages.
A well-designed website can explain your services, build trust with potential customers, and make it easier for people to contact you.
It also gives your advertising campaigns a dedicated place to send visitors, which can often improve the number of enquiries you receive.
Online Advertising Sevices We Provide
Paid Ads Training
We offer a practical 2-day training course in online advertising, designed for business owners or team members who will be responsible for running your Google Ads and Facebook advertising campaigns.
The training can be delivered in person or via video call, depending on your location. The goal is to give you the knowledge and confidence to manage your own online advertising effectively.
After the training, we schedule two follow-up video calls to review your progress, answer questions, and help refine your campaigns. You will also have ongoing access to us via email if you need advice or guidance as you continue running your ads.
During the training, you will learn:
- How to set up Google Ads and Facebook advertising accounts correctly
- How to choose the right audiences for your ads
- The best images and ad copy to generate leads
- How to structure campaigns to maximise reach and response
- How to turn your products and services into compelling offers
- How to create a long-term online advertising strategy
- How to test and optimise ads to achieve the best results
This training gives you the tools to run effective online advertising campaigns and consistently generate new enquiries for your business.
Run-For-You Paid Ads
If you would prefer not to manage online advertising yourself, we can create and run your Google Ads and Facebook advertising campaigns for you.
We begin by understanding your business, your products or services, and how your current sales process works.
From there, we agree on clear goals for your advertising and how paid ads can help generate more enquiries or sales.
Once the strategy is agreed, we set up and manage your advertising campaigns.
This includes creating the adverts, setting up targeting, monitoring performance, and testing different versions of ads to find the ones that produce the best results.
Our campaign management service is provided on a monthly retainer of between £300 and £1200, depending on the number of campaigns and adverts being managed.
Advertising spend itself is not included in this fee. Your ad budget is paid directly to platforms such as Google or Facebook. Most businesses typically spend between £300 and £1500 per month on advertising, depending on their goals and budget.
We monitor campaigns regularly, test new variations of ads, and continuously refine the campaigns to maximise enquiries, leads, or sales.
Case Study: Wood Fairy Carpentry
Campaign Results (At a Glance)
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Total ad spend: £1,004.87
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Leads generated: 313
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Sales achieved: 22
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Average sale value: £4,400
Wood Fairy is a family-run bespoke furniture business based in southeast England. They serve customers within roughly a 50-mile radius of their workshop.
Before running online advertising, most of their new customers came from flyers and word of mouth. They also had a Facebook page with a good number of followers, which occasionally generated enquiries.
On average, the business was receiving between 1 and 3 new leads per week.
The Advertising Campaign
We created a Facebook advertising campaign designed to generate enquiries from homeowners interested in bespoke furniture.
Two adverts were tested at the start of the campaign.
Very quickly, one advert began performing significantly better than the other, so we focused the budget on that advert.
The campaign used a Facebook Lead Form.
When someone clicked on the advert, they were taken to a short form within Facebook where they could enter their contact details and request a call back.
All leads were automatically recorded in a grid so they could easily be tracked.
Anyone who filled out the form immediately received a text message confirming that someone would be in touch shortly.
Each lead was then called personally (this took a bit of reorganising of personnel to deal with the volume of leads).
This resulted in several site visits and quotations over the following months.
The site visits resulted in 22 jobs booked, which were scheduled over the next 8 months.
Advertising Budget
The campaign ran on a budget of £20 per day and was active for around 50 days in total.
Occasionally, the ads were paused for a few days when enough leads had already been generated.
Campaign Results
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Total ad spend: £1,004.87
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Leads generated: 313
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Sales achieved: 22
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Average sale value: £4,400
- Total revenue (over 8 months): £96,800
This campaign shows how Facebook advertising for local businesses can generate a steady stream of enquiries when properly managed.
Case Study: London Mode Beauty
Campaign Results (At a Glance)
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Total ad spend: £9,054.90
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Lead forms submitted: 1,272
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Total sales generated: £55,846.22
London Mode Beauty was a London-based beauty salon offering a range of advanced aesthetic treatments.
The salon needed a consistent way to attract new clients for its higher-value treatments.
To achieve this, we created a Facebook advertising campaign designed to generate leads from people interested in these treatments.
The adverts used Facebook Lead Forms, allowing potential clients to submit their details directly through Facebook.
Each lead was then contacted by phone and invited to book a consultation at the salon.
A percentage of these consultations resulted in high-value treatment bookings.
The campaign ran for approximately 15 months and produced the following results:
Campaign Results
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Total ad spend: £9,054.90
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Lead forms submitted: 1,272
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Total sales generated: £55,846.22
This campaign demonstrates how Facebook advertising can consistently generate leads for service-based businesses, especially when those leads are followed up quickly and effectively.
Note: London Mode Beauty was later sold to another group and now operates under a different name.
Advertising Management Prices
Paid Ads Education
- 2 days of practical training delivered in person (at your premises) or via video call.
- Up to 3 team members can attend the training at the same time.
- Gain a clear understanding of Google Ads and Facebook advertising.
- Learn how to set up and structure your advertising accounts correctly.
- Learn how to choose the right audiences so your ads reach the people most likely to become customers.
- Discover the best images, videos, and ad copy to generate enquiries and leads.
- Learn proven techniques to increase the reach and performance of your ads.
- Includes two follow-up video calls to review your campaigns and answer any questions.
- Ongoing email support for questions about your paid ads, with responses within 24 hours.
Run-For-You Ads
- We meet with you in person or online to understand your business, your goals, and your sales process.
- We create a marketing strategy designed to generate enquiries or sales for your business.
- We create and set up your advertising campaigns on Google and/or Facebook.
- We test different versions of ads to find the ones that produce the best return on ad spend.
- You pay the advertising costs directly to Google or Facebook. The budget is entirely your choice (for example, £200, £500, £1000 per month or more).
- Our management fee depends on the size of your campaigns, but for many businesses it is around £300 per month.
- You can cancel the service at any time.
- We regularly create and test new ads and campaigns to improve results while you continue using the service.
Start Advertising Your Business Online
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