SEO Case Stud
How PAJ exploded through the right SEO strategy, the establishment of a blog and internationalization in Google and became the market leader for GPS trackers
Company presentatio
smartest coaching is an innovative online coaching company from Neubrandenburg with a focus on personal and professional development. Isabella Wichmann and Steffen Krause support their clients with individual coaching and psychological counseling in an appreciative and collaborative way. Through flexible online sessions, they offer a pleasant learning environment that is perfectly tailored to the needs of their participants. Their aim is to accompany people on their way into the job market and help them make a fresh start in their careers. Honesty, empathy and authenticity are her top priorities.
Initial situation & challenge
Before the start of the SEA and CRO project, smartest coaching generated the majority of its inquiries via referrals.
Status quo of the website
A specific landing page was created for the upcoming Google Ads campaign (https://avgs-job-coaching.com/). However, both the website of smartest coaching (https://www.smartest-coaching.de/) and the landing page had no visibility in Google at all – there were no visitors and no rankings for relevant keywords.
In addition, the landing page suffered from a lack of mobile-friendliness, design flaws and a lack of differentiation from competitors (e.g. because there were no unique USPs). This in turn meant that the conversion rate of the landing page was low.
For this reason, it was important to optimize the landing page of smartest coaching for its conversion before starting the SEA measures, so that the costs per click (or CPC) would be as low as possible later in the Google Ads campaign due to the high completion rate.
Challenges when setting up the Google Ads campaign
When the relevant keywords were selected for the Google Ads campaign, it turned out that the CPCs were generally high due to the high search volumes and the strong competition that was keen to invest. Therefore, special settings had to be made when setting up the campaign so that smartest coaching had a chance of asserting itself as a newcomer in the industry.
In addition, no data about smartest coaching’s target group was available when the campaign was set up, which could have been used to create a lookalike audience (LLA), for example. This in turn made it more difficult to launch the campaign, as data about the target group had to be collected before the campaign could be specifically targeted to the target group in order to achieve low CPCs.
Goa
CRO measures (March 2024 - April 2024)
From March 2024 to April 2024, various CRO measures were carried out to ensure that the landing page directly converts highly when the Google Ads campaign is launched.
Among other things, the following measures were taken to optimize the conversion rate of the landing page
Build trust:
We added customer quotes to the landing page to increase trust, or social proof.
Unique selling points:
A clear and compelling value proposition was developed to highlight smartest coaching’s unique selling points, benefits and added value and to differentiate it from competitors.
Revision of the design:
The landing page design was redesigned to create an appealing and modern look that increases visitor trust and interest.
Call-to-actions (CTAs):
Strong and clear CTAs were implemented to increase the landing page conversion rate.
Mobile friendliness:
Finally, the landing page was designed responsively so that it works optimally on all devices and offers a pleasant user experience.
You can find an overview of the most important CRO measures here:
Setting up and optimizing the Google Ads campaign (from May 2024)
After optimizing the conversion rate of the landing page, it was now time to set up, launch and continuously optimize the Google Ads campaign.
Among other things, we took the following measures to achieve the aforementioned goals:
Keyword research:
First, we carried out extensive research into relevant keywords that potential customers could use. To do this, we used various keyword tools to analyze the search volume and the competition.
Campaign settings
The campaign was set to optimize for conversions as part of the bidding settings. Specific settings were also made for the advertising network, locations, languages and target groups so that the CPC was as low as possible at the start of the campaign.
The idea behind this was: As we do not have any data on the target group of smartest coaching, we will first ensure that we achieve a low CPC with the settings made and at the same time collect the first target group data. If sufficient data is then available later, the ads can be scaled further so that the reach of the ads is increased and the CPC is still low enough to generate sufficient ROAS (return on ad spent).
After consultation with the smartest coaching team, we set the daily budget for the Google Ads campaign.
Ad group settings:
Keyword selection:
The appropriate keywords were then selected for the Google Ads campaign. Over the course of the campaign, further keywords were added and A/B tested. Furthermore, the bids on the keywords were adjusted manually – depending on how much purchase intent the respective keywords had.
A list of keywords to be excluded was also created.
Ad titles and ad descriptions:
Suitable ad titles were created for all 15 possible slots so that Google could automatically select the best ad titles from the 15 title variations in their A/B tests. We made sure that the most important USPs of smartest coaching were emphasized. We also positioned the ad titles appropriately so that they always appear in the right place in the ad.
We also filled in all 4 ad descriptions with the most important USPs and further information about the smartest coaching offer – again with the idea that Google only plays the best of the 4 ad descriptions after the A/B tests.
Ad extensions:
We have also implemented ad extensions (e.g. sitelinks, callouts, call extensions) to increase the visibility and attractiveness of the ads.
Optimization factor, or quality factor of the ads:
The optimization factor in Google Ads is a percentage scale (up to 100%) that reflects the relevance and quality of the ads, keywords and landing pages. A higher quality score can lead to lower cost per click (CPC) and better ad positions.
For the optimization factor of the ads, it was important to us to achieve a factor of approx. 70-80% and not the full 100%. The reason for this is that Google makes further recommendations to the campaign manager in order to achieve the full 100% optimization factor. For example, it is recommended to add broader keywords to the keyword list in order to generate more reach. However, such settings would ensure that the ad is also displayed to a less interested target group, resulting in high costs per click (CPCs). However, Google suggests such recommendations because their goal is to make as much money as possible from the ads. In some cases, we would therefore spend more money as a result of their suggested settings. It is therefore important to always question such suggestions for campaign settings that increase the optimization factor and, if necessary, to omit them. A quality score of 70-80% is absolutely sufficient to achieve both low CPCs and a high ad position.
Optimization of the Google Ads campaign through A/B tests and competitive analysis:
In order to continuously improve smartest coaching’s Google Ads campaign, we carried out the following measures, among others:
Regular data analysis:
We regularly analyzed campaign data, such as adjusting bids and keywords based on results.
A/B tests:
We conducted regular A/B tests to identify potential and implement optimizations. For example, we tested additional ad texts and determined the most effective variants to further increase the click-through rate (CTR) and reduce the costs per click (CPCs).
Competitor analysis:
We regularly reviewed competitor ads to stay up to date and identify further potential for smartest coaching. The campaign was then further and continuously optimized based on the findings.
You can find an overview of the most important SEA measures here:
Result
A complete success for smartest coaching
Thanks to targeted SEA measures and a tripling of the conversion rate, smartest coaching achieved an ROI of over 250% in the first month, which means that more than EUR 2.50 was recovered for every euro invested. The profit generated was successfully reinvested in the Google Ads campaign.
Increase in organic traffic to over 25,000 monthly visitors
The ads achieved a click-through rate (CTR) of 10.24%, which is well above the industry average (3.56%). In addition, the targeted optimization factor of 70-80% was successfully achieved with a factor of 79.9%, resulting in low CPCs and a further increase in ROI.
The results of smartest coaching show:
Optimization is key. It is possible to run very successful Google Ads campaigns despite a lack of target group data if the campaign and ad settings have been made precisely and are constantly optimized.
It is crucial that the website converts well: The best traffic in the world is useless if the website is not designed attractively and prospective customers bounce straight away.
By continuously optimizing the website and ads, smartest coaching quickly achieved significant success and considerably increased its reach and number of customers.
And this is what smartest coaching says about our collaboration
"elato set up a Google Ads campaign for our AVGS job coaching and optimized the conversion rate on our website as a result. We are now constantly receiving new inquiries for our job coaching and our conversion rate on our website is many times higher."
"We were particularly impressed by elato's professional approach and their ability to respond to our specific needs. Every collaboration was characterized by efficiency and friendliness."
"elato set up a Google Ads campaign for our AVGS job coaching and optimized the conversion rate on our website as a result. We are now constantly receiving new inquiries for our job coaching and our conversion rate on our website is many times higher."
"We were particularly impressed by elato's professional approach and their ability to respond to our specific needs. Every collaboration was characterized by efficiency and friendliness."
Let's get started...
... and flood your e-mail inbox with new quality inquiries and sales every day!
Click the button and take the first step towards your personal acquisition machine:
Contact form
FAQ
If you don’t see an answer to your question, you can ask us here.
What is performance SEO?
Performance SEO is ROI-based SEO with a focus on quickly achieving measurable results through target-oriented strategies. Performance SEO is data-driven: through the constant analysis of data and the measures derived from this, it is possible to achieve a positive return on investment (ROI) within a very short time. It is therefore more than just "generating visibility" and "strengthening the brand": it is an approach that focuses on maximizing the effectiveness of SEO measures in order to increase your traffic and therefore sales as quickly as possible.
Can you guarantee SEO results?
If you work with our performance marketing agency, we guarantee that you will receive positive ranking results for your keywords within the first 2 months - otherwise we will refund your money.
How quickly do the results become visible?
After just 4 weeks, we will send you results with the most important sales figures in the form of a report so that you can always see the progress of your website up close.
What is included in your SEO packages?
With our SEO packages, you no longer have to worry about anything, as our performance marketing agency will take care of all the work for you, including:
- On-page SEO (e.g. Content optimization through the right keywords & optimization of the structure of your website)
-
Off-page SEO (e.g. building Mannheim backlinks)
- Technical SEO (e.g. optimization of loading times and website security)
- Local SEO (e.g.
optimization for
local
search queries
)
Local
SEO (
e.g. optimization for local search queries using local keywords)
-
Mobile SEO (e.g. adapting the website to mobile devices to improve the user experience)
- Content marketing (e.g. Creation of target group-specific content to increase rankings)
-
SEO reports (evaluation of SEO successes)
All measures are aimed at increasing the user experience on your website and the presence of your website on the internet. As a result, Google will recognize your website as an authority and your website will be placed at the top.
Do I need an SEO agency?
You are missing out on 83.33% of potential customers if your website is not in Google's top 3 search results for your keyword. If your website is ranked outside the top 3 search results for your keyword, you should engage in SEO so that you get the qualified traffic you deserve - not your competitors.
What does SEO cost?
We cannot give you a general price, as the price always depends on the current status of your website, your competition and the keywords for which you want to optimize your website.
After the initial consultation for your website, we can give you more detailed information about the price. Click here to arrange an initial consultation with our performance marketing agency now.
What distinguishes SEO from other channels?
The exponential effect: In contrast to paid traffic (Pay Per Click, PPC), organic traffic generated by SEO is free of charge and offers the extremely great advantage of the exponential effect:
Due to the high ranking of your website through our targeted SEO measures, Google recognizes your website as an "authority". The result: If you create new subpages and we make them SEO-friendly, you will see positive SEO results in no time at all - in other words, your website will rank high, which means you will be found by people searching for your exact product/service. This happens because Google has already recognized from your existing pages/content that your website delivers high-quality content.
Wealso optimize the content on your website with our SEO agency Mannheim: This improves the user experience, which in turn results in a higher conversion rate and more sales for you.
What are the next steps?
First, simply request a free consultation with our performance marketing agency by clickinghere . We will then contact you shortly by phone to discuss your situation and your goals.
Kevin Posdnikow, CEO.
From “invisible” to “unmissable” :
Let’s take the first step together now!
Michael Posdnikow, CEO.