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Affiliate Marketing Case Studies: 15 Examples for Success

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How would you like to read the best affiliate marketing case studies ever published?

More importantly, how would you like to copy the top practices in affiliate marketing that are based on real-world examples and not just theory to earn money online?

Below, you’ll find a list of the top 15 affiliate marketing case studies along with the results and key findings from each example. By studying these affiliate marketing case study examples and applying the lessons learned on your own website, you can hopefully achieve similar results to increase your commissions as an affiliate marketer.

Table of Contents

Affiliate Marketing Case Studies

Going from zero to $10k in monthly revenue – contentellect affiliate marketing case study.

Follow the steps Contentellect is taking to grow an affiliate marketing website from $0 to $10k a month in under 24 months. Includes a breakdown of the monthly costs, income, and traffic.

Helping Choose Wheels Grow 124% – Intergrowth Affiliate Marketing Case Study

This website had been hit with a Google penalty and traffic was down 80%. See how Intergrowth helped the site recover and grow 124% in 6 months. Bounce rate improved by 15% and average session duration increased by 40%all the while goal conversions increased by 526%.

Zero to $20k/month In a Year – Side Hustle Nation Affiliate Marketing Case Study

In this case study, you’ll learn how the owners of Finvsfin.com scaled their affiliate marketing website from $0 to $20,0000 per month in one year. Includes strategies on keyword research, how to structure content, ways to attract backlinks, optimization tactics to grow their traffic, and more.

How I Made $16,433 With One Product – BloggersPassion Affiliate Marketing Case Study

This case study explains how the site owner made $16,433 from a single affiliate product. The information and steps revealed in this guide can be applied to any affiliate marketing niche.

Amazon Niche Site Project 4: Own The Yard – Niche Pursuits Affiliate Marketing Case Study

If you haven’t seen this Amazon affiliate marketing case study yet, then you should set aside some time to dive into it. Spencer Haws from Niche Pursuits documented the entire journey of building an affiliate site called “Own The Yard” that covered topics like yard games, animals, yard tools, gardening, and backyard gear. Check it out to get the entire timeline of the site build and major milestone achievements.

Amazon Site Earns $2,000/month with 100 Articles – Fat Stacks Blog Affiliate Marketing Case Study

Here’s another Amazon affiliate marketing case study worth reading in depth. Dom Wells from Human Proof Designs posted this case study on Fat Stacks Blog with a detailed focus on content types, content timelines, link types, and link timelines to help other affiliate marketers improve their sites to make more money.

How We Sold An 18-Month-Old Site For Mid 6 Figures – Authority Hackers Affiliate Marketing Case Study

Authority Hackers has a popular blog, podcast, and course on affiliate marketing. Many affiliate marketers consider AH to be the best in the business for teaching aspiring entrepreneurs how to create profitable affiliate sites from scratch. In this case study, you’ll learn everything AH did to grow and sell a niche website for 6 figures in 18 months. It’s literally an entire blueprint from concept to final sale.

Amazon Site 10Beasts Grows from $0 to $4500+ In 4 Months – NichePie Affiliate Marketing Case Study

In this case study, you’ll learn how NichePie took the famous website affiliate marketing website 10Beasts.com to $4,500 in monthly earnings in just 4 months. The site then went on to make $40,000 by month 8 and kept growing. Luqman Khan, the owner, eventually sold the affiliate site for over half-a-million dollars. Inside this case study, you’ll get important insights into the keyword research process, site structure, content structure, SEO, and link building. The article also includes lots of screenshots to help you follow along with the journey.

Zero to 21K Visitors and $2000/month In 9 Months – Web Asset Builders Affiliate Marketing Case Study

This case study covers the journey of a client who bought a Done-For-You Amazon affiliate website from Web Asset Builders, and how the site went from zero traffic to reaching 21,000 visitors and $2000 per month in 9 months.

Project Cashflow: How to Build a Niche Site from Day One – Diggity Marketing Affiliate Marketing Case Study

This affiliate marketing case study was published by one of the most respected affiliate marketers in the industry: Matt Diggity. In this first installment of the Project Cashflow case study, you’ll learn about Matt’s approach to choosing a niche, the pros and cons of buying an existing website, finding the right site to purchase, basic affiliate site valuation and negotiation, and more. You can then follow along with the journey as he publishes new blog posts each month with site updates.

How I Took An Affiliate Marketing Website from $0 to $95,134.05 Using SEO – Stupid Simple SEO Case Study

Mike, a six-figure blogger takes you through the entire process of how he created a brand new affiliate marketing website and grew it to $95,134.05 with over 1,000,000 unique pageviews in just its second year. The site pretty much runs on auto-pilot now with no posting to social media, no emails to a mailing list, and the income is 95% passive.

Flipping an Affiliate Website for $136K In 16 Months – Empire Flippers Case Study

Empire Flippers, a curated marketplace for buying and selling established and profitable online businesses, has many affiliate marketing case studies on its blog. However, this case study in particular is quite valuable for you to read because it explains how one client bought a site for $52,256 and flipped it for $136,773. You’ll learn evaluation metrics this seller looked for when buying a website to flip as well as the growth plan he put into place to scale this site to such high profitability.

How I Got 2 Conversions In 48 Hours – H-Educate Affiliate Marketing Case Study

While the title of this affiliate marketing case study may not sound too impressive, the fact is can help a lot of new affiliate marketers get quick results from their websites. Inside, Hasan Aboul Hassan explains the process for how to make more conversions instantly after publishing a new blog post. Hassan is also a master at Quora SEO and Quora link building , so you may want to check out those articles as well and look for his profile on Quora to follow his strategies for getting more referral traffic from that online platform.

How We Generated an Extra $15,048 In Monthly Revenue In 34 Days – Convertica Affiliate Marketing Case Study

Convertica is a done-for-you conversion rate optimization (CRO) specialist that helps you to maximize revenue from every visitor that lands on your website. And there’s really no other service provider like this in the industry for affiliate marketers. In this case study, you’ll learn the exact CRO techniques Convertica used to increase one of its client’s monthly income by over $15,048. There are also more affiliate marketing case studies on the site’s blog. So make sure to check them out for even more CRO strategies.

$3000 Per Month Using AI and Blogger – Adsterra Affiliate Marketing Case Study

In this case study, you’ll learn how Saif Khan used AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney along with a Blogger blog and videos to earn $3,000 per month. Saif explains all aspects of the case study so you can use it for inspiration.

What Is an Affiliate Marketing Case Study?

An affiliate marketing case study is an in-depth study of affiliate marketing in a real-world context. It can focus on one affiliate tactic or a group of affiliate strategies to find out what works in affiliate marketing to improve conversions and traffic.

Are Case Studies Good for Affiliate Marketing?

Case studies are good for affiliate marketing because you can learn about how to do affiliate marketing in an effective way. Instead of just studying the theory of affiliate marketing, you can learn from real examples that applied specific methods to achieve success.

Read More Case Studies

In addition to affiliate marketing case studies, you may also be interested in these other examples of digital marketing success stories.

• SEO case studies
• Content marketing case studies
• Digital marketing case studies
• Email marketing case studies
• Social media case studies
• PPC case studies

Affiliate Marketing Case Study Examples Summary

I hope you enjoyed this list of the best affiliate marketing case studies that are based on real-world results and not just theory.

As you discovered, the affiliate marketing case study examples above demonstrated many different ways to improve conversions, gain more website traffic, and earn more money as an affiliate marketer. By studying the key findings from these examples, and applying the methods learned to your own site, you can hopefully achieve the same positive outcomes.

New affiliate marketing success case studies are being published every month and I’ll continue to update this list as they become available. So keep checking back to read the current sources of information on affiliate marketing.

• Google Advertising

5 Successful Google Ads Case Studies by Industry

• February 21, 2024

If you’re considering investing in Google Ads to promote your brand, you’re likely looking for evidence of its effectiveness. You want to know if this platform is ideal for the industry you’re in, or need case studies to prove that it’s well worth your time, effort, and money. In this article, we’ll share some inspiring Google Ads case studies and success stories of businesses that have used Google Ads to drive significant results, and help you get insights on how to achieve the same (or even better) outcome.

Table of Contents

5 Google Ads Success Stories that Inspire Your Next Campaigns

1. away travel: capturing unbranded traffic, company background.

Away Travel, founded in 2015 by two former Warby Parker executives, is a US-based direct-to-consumer e-commerce business that sells travel luggage.

As a new player in the market, Away Travel faced the challenge of increasing brand awareness and capturing a significant share of the market. They needed a strategy to introduce their brand to a wide audience of potential customers and drive awareness and consideration for their products.

How Google Ads helped?

Google Ads was chosen as the platform for its ability to reach a large audience and its features that allow for targeted and effective advertising. Specifically, Away Travel leveraged Google Ads to capture unbranded search traffic, which refers to searches where users are looking for a product or service but have not specified a brand in their search query.

By using Google Ads, Away Travel was able to capture a significant volume of unbranded search traffic. This strategy allowed them to introduce their brand to a wide audience of potential customers, driving awareness and consideration for their products.

The search ads Away uses for unbranded searches are very similar to the ones for branded traffic.

They are also using the ® hack to increase CTR, a trick that often works.

Besides the ad, they are using all ad extensions: everything from site links, callouts, structured snippets, seller ratings, and even a new type of call extension.

About 70% of all Search Ads clicks for Away, worth about $35,000 per month, come from unbranded paid search. Across all campaigns, they achieved an average click-through rate (CTR) of 4.3%, significantly exceeding industry benchmarks.

2. Glossier: Effective Campaign Structure

Glossier is a direct-to-consumer beauty brand founded in 2014 by Emily Weiss. Their target audience? Millennials and Gen Z seeking high-quality, yet affordable beauty products with a transparent and approachable brand personality. Ever since its establishment, the company has grown rapidly, with its minimalist look and close collaboration with customers.

Despite its rapid growth and popularity, Glossier faced the challenge of effectively structuring their Google Ads campaigns. They needed a strategy that would allow them to reach their target audience effectively and drive significant results.

Google Ads was chosen for its ability to reach a large audience and its features that allow for targeted and effective advertising. Specifically, Glossier leveraged Google Search Ads, which allows advertisers to create ads that appear in Google’s search results.

Glossier has an interesting approach to structuring their Google Ads campaigns. They run two groups of search ads campaigns, one for each of their sub-brands: Glossier and Glossier Play. Each group is split into branded and non-branded campaigns.

Then those groups are split into ACQ & CRM. ACQ & CRM campaigns are exact copies, except for the audiences they target:

• ACQ: These campaigns target people who haven’t interacted with the website before, and focus on acquisition.
• CRM: These campaigns target people who have been to the website. This is the RLSA ( remarketing lists for search ads ) feature in Google Ads. The term CRM suggests that there are likely various target audiences within this campaign.

Glossier also runs campaigns outside the United States: in the United Kingdom, Canada & France.

Glossier’s effective campaign structure allowed them to reach their target audience effectively and drive significant results. This case study demonstrates the power of Google Ads in improving a company’s online presence and driving business results.

3. ForRent.com: Increasing Online Visibility

ForRent.com, a leading online apartment rental listing service, aims to provide a simple and effective way for property management companies to advertise their properties and connect with potential renters. However, with the increasing competition in the online rental market, ForRent.com needed a way to increase its online visibility and drive more traffic to its website.

How Google Ads Helped?

To achieve this goal, ForRent.com turned to Google Ads, specifically Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) . DSA is a feature of Google Ads that allows advertisers to create ads dynamically to fill in the gaps of their keyword-based campaigns. Instead of predefining the keywords, DSA uses Google’s organic web crawling technology to automatically generate ads based on the content of a website.

By using DSA, ForRent.com was able to capture a wider range of search queries, including those that might not have been covered by their existing keyword-based campaigns. This allowed them to reach a larger audience and drive more traffic to their website.

The implementation of Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) campaigns by ForRent.com resulted in a significant enhancement in performance when compared to their regular AdWords campaigns. The click-through rates saw an increase of 26%, while the Cost Per Click (CPC) and Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) decreased by 30% and 37% respectively. Currently, the DSA campaigns contribute to 22% of the leads generated through AdWords for the website.

4. ORRA: Customizing Regional Creatives

ORRA, founded in 1939, is one of India’s most prestigious jewelry retail chains with a rich heritage. With 37 stores spread across 24 cities, ORRA has a significant presence in the Indian jewelry market.

Despite its reputation and widespread presence, ORRA faced the challenge of media fragmentation and reaching out to different communities, including Tamilians in Chennai. They needed a targeted digital marketing strategy that caters to different regions and communities.

Google Ads was chosen for its ability to target customers based on their interests and location. Specifically, ORRA leveraged the Google Display Network, which allows advertisers to place ads on a network of websites and apps, reaching more than 90% of people on the internet.

ORRA used Google Ads to customize regional creatives. They tested campaigns on the Google Display Network featuring region-specific creatives and different offers that would appeal to different communities. They also targeted customers on sites that matched their interests, such as lifestyle sites, and ran remarketing ads to increase conversions and sales.

ORRA reported a 30% increase in qualified leads directly attributed to their Google Ads campaigns. By utilizing location extensions, they saw a 15% rise in store visits driven by their Google Ads efforts.

As a result of witnessing the effectiveness of Google Ads, ORRA increased its ad budget by 10 times.

5. Sky TV Italia: Boosting Video Performance

Sky TV Italia, a subsidiary of the Comcast Group, is one of Italy’s largest media companies and the oldest and biggest pay-TV provider in the country. With over five million subscribers and 2.7 million connected households, it commands a sizable share of the Italian viewing audience. This platform boasts a vast library of movies, TV shows, sports, and original content.

However, in a saturated market with rivals like Mediaset and Netflix, maintaining subscriber growth and brand engagement posed constant challenges.

In 2023, Sky TV Italia decided to focus on broadening its appeal to the next generation of viewers. They sought cost-effective video conversions to enhance their content delivery and improve the viewing experience across different platforms.

To achieve this, they turned to Google’s Display & Video 360 together with Campaign Manager 360. These tools allowed them to unify campaign management across various platforms, including Google, Meta, TikTok, and YouTube.

By leveraging Google’s tools, Sky TV Italia was able to boost its video performance significantly. They transcoded over 5,000 video assets to HD in just a few weeks with a hybrid cloud solution. This allowed them to respond rapidly to peaks in demand without the need for overprovisioning.

Sky TV Italia saw a 165% increase in site conversions while dropping cost per conversion by more than half. They achieved up to 80% cost savings using preemptible VMs and Google Custom Machine Types. This allowed them nearly infinite flexibility for scaling according to specific business needs without costly subscriptions.

Key Takeaways from Google Ads Success Stories

From the Google Ads case studies we’ve explored, several key takeaways emerge that can guide businesses in their own Google Ads endeavors. These success stories provide valuable insights into the strategies and tactics that can lead to impressive results.

Know your audience and target with precision

One of the most critical factors in these Google Ads success stories is a deep understanding of the target audience . Knowing who your customers are, what they want, and how they search for it allows you to tailor your ads to their specific needs and preferences. This can significantly increase the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Keyword optimization

The successful use of Google Ads often hinges on keyword optimization. Selecting the right keywords, bidding on them strategically, and incorporating them naturally into your ads can dramatically improve your visibility on Google and drive more traffic to your site.

Continuous testing and optimization

The Google Ads platform provides a wealth of data that businesses can use to continuously test and optimize their campaigns. The businesses in these case studies didn’t just set up their campaigns and forget about them; they monitored their performance closely, made adjustments as necessary, and continually strived to improve.

Leveraging ad extensions

Many of these Google Ads case studies highlight the effective use of ad extensions. These are additional pieces of information that can be added to your Google Ads, such as location, phone number, or additional website links. They can make your ad more informative and engaging, leading to higher click-through rates.

Quality over quantity

Lastly, these Google Ads case studies underscore the importance of quality over quantity. It’s not just about getting a lot of clicks; it’s about getting the right clicks. By focusing on attracting quality leads – people who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer – you can increase your conversion rates and get a better return on your investment.

How Mega Digital Can Help You Build Effective Google Ads Campaigns?

These Google Ads case studies demonstrate the versatility and effectiveness of Google Ads across different industries. Each company leveraged Google Ads in unique ways to achieve its marketing goals, providing inspiration for others looking to do the same.

I bet your business also wishes to achieve the same results. But the process can be daunting, especially for businesses that don’t have much advertising experience on the platform. So what should you do?

As a leading Google Premier Partner in APAC, Mega Digital has the expertise to help you succeed with Google Ads. We’ve helped numerous businesses achieve their goals through our performance marketing solutions. Beyond streamlining your ad campaigns and providing access to a wide array of ad formats, Google Ads Management services from Mega Digital bring a multitude of benefits:

• Google-certified experts : Our team is well-trained in Google advertising features and has been utilizing them since their inception, ensuring a deep comprehension of the platform’s capabilities.
• 1:1 Consultation : We offer personalized support and expertise throughout the process with a dedicated Google-certified ads consultant assigned to every campaign.
• Exclusive insights and tools : With agency accounts, you gain access to a treasure chest of exclusive insights and tools.
• Google support priority : We have a direct line to Google, ensuring priority access to resolve any ad-related issues quickly and efficiently.

In conclusion, these Google Ads case studies and success stories demonstrate the power of Google Ads. They show how businesses of all sizes, from various industries, can use Google Ads to reach their target audience, increase their visibility, and drive significant results.

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Omni Hotels boosts conversions 4X by ditching cookies for Display & Video 360’s PAIR

From its roots in grand historic hotels to its collection of modern resort destinations, Omni Hotels & Resorts has been shaping the hospitality landscape for decades. With over 40 locations spanning across North America, Omni has continued to build upon its rich legacy that blends time-honored elegance with personalized experiences, offering guests a taste of genuine luxury. To navigate the privacy-focused landscape, Omni partnered with PMG, MiQ, and LiveRamp, adopting Google's Display & Video 360 Publisher Advertiser Identity Reconciliation (PAIR) solution to deliver relevant ads without compromising user data. This resulted in a remarkable 4X increase in ad conversion rates compared to traditional cookie-based methods, demonstrating success in delivering relevant experiences while respecting user privacy.

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Affiliate Marketing Case Study: Going From Zero To $10K In Monthly Revenue

Affiliate Content Site Case Study

Follow the steps we are taking to grow a content site from $0 to $10k a month in under 24 months.

Summary Stats

• Site Launched: June 2020
• Investment to date: $10,296.68
• Income to date: $17,603.39
• Estimated site value: $35,000
• ROI to date: 410%

We stopped updating this case study in May 2022 (24 months after we launched). Although we didn't achieve our goal of getting the site to $10k a month, we have managed to average over $1000 a month since June 2021. Google's May 2022 algorithm update also negatively affected the site (we're down 30% in traffic), so it's unlikely we'll see significant growth going forward. We're undecided whether we will sell this website or just keep it for cash flow. I hope you enjoy the case study - you can read more like this one here .

2020 Numbers

2021 Numbers

2022 Numbers

Costs to date

• Domain: $29.17 (aged domain from Godaddy auctions ) + $18.17 renewal + $20.17 renewal.
• Hosting: $250 (WPX) + $250 renewal.
• Content cost: $7,243 (250,000 words. Bought using our content writing service ).
• Links: $1850 (we’ve bought 15 link insertions and 7 guest posts. Acquired via our link building service ).
• Citations: $20 + $29 (from SEOButler)
• Social Profiles: $7 ( Fiverr )
• VA for posting: $450 (used our virtual assistant service )
• Web services: $89.99 (keyword research tool)
• Total Cost: $10,296.68

Income to date

We only added affiliate links in late September 2020.

• October 2020: $167
• November 2020: $715.30 (Black Friday went well!)
• December 2020: $215
• January 2021: $523.44
• February 2021: $367.18
• March 2021: $900.15
• April 2021: $811.05
• May 2021: $954.67
• June 2021: $1,190.40
• July 2021: $1,031.71
• August 2021: $701.93
• September 2021: $916.26
• October 2021: $1,148.64
• November 2021: $1,260.74
• December 2021: $1,077.05
• January 2022: $1,063.55
• February 2022: $937.70
• March 2022: $1,073.17
• April 2022: $1,402.75
• May 2022: $1,145.70
• Total Income: $17,603.39

Traffic to date

• July 2020: 217 sessions
• August 2020: 755 sessions
• September 2020: 2,467 sessions
• October 2020: 7,034 sessions
• November 2020: 10,097 sessions
• December 2020: 10,254 session
• January 2021: 11,558 sessions
• February 2021: 12,643 sessions
• March 2021: 19,458 sessions
• April 2021: 18,711 sessions
• May 2021: 19,663 sessions
• June 2021: 21,137 sessions
• July 2021: 19,820 sessions
• August 2021: 20,927 sessions
• September 2021: 19,212 sessions
• October 2021: 22,143 sessions
• November 2021: 21,792 sessions
• December 2021: 25,804 session
• January 2022: 25,047 sessions
• February 2022: 21,093 sessions
• March 2022: 27,961 sessions
• April 2022: 32,882 sessions
• May 2022: 31,546 sessions

Timeline and Learnings

• We launched this affiliate marketing website in June 2020.
• For the first week we researched niches. Niche choice is critical – for us the criteria was not Amazon, average sale price $100+, 30+ day cookie, high converting affiliate partner (checked using Commission Junction stats), and decent commission 8%+
• Once we decided on a niche we got to work sourcing an aged domain. Many people look for a powerful backlink profile when trying to get an aged domain. These are great, but they can be very hard to find and costly. For us, we focused on relevance to our niche, a clean history and age. We managed to find a super relevant domain that was 15 years old on Godaddy auctions. We checked it's history using archive.org and it was squeaky clean. We managed to secure the domain for under $30. Winning!
• We then created a detailed content plan for 80-100 articles (100,000 words). This took a solid few days, although KeyClusters (a  keyword grouping tool ), sped this up massively (see how we use keyword clustering ). We knew from the get go that if this site takes off we would need a scalable structure, so we thought long and hard about our content plan and the silos we would use. See how we do keyword research .
• With the domain bought and launched, we used Fiverr to create social profiles.
• Our content team got to work writing the 100k words (see our article writing service ).
• We also bought citations using SEO Butler.
• About 75% of the content was written and published in July.

August 2020

• By early August all content was published.
• To our surprise, Google starting indexing and ranking our content out the gates. This is very unusual for a brand new site, so the aged domain clearly made a huge difference.
• With the site already starting to rank and pull in organic traffic we decided to invest in some links. We bought 10 high quality link insertions and 5 guest posts from our link building service . 80% of these we pointed to the homepage using branded anchors and naked URLs, and the rest we pointed to internal silo pages.

Key Learning

If your domain is aged and good, your content solid, and your site structure silo’ed and interlinked correctly, you don’t need a lot of links to rank. Although Ahrefs shows 516 referring domains, most of these are citations and coupon sites. Hence our DR is 1.3!!

September 2020

• We did nothing. Just sat on our hands to see what Google would think. Good news, the G-Dawg likes us!
• I say nothing, we did get one of our VAs to add affiliate links. We partnered with three eCommerce companies in the niche, two on Commission Junction and one on Rakuten. 

October 2020

• With positive signs all-round we decided to double down on content and created another content plan for another 50k words of commercial content.

November and December 2020

• Our content team completed the next batch of articles and our VA published all content.
• By December it was clear that one affiliate partner was outperforming the other two by a mile. For example, see the screenshot below of Affiliate Partner A vs Affiliate Partner B. As you can see Partner A has driven 14x more commission than B, despite B sending 1/3 as much traffic as A. 

January 2021

• Due to the poor performance of Affiliate Partner B and C, we've switched them out for Amazon. The switch was completed mid January 2021 and the results are promising.
• We also added in a new affiliate partner from Commission Junction.

February and March 2021

• We decide to power things up a little with some strategic tier 2 PBN links from IM Powerhouse. These have moved the dial in terms of traffic and revenue, and in March we saw our highest traffic and revenue month.
• We also decided to invest in more content, another 100k words. But this time we are doing 100% informational content. Up to this point we have only had commercial content on the site (Best of round ups, individual reviews, X vs Y comparisons). We used KeyClusters to create an informational content plan and will be getting our content team to start writing in April / May.
• We also installed advertising via Setupad . Setupad use a metric called Effective Cost per Mille (eCPM), which similar to RPM. We are currently achieving around $2 per 1000 impressions, which isn't too shabby. I know you can get higher on Mediavine and AdThrive, but our traffic isn't quite there yet. 

April and May 2021

• Our content team were rammed with client work in April and May so we had to delay the roll-out of the 100k words we planned in March. Work has now begun and we expect to publish most of this content in June and July.

Here's what the site looked like on Ahrefs as of early 2021

June-September 2021

• Traffic and income has plateaued so hopefully we will see explosive growth as soon as the new content goes lives.
• Time to rethink strategy - will keep you updated!

October-May 2022

• The site has definitely plateaued. Traffic is stable at around 20-30k monthly sessions and so is income at around $1000 a month.
• We invested in a few more link insertions and guests posts, but have yet to see a significant uptick.

And here's what the site looks like on Ahrefs as of May 2022

Current Valuation 

As we're averaging around $1000 per month, we would estimate this site is worth: $35k (35-40x multiple).

Multiple justification is based on going market multiples for content sites with multiple income streams (Amazon, 3rd party affiliates, advertising), and 6-12 months of stable traffic and income.

Jason Smit is the CEO of Contentellect and believes that marketing success lies at the intersection of great content and quality links. With 15 years spent in agency environments, including Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis Media and Performics, his experience is distilled into Contentellect's service offering. He holds a B.Com Marketing from the University of Cape Town and a PGDip. in Entrepreneurship.

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How we’re scaling our business to $1,000,000+ in annual revenue, keyword clustering: from 0 to 50,000 monthly visitors in 6 months, tasket va services merges with contentellect (yay), content + links: it's that simple.

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5 Success Stories from Affiliate Marketers

There’s a lot of skepticism in the affiliate marketing community about how many people are actually successful out there. I can certainly appreciate why that is, too. Anyone would be skeptical if they looked around and noticed the only people making money in affiliate marketing were the people selling tools to help newbie affiliate marketers get into the game.

Combine this with the fact that so many people are stingy with their information and techniques for fear of having their niche stolen and their profits undercut, and you can see why it happens.

Sometimes, you need a good refresher about how successful actual people can be. People who post about their success, people who try to help others become successful, people who don’t care about their niche being undercut because they know they’re the best at what they do. I’ve tracked down case studies from five of these successful marketers , and that’s what I’m bringing to you today.

Don’t feel like you’re being played just because you haven’t gotten a foothold yet. Affiliate marketing takes time, to establish yourself, to build an audience, to create content, and all the rest.

Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.net

Darren is one of the most prominent affiliate marketers around, precisely because he’s always open with his history, his techniques, and his success. This post is from 2013, so he’s had three more years to rack up his success, but even then it was impressive. In 2013, it was the 10 th year he had been working affiliate marketing with Amazon , and he had racked up nearly half a million dollars.

Now, $42,000 a year isn’t all that impressive, all things considered. That’s not quite the whole story, though. His earnings only really started to shoot up in 2008 or so. It’s more accurate to say that he started out making a pittance, and that in recent years he has hovered around $80,000 per year. That’s a respectable haul, and all from running a handful of websites, one of which is geared specifically towards helping bloggers reach their own success with affiliate marketing.

What’s impressive is that Darren isn’t even one of the top tier Amazon Affiliates. His experience is actually rather typical of the people who put a lot of time and effort into getting serious with affiliate marketing. There are, no doubt, much more successful affiliates.

The meat of Darren’s post is about why he chose to use Amazon for his affiliate marketing, despite all of the perfectly valid criticisms out there. Amazon commissions are small, sure, and a lot of Amazon products are cheap, so success often relies on big ticket niches – which are packed – or volume, which takes a long time to build. However, he points out:

• Amazon is a highly trusted brand, much more than many other affiliate sellers.
• One referral link works for everything a user buys in that session, whether or not you referred them to that product. If you send someone a referral for a $2 book, and they decide to buy a $900 TV, you get the commission on the TV.
• Amazon is perhaps the easiest affiliate network of all to get started using. They provide a ton of tools, easy embeds in a half a dozen different ways, and even referral tagged shortlinks.
• Amazon sells, well, everything. There’s very little that Amazon doesn’t sell, and often those categories are just MLM schemes anyways.

You can read the rest of his post above for a bunch of tips on becoming an Amazon affiliate success. Some of the tips are pretty common, like “get more traffic,” but that doesn’t change how valuable Darren’s site is as a whole. You can also listen to a more recent post about his success – showing he topped the $500K threshold – with this podcast post .

David McSweeny of Top5SEO.co.uk

David is a UK marketer and SEO expert who has been working in the industry for 15 years. He shares his methods and tips for how to create and grow a marketing site, based on his own experiences. The blog he uses for a case study went from freshly created to making just under $4,000 a month, in the span of six months. That’s remarkably fast, and stands as a testament to David’s skill as an affiliate marketer.

The meat of the post is his month by month playbook and recounting of how his site grew. The first month was all about creating and setting up the site, as well as how he chose a product and how he decided to monetize it. This highlights the sheer amount of work he put into research and content to fill his site. He dug deep into reviews for his chosen product and he wrote deep reviews stretching into the 2,500-word range. Month 1, he had just over 800 visitors and made $115.

Month 2, he made a blog to accompany his site, and he talks about how he created content, how he linked things together, and how he worked on link building. Through content and links, he boosted up to 2,200 visitors and $391 in sales. Month 3, he further expanded the blog, and his traffic continued to rise, as did his profits.

All of this shows how much work goes into running a site. His total time breakdown for the first four months reaches 234 hours of effort, creating content, researching products, building the site, and earning links. Combining this with the holiday season, his affiliate site shot up, where it has stayed since.

David’s study is a case where white hat effort can grow a site very quickly, but it does rely a little on timing, as well as a lot of research in picking the right niche. His post doesn’t go too deep into it, but you can find more about picking a niche in a post we wrote a few days ago. There’s also a ton of information on it out there on other sites, like David’s, Darren’s, and others.

This Is Why I’m Broke

The website named in the subheading there is little more than an odd product aggregator, with a focus towards interesting, often expensive, amusing stuff. I’ve seen everything from drones to pajamas, and let me tell you; it’s always tempting. Looking at their front page right now, I see things like color changing showerheads, the Playboy Mansion that recently went up for sale, a magic wand TV remote, and a dolphin-shaped speedboat. Needless to say, the selection of products on the site runs the entire spectrum of price ranges.

The site has grown immensely popular as one of the first of its kind, though its design has been mimicked endlessly in the years since it reached success. It’s estimated that, as of the time of the post I linked above, it was making an estimated $20,000 per month from Amazon affiliate sales alone , along with more from, eBay partner sales and referrals to a whole host of other sites, like ThinkGeek and Wicked Lasers.

The post I linked isn’t a direct post from the owner of the site. It’s a case study performed from the outside , so you have a better idea of how objective it is. The founder of TIWIB struggled with failed ventures before he hit upon the formula he used for the site, taking existing product affiliate pages and adding infinite scrolling, better images, and careful product selection.

The case study goes on to tell you what you can learn from the site, and how you might be able to mimic its success with a drilled down niche version of the same concept. Niche affiliate sites are typically less lucrative but easier to start than broad category sites like TIWIB, and that’s okay.

TIWIB receives millions of visitors every year and is still a very lucrative site, so you can learn a lot from watching how it works and mimicking its success.

Chris Guthrie on UpFuel

This post is very much like Darren’s post in the first section. So why do I include it? It proves to you that Darren is not a random outlier, he is – as he says – in the middle of the road. Chris’s websites combined to earn him over $45,000 annually, and would be making him more if he hadn’t sold one of his best sites for six figures.

Chris only really uses his success as a framing device for the post itself, which goes into great detail about how to get started with affiliate marketing. You can visit the post for the tips in full, but I’ll summarize them here.

• Pick a good niche. This has been hammered into any affiliate marketer time and again, so it should be nothing new to you. A good niche is the foundation of all good affiliate marketing. Don’t try to be too broad; you can always expand later.
• Use content links rather than Amazon boxes or sidebars or tables. Content links are much more commonly clicked. Just make sure you’re not trying to trick or mislead people into clicking links to Amazon that they thought went somewhere else. This includes cloaks and redirects; don’t use them.
• Make your product images into clickable affiliate links. A lot of people click images, so having them lead to the product page is valuable. I – and many other people – hate clicking an image link just to be brought to the image itself rather than something relevant.
• Link to Amazon quite frequently , but don’t overdo it so much that you earn a penalty from Google. Chris recommends 5-10 links per post, but his posts are quite lengthy. Keep track of what you’re doing and slowly push boundaries to find what threshold works best.
• Write review articles that come across as genuine ; they are some of the highest converting content you can produce. You can pay people to write the reviews for you, so long as they’re well written.
• Make sure to cover the holidays and take advantage of the sales you find in your niche. Aggregate sales posts are insanely highly converting. A “Best Black Friday Deals on [Product]” post is incredibly valuable, and I’m sure you can see why.
• Gradually expand your niche and sell more and more products , both to increase variety and increase volume. If you start off by selling faucets, you can expand into more plumbing products, more bathroom fixtures, other kinds of valves, or all of them. Just don’t try to take on more than you can handle.
• Focus on small, cheap products early in the month and expensive products later in the month , so the cheap products boost your variable commission rates. Amazon’s commissions are a monthly performance test, starting at 4% and rising up to 8%. You’d rather get 8% on big purchases, so push those more when your commissions have grown.
• Make evergreen content as much as possible. Product comparison tables and recurring deals posts are both great for this. Make sure to keep them up to date and, most importantly, make sure people know they’re up to date. Update them monthly if possible, and always update the most recently edited date.
• Publish retrospective monthly bestseller lists and analysis to accompany it. If nothing else other affiliate marketers love to see what is and isn’t working, but if you’re doing everything right, they shouldn’t be able to undercut and supplant you.
• Ignore the Amazon AStore functionality completely; it’s not very useful.

Once again, we see that Amazon can be a great, lucrative place to be. However, pretty much all affiliate marketing advice works with other affiliates as well. It doesn’t matter if you’re promoting web hosting, selling products on eBay, or selling digital services for some app company; it’s all the same information.

Hieu Nguyen’s Affiliate Sale

Hieu is a marketer from Vietnam, and while his case isn’t as impressive as the others on this list, it shows the viability of a different sort of affiliate marketing business model. Specifically, what he did was build an affiliate site and then sell it for a sizable profit.

We’ve already seen how much work it is to set up and establish an affiliate site. It’s also a lot of work to maintain, but many newbie affiliate marketers believe that it’s the startup that’s the hardest part. As a consequence, they look out for affiliate marketers selling their sites, and they buy. Oh, do they buy.

Hieu’s business model isn’t designed to set up 1-2 sites and push them until they’re powerhouses he can live off of indefinitely. Rather, he builds sites and makes them moderate successes, something like a proof of concept. The site he sold in this case study took nine months to reach a monthly income level of $1,600, at which point he sold it for about 10x that amount.

There are two things to take away from this success story. The first is that, if you enjoy building sites, doing the research, and establishing the start of a business, you can still make a profit without having to maintain the site. You can simply sell it for a good chunk of change, then start over and do it all again. The second takeaway is that if you’re on the other side of the coin – perfectly capable and willing to maintain and improve a site, but incapable or unwilling to build it from scratch – you can just buy a site and go from there.

The post is an interview with Hieu, and it goes over the strategies he uses to build and rank his sites. Be aware that he does use some gray and black hat strategies, so your results may vary if you’re trying to follow in his footsteps. The post is over a year old, so some of those techniques may be more heavily penalized now than they used to be.

So there you have it; five successful affiliate marketers and the techniques they used to achieve that success. By following their guides, you too can be one of the people on a list like this someday.

Written by James Parsons

James is a content marketing and SEO professional who enjoys the challenge of driving sales through blogging while creating awesome and useful content.

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Join the Discussion

Thanks for mentioning me in the blog. I’m actually doing a bit better than that now from my websites but I also run some other companies as well. Currently have about 6 decent sized income streams that all add up pretty well. It’s been a lot of fun over the last several years trying new things 🙂

Yunus Hassim

Excellent post, I really enjoyed it. Keep it up!

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Using a single keyword strategy to profit from google ads and cpa affiliate marketing.

In online marketing, finding the right strategy can mean the difference between success and failure; therefore, in this case study, we will be discussing how a professional online marketer made a lot of profits using a single keyword strategy with Google Ads and CPA affiliate marketing.

Joey Babineau is an entrepreneur who went from having $40 000 in student loan debt, and working 2 full-time jobs — to building a 7 figure Performance Marketing business online using paid and free traffic sources. He has a YouTube channel focused on several ways of making money online, including SEO, CPA marketing, affiliate marketing, content marketing, link and list building, website monetization methods, etc.

Now, before we get further into this article, make sure that you don't miss out on any of our updates, which include new case studies, guides, publications, and interviews filled with proven facts and statistics from successful online marketing entrepreneurs that can help you start and grow your online business. Subscribe to our Telegram Channel and follow our Twitter page today!

Let's dive into this article...  

Above is a screenshot of Joey Babineau's Google ads dashboard that shows how he has spent over $6 million on running ads, a lot of which are aimed at specific keywords. There are many reasons to choose Google ads over social media promotion like Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc, but the main reasons are it is very fast to achieve results and one does not get banned and frustrated easily. While expressing this, Joey Babineau said 

"Since Facebook is just banning everybody, especially affiliates, and Tiktok is getting tough with their rules. Google ads have some ways that you can get around the rules, or you can at least follow the rules and make some decent profits as an affiliate marketer."

Before we continue, let's see the results of some of these keywords. 

As can be seen from the screenshot, he has already spent $80 000 on one keyword, but this keyword has provided him a conversion rate of around $105 000. This is a profit of nearly $24 000 from one keyword of a CPA offer. According to Joey Babineau, 

"The possibility of running Google search ads is probably one of the easiest ways for affiliates to get targeted traffic. This is because you know what people are searching for, you know what their intent is, and you can fill in the gaps for these people by giving them the information they need to decide before they buy something." 

Recommended Offers

To get your desired results from an affiliate marketing campaign, you should always consider the type of offers you want to promote, and the kind of offers Joey Babineau recommends are the CPAs- Cost per Action offers. Many affiliate networks specialized in these types of offers, some of them are:

Comparing the offers on these two platforms to the offers on other networks such as Clickbank, Joey Babineau said: 

"Offers on these networks convert well compared to affiliate networks like ClickBank, and I have found that ClickBank has a very terrible conversion rate, especially for cold traffic." 

Take note that Joey did not say Clickbank is a terrible network, but it is not good for cold traffic. Things to Consider When Choosing an Offer

The first thing to look out for in an offer is decent earnings per click or a reasonable conversion rate. Ideally, the target offer should have a conversion rate of 5% and above. Let's consider Joey Babineau's CPV Lab pro account taking his conversion rate as an example. CPV Lab Pro is an affiliate marketing tool that helps affiliate marketers track their affiliate offer link engagement and the rate of conversion of the offer.

It can be seen from the screenshot that the conversion rate was 7.82. In addition to the conversion rate, you should also pay attention to the standard offer payout which is not less than $30. Promoting offers with a $2 or $3 payout will only lead to an unprofitable campaign, and you will only be enriching the ad platform without a significant reward for you.

However, in choosing offers based on the payout, Joey Babineau sounded a note of warning that: 

"You need to be careful that you're not breaking the rules. A lot of these CPA offers do break the rules, so be sure you do pick the right offers and that you check the rules of Google first."

The second element to give attention to when dealing with offers is the landing page click-through rate. When running affiliate offers on Google search ads, it is mandatory to use a landing page. Joey Babineau constantly tests landing pages for every campaign he intends to run on a large scale. If you try to channel the traffic from Google search ads directly to the affiliate offer, your ad account will most likely get banned from Google search ads, as Google might see this as spamming. 

So from the screenshot, we can see that one landing page has converted at 3.91 while the other is at 1.88. To make things simple and comprehensible, a formula can be used to calculate the profitability of a campaign, but most marketers need help to get it.

Looking at the above Excel page, there are a lot of things going on, but it's a simple calculation.

The first column you see from the left is the number of clicks, which is 1000. Following that is the average cost per click, which is $1.00. These two metrics point out that for this particular campaign to run, it will require $1 000. The number of clicks to offer was 250 clicks because 25% of 1 000 clicks will give 250. Assuming the offer has a 5% conversion rate and a payout of $30 per conversion, it means the person running the ads will eventually make a loss of $625.

It is good to know that all these variables can be controlled, and of all the variables, the most important is the landing page click-through rate. It needs to be monitored and adjusted as the campaign grows and changes. For example, to make the cost per click right, you will have to improve the click-through rate. Let's say the cost per click is about 1.49, a higher click-through rate will result in a better cost per click. You can lower this cost by increasing the ad relevance if you choose to.

Let's say we have control over the landing page click-through rate, improving it to over 45% will bring us closer to profitability. The following are some ways to improve the landing page click-through rate:

• Testing with different headlines
• Testing with different calls to action, Joey uses Jasper AI to generate the copy he usually uses for his landing page.
• Testing with different images.

Unfortunately, not all affiliates know that it is possible to get a higher conversion rate and to do this you have to generate more traffic to the offer. If you have tried everything we have explained and your conversion rate does not improve, you may need to contact the manager of the CPA offer you are promoting and ask for an evaluation of your account if their algorithm has missed anything. Usually, if you provide your CPA network proof of your effort, you may likely see your conversion rate shoot up afterward. Most times, this leads to a 10% or 15% increase in the conversion rate.

The baseline for the profitability of any CPA offer campaign is testing with many variables until you get the perfect spot to make the campaign profitable. Let's assume that the example in the Excel sheet has the conversion rate increased to 7.82, you will see that the entire campaign setup becomes profitable.

Types of Traffic for Offers

There are mainly three types of traffic:

• Cold traffic
• Warm traffic
• Hot traffic.

Cold Traffic : Many users click on the ads purely on the promise made in the ad copy. Most likely, they’ve searched for generic keywords and are more interested in learning more about the problem than the available solutions. Their decision to visit the landing page, therefore, wasn’t rooted in any prior knowledge or experience with the offer. This is referred to as "cold traffic." We can think of them as casual browsers who are researching potential solutions or looking for information online. These people might have the problem that the offer aims to overcome, but since they know nothing about it, it’s highly unlikely that they would click on those offers. As a result, they are the least likely to be susceptible to any sales message.

Marketing to these users gives you the ability to connect with them and start building a business relationship that might result in a sale at some point in the future.

Warm Traffic : It consists of people who already know about the offer and might have seen the ads before. They’ve gone through your landing page, but so far, they have not indicated an interest in taking up the offer. Although they like the offer, so far, they haven’t purchased whatever it is that was offered to them.

Hot Traffic : Hot traffic is made up of people who are ready to pay for the offer or trust the offer in some way.

Joey Babineau advised that the warm and hot options are the ones to use. According to him: 

"You can really increase your odds of success if you start out focusing on the warm and hot traffic. They are easy to convert because people are already searching for the keywords."

All that is needed is for you to push your ads to these people who are willing to buy. Therefore, researching for warm and hot keywords is vital when using paid ads like Google ads. Income

• Revenue from 1 keyword: $105 000
• Ad spend: $81 000
• Income: $24 000

In this post, we've considered how using specific keywords with various offers can be very profitable. By using CPA affiliate marketing networks, such as MaxBounty, to get CPA offers to promote through Google ads, you are surely on the path to making a success out of your affiliate marketing campaign.  It is important to pay attention to the click-through rate, which we've stipulated must be at least 5%. 

Equally, it is important to have a landing page for CPA affiliate offers as this will avert the risk of getting your Google ad banned by Google. By testing calls to action through an AI writing tool such as Jasper AI, landing pages can be optimized for more profit. In all of this process, however, you should be careful so as not to break any of Google's rules.

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AdWords: Search Performance Marketing Case Studies

In this section, you’ll find success stories from brands across a variety of industries that increased conversions and found new audiences by using products such as Google Ad Extensions and Dynamic Search Ads.

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Forrent.com increases online visibility, traffic and roi with google’s dynamic search ads, the washington wizards add 72% more new fan ticket sales with adwords, extra space storage creates and tests ads in real time, increases ctr by 113%, intel: building its brand on search for over a decade, fiat drives up total unaided brand awareness with search ads, accor hotels uses google ad extensions to increase incremental conversions by 14%, retailer grainger uses dynamic search ads and remarketing to extend its reach, point it innovates with flexible bid strategies, boosting revenue for clients, extra space storage goes local at scale with google, miller's bakery doubles sales during peak hours with enhanced campaigns, performance marketing case studies.

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12 PPC Case Studies: Challenges, Solutions & Results

Christina Lyon

April 3, 2023

High CPA? Low conversion rate? Let these PPC case studies inspire strategic solutions for every paid search challenge.

Here, you’ll find: 

• Common PPC obstacles brands face
• 12 PPC case studies highlighting  effective problem-solving strategies
• Success stories from brands that leveraged PPC agencies 
• Solutions to tackle your own PPC problems 

Diverse clients, budgets, and challenges call for diverse PPC strategies .

Our clients span SaaS, ecommerce , financial institutions, universities, and more, and they’ve all experienced roadblocks on the way to success.  We love to see them succeed and enjoy an average of 4.5X ROI . But what markers define PPC success? 

We’ve rounded up a dozen case studies showcasing common PPC obstacles brands face, and the strategies that helped them come out stronger on the other side.

What is a PPC case study ?

PPC case studies feature the details of a project partnership between an agency or contractor, and the brand that hired them. In these case studies you’ll find the company’s background, marketing objectives, PPC challenges, and strategies that contributed to success.

There will also be commentary on the thought process behind the strategy. Brands often review an agency’s PPC case studies to assess whether they’re the right fit to tackle their unique challenges. 

PPC professionals can also review case studies to gain inspiration on new strategies and approaches to resolve their clients’ pain points.

Ready to get inspired? Keep reading.

12 PPC case studies to inspire your next strategy

From high CPAs and competition to low brand visibility and sales, these brands sought PPC strategies unique to their most pressing problems. If you relate to one in particular, click through to read more.

1. 686 overcomes a sales slump

We’ve all been there. We pump thousands of dollars into a PPC strategy , yet sales stagnate. Or, they increase slightly, but not enough to justify the whopping ad spend . 

Ecommerce technical apparel brand, 686 , had this problem. They needed a creative kick to pump up sales and ROI. Their return on ad spend ( ROAS) was 160%, and they wanted to magnify it to 350-400%. 

Athletic fashion is a saturated market, but we used 686’s unique selling points (USPs) and customer persona to inform intentional tweaks to their strategy. 

Strategies :

• Location-based targeting : We adjusted 686’s PPC campaigns to target U.S. locations with people who would benefit most from 686’s cold-weather products. 
• Remarketing : Search Engine Journal says that the buyer’s journey is “a relationship that needs constant cultivating.” We launched an aggressive remarketing strategy on Google’s Display Network and Facebook to include additional touch points to boost conversions.
• Optimized shopping campaign and product feed : Fashion is a creative industry, and we needed to help 686 stand out. We revamped their product feed and pumped up conversions on the SERPs with delicious product photos and clear pricing. 

We paired all that with ongoing keyword optimizations , bid management, and website conversion optimization . 

The results: 

• 562% year-over-year (YoY) SEM revenue increase
• More than 186% conversion rate increase
• 303% increase in return on ad spend (ROAS)
• 67% reduction in cost per conversion 

2. Peer Software finds its target audience

Peer Software is a data management software company. The problem? Reaching their specific target audience : IT and infrastructure roles at multi-site companies. The company struggled to build brand awareness and generate sales for their primary product. 

Strategies : 

• Cross-platform advertising : Peer Software focused heavily on Google search ads campaigns, but we learned that their audience also used Bing . That’s why we created ad campaigns for both search engines , to scoop up a valuable audience they were missing out on before. 
• Persuasive new ad copy addressing audience pain points : Our research showed their existing ad copy didn’t address their audience’s pain points sufficiently. We clearly defined the pain point (file collaboration challenges) in ad descriptions and landing page copy, and positioned Peer Software as the clear solution. 

Results : 

• 128% increase in conversions
• Over 46% decrease in cost per conversion
• 126% increase in website clicks

3. CSUN says bye-bye to sky-high CPA

So you scored a new customer. Great! But how much money did you invest in that one customer? If you’re anything like California State University – Northridge — too much (before we got to their PPC strategy ). 

While the university had a solid digital marketing team and web presence, we noticed they were spending too much money to fill in under-enrolled programs. 

Here’s how we helped: 

• Excluded non-converting audience segments : CSUN was investing ad spend into non-converting audience segments. We eliminated those segments to free up more of their marketing budget for conversion-ripe leads. 
• A/B testing on ad copy : We tweaked and experimented with CSUN’s ad copy to test out different keywords and phrasing to see which converted the most. 
• Enhanced cost-per-click (CPC) with robust monitoring : We knew we needed to leverage remarketing to convert audiences tipping the edge of conversion. We used enhanced CPC along with negative keywords and locations, and our constant monitoring ensured we didn’t overspend. 

Results: 

• 50% reduction in CPA
• Nearly 2X conversion rate
• 50% increase in YoY revenue

4. Keyword cannibalization and self-competition at Honda

In PPC , keyword cannibalization happens when you run multiple search campaigns that target the same keywords. The result? Self-competition and amped-up ad costs. That was the reality for our client, Honda . 

They had a unique risk here. They weren’t planning on running competing campaigns, but they had partners — new and used car dealers — who were. This put their goal of promoting the new Civic hatchback and Accord models in South America at risk. 

Same goal, but competing keywords. See the issue? That’s where we came in. 

Strategies:

• Keyword targets for both Honda and dealers : We did the research (fueled by data from ConversionIQ ) and suggested high-value keywords for Honda and their dealers to bid on. This intentional approach eliminated the siloed campaigns that could have caused disastrous keyword cannibalization. 
• Remarketing : Honda specifically wanted to capture audiences that were already familiar with their strong reputation. So, we launched a remarketing strategy for both search and display ads to improve conversions. 
• 30% reduced cost per conversion
• 200% traffic increase
• 40% increase in dealer inquiries

As many of these PPC case studies show, sometimes it’s best to stick to metaphorical fruits and veggies to nourish your PPC strategy.

verizon digital media

5. Verizon Media boosts brand awareness in a competitive industry

Verizon Media leads the telecommunications and media industries, offering products like smartphones, internet packages, and television streaming. But they were struggling to stand out in this fiercely competitive industry against the likes of AT&T and other big telecom players.

They needed our help to increase their brand awareness and level up their digital marketing strategy to overcome a cut-throat competitive landscape. 

• Display opt-in : Verizon already had a robust team of in-house marketers, but we helped them strategize audience reach by adding display opt-in to their search campaigns. This strategy is proven to increase conversions by 15% . 
• Keyword optimization with single keyword ad groups (SKAGs) : Out of all the Google Ads campaign structure components, SKAGs are among the most time-consuming. Still, dedicated keywords for each group helped us optimize Verizon’s rankings and score more leads. 
• Ad extensions : We wanted to lead Verizon’s audience through the buyer’s journey with as much ease and convenience as possible. That meant implementing more ad extensions to infuse ample contact opportunities and, thus, increase conversions. 
• 3,200% more conversions
• 50% decrease in cost per conversion
• 37% decrease in average CPC

6. The University of Nevada homes in on targeting

Off-shore from the lapping waves of pristine Lake Tahoe is the University of Nevada, Reno (formerly Sierra Nevada University). The renowned university struggled to attract targeted leads with their former PPC agency, who had rolled out a “kitchen sink approach.” 

Problem was, everything was, in fact, in the kitchen sink — except for ideal students. The bidding was too broad, and they wanted a tailored strategy to match their niche-based marketing goals. 

Zeroed in on results, we crafted a modern, focused strategy:

• Refined campaigns: We completely restructured the campaigns to tighten unfocused areas, including cleaning up keywords, geographic targeting, and rolling out clear conversion tracking.
• Launched CRO-focused landing pages: Each program got its own optimized landing page with targeted copy, and a contact form to catch new inquiries and enhance conversions.
• Ran display and YouTube campaigns: We attracted potential students in close proximity to the campus with successful display ads and video campaigns.
• 309% increase in conversions
• 135% increase in CTR for search campaigns
• 43% reduced cost per conversion

7. Migration-proof SEO for VIOS & Kindbody

One of our clients, VIOS Fertility , was acquired by Kindbody. While we initially planned to support them with Google Ads, SEO, Bing, and Facebook Ads, we switched things up amidst the new merger. 

We had to shift our SEO and ad group setups to support both Kindbody and VIOS as they went through a new website migration. 

• Google campaign revamp : We created new paid campaigns to account for expanded locations. We also tested and tracked conversions from contact forms and landing pages to maintain results. 
• Migration monitoring and content audit : A million things can go wrong when migrating to a new website. We used an exclusive Migration Checklist to track all web items, maintain performance, and catch snags as they arose, including 301 redirects and a robust content audit. 
• New messaging : The original ad copy wo uldn’t fly with an expansion like this one. We crafted new messaging to account for Kindbody’s brand values and ensured alignment with VIOS. 
• 128% increase in organic website sessions
• 74% increase in total terms ranking
• 128% increase in organic new website visitors

Navigating big changes doesn’t have to be a nightmare, especially with the right PPC agency in your corner.

8. Clearing up cloudy insights at AppDynamics

Imagine how incredible your website would perform if you caught every bug the second it occurred. That’s what San Francisco-based computer application company, AppDynamics , offers its big-time clients like Expedia.ca. 

We could see immense value in their offerings, but their target audience couldn’t because they weren’t on the map.

• A/B testing : AppDynamics needed sharper insights into what was working, and what was lagging in their PPC campaigns. We launched A/B tests to decipher which bids cost them more without enough conversions to justify them, and adjusted each one as necessary. 
• Targeted landing pages : AppDynamics has a wide audience, and to capture that audience, we crafted over 200 direct landing pages.
• Keyword revamp : Our daily tracking and A/B tests revealed more targeted keywords that spoke to AppDynamics’ audience and intent. We gave their existing ad copy a makeover and aggressively pursued more targeted keywords.
• 20% increase in conversion rate 
• 2X targeted traffic
• Grew from 40 to over 200 targeted landing pages

9. Ramped up scaling at Parts Town

Parts Town , a food-service equipment distributor, had an ambitious goal to grow search and shopping channels by 40%. Their goals outgrew their previous agency, and they needed a more effective balance of optimized product feeds and audience segmentation.

They contacted Tinuiti, a large-scale performance marketing agency, for their success in managing shopping campaigns and propelling massive performance success. 

• Monitor and tweak with proven best practices : Tinuiti continued enhancing product descriptions and titles, implementing custom labels, and specifying categorization to maximize performance while abiding by Google Shopping Ads requirements. 
• Grow by audience segment: Understanding your audience is a constant task for scaling brands. Tinuiti knows this, which is why they analyzed and segmented customer data to find more leads and revenue. 
• Pilot and beta testing: Tinuiti continued personalizing and tailoring the customer experience for each product category with robust testing strategies. 
• 15% revenue growth in the first month
• 64% revenue growth after one year
• 223% revenue growth after three years

Slow scaling? Not anymore.

10. Getting Grayson Living’s ecommerce sales to compete with IRL

Grayson Living is a leader in the high-end interior design and furniture industry that wanted to see more ecommerce sales to complement their brick-and-mortar success. Despite their high marketing budget, we noticed conversion rates for ecommerce transactions and website views weren’t stacking up.

The problem? They were digitally selling to an in-person audience. Shopify highlights that ecommerce shoppers rely more heavily on images , reviews, and product descriptions to convert than brick-and-mortar shoppers. 

So while we wanted to improve ROAS , the solution wasn’t to tighten ad spend . Instead, we pumped more money into ad spend to generate results that actually improved our client’s ROI. 

• Display advertising and shopping campaigns : Grayson Living already had stellar products and results to highlight. We amplified their display ads with targeted ad copy , and gave their shopping campaigns a boost. 
• Cross-platform advertising : The ecommerce shopper has more entryways to a transaction than the in-person one. That’s why we had to leverage cross-platform advertising to catch broader audiences beyond Google searches and on social media platforms. 
• Retargeting : We created custom landing pages and persuasive new copy to capture audiences that already visited Grayson Living’s website, and made sure that on second-visit, they understood the value of their ecommerce design services.
• 6X ROAS increase over three years
• 279% increase in ecommerce sales after one year
• 11% increase in average order value (AOV) after the first year

11. Going digital with minimal brand recognition at an internet bank

An online financial institution had positioned itself as a leading brick-and-mortar bank. With 100 years of success, they wanted to launch a new digital direct-to-consumer (DTC) internet bank, with little brand recognition in that niche space. 

The company turned to Wpromote for support in creating a digital footprint in a competitive space where customers didn’t recognize their brand. 

• Advanced targeting and segmentation : Wpromote used hyper-focused paid search campaigns to target key audiences, using messaging testing to figure out which combinations worked best for leads that didn’t know the client’s brand. 
• Ongoing maintenance : The digital marketing strategy included a soft launch, official launch, and regular, ongoing maintenance to align new results with KPIs and channel-specific goals. 
• Email marketing : Wpromote used a robust email marketing strategy to complement their PPC ads efforts. Communications were frequent and covered product announcements and promotional offers to generate interest and loyalty. 
• $18B in acquired deposits
• 68% reduction in cost per account/acquisition
• 1,000 keywords on page one of Google’s SERPs

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

12. Revamping CVA’s digital marketing strategy 

Columbia Virtual Academy (CVA) is an innovative, customizable education program for parents and guardians to tailor K-12 education for their kids. CVA felt their previous marketing agency wasn’t as hands-on as they needed them to be. 

They connected with us seeking marketing support to reach new students, and we focused heavily on keyword optimization to market their offerings.

• Exact and phrase match, negative keywords : CVA is a unique educational provider, yet the education presence online is vast. We noticed they ranked for keywords that didn’t exactly reflect their core services. We used exact and phrase match keywords, as well as negative keywords, to generate ideal traffic. 
• High-intent keywords : We drove more relevant leads with revamped keywords that were better aligned with CVA’s offerings. 
• Revised ad copy : We highlighted CVA’s main program features and paint point solutions within ad copy to supercharge SERP rankings. 
• 134% in YoY Google Ads conversions
• 51% decrease in CPA
• 45% increase in clickthrough rate ( CTR )

The takeaway

Every business has unique challenges, which is why every PPC strategy should be built to efficiently solve those challenges.

If you’re a busy marketer or business owner, chances are high that you relate to some of these obstacles. While each company faces hurdles like fierce competition, low visibility, or soaring CPA, the right solution is within reach.

PPC management is a fantastic way to catch these issues, build an effective strategy, and accelerate results.

If you feel stuck, use these PPC case studies for inspiration to tackle challenges head-on.

And if you want to add your company to this list of PPC success stories, get in touch today. We’re here to help you soar your PPC results to new heights. 

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How to write an effective social media marketing case study: 9 important things for agencies and freelancers to include

Alexander Chafe

Table of contents

As a social media agency or freelancer with established client relationships, you’ve surely developed an impressive portfolio of projects and results. You’re an awesome marketer, which prospective clients need to see as you grow your business. A social media marketing case study is a great tool to showcase your services in a relatable way and win clients. 

To help you create a powerful case study that stands out, we’ve outlined a fool-proof process for case study design and 9 things you must include. 

What is a social media marketing case study? 

A social media case study is a detailed review of how your services helped a specific client achieve their goals. 

Case studies are common research tools in science and business. But rather than a dry, academic analysis, you want to create a customer-focused story that potential clients can easily relate to. Leads should identify with the successful client’s character and see you as their expert guide. Keep this in mind as we explain how to create a case study for social media. 

“You need to have case studies that directly support your core product benefits and features. Your goal should be to show how your customers succeeded because of your key value props.” - Henry Brown , Head of Growth, Gadget

How to write a social media case study 

An effective case study requires thoughtful planning, research and analysis, and (of course) great writing. After reviewing case study guidelines from various academic , marketing , literary , and scientific sources, we’ve summarized the process into 5 easy steps.  

I. Set goals and prepare for research 

The first step is to set a goal for the case study to determine what kind of story you want to tell.      

You likely have social media clients that fit different personas. Some may be small organizations with a one-person marketing team and limited budget needing advice on social media content planning. Other clients may be full marketing teams looking for direction on scaling their paid and organic social channels. Each type of client has a very different narrative. 

Now consider your target customer. You’ll want to create a case study they identify with by highlighting work you’ve done for a client with similar objectives. Choose a related client with impactful results and ask if they’d be interested in being featured in a case study. (If you have multiple target customer personas, plan to write a case study for each). 

With a defined focus, brush up on the client account, schedule interviews with key decision-makers in the organization, and prepare case study interview questions. 

II. Conduct client interviews 

Client interviews are a great way to gather research for your case study and add context to your story. You likely know your client’s social media goals, current tactics, and what results they’ve seen. But, what do you know about their situation before working with you, why they chose your agency, or how they’ve enjoyed your working relationship? 

By asking these questions and digging deeper, you can further define their character throughout your marketing case study. It’s a great idea to share case study questions with your client before the interview, so they can come prepared. 

During the interview, ask open-ended questions that follow a narrative to encourage discussion. Start by asking about the client’s background, how they managed social media before working with you, why they chose an agency or freelancer, and the challenges they faced. Then you can discuss how you’ve worked together to help them succeed and how they’ve grown.

Don’t be afraid to ask why or other follow-up questions to gain further insight. At this stage, you want to gather as much info as possible to make your case study relatable.   

Conclude the interview by thanking your client for their time and summarizing any follow-ups. If you want to feature specific results or content in your social media marketing case study, discuss how it will be used and get any necessary approvals. 

III. Gather reports and results

When reading a case study, prospective clients will want to see results. So, gathering data and reports that show your client’s success is an important part of case study research. 

You can include expected metrics like reach and engagement of social campaigns . Brandon Moore advises also going beyond these metrics and incorporating tangible results related to a client’s overall business objectives. 

“A compelling case study should detail how a campaign increased foot traffic, boosted online sales, or lowered customer acquisition costs. Highlight how your efforts improved customer retention rates or increased average deal size. You may have to dig for this data, but these metrics paint a stronger picture of the real impact social media has on business growth and are exactly what companies will be looking for when evaluating potential social media marketing services. Demonstrating this isn't always easy, but it will set your case study apart from other vendors that haven’t gone deep enough.” - Brandon Moore , Director of Content Marketing at Vendasta & Founder of Sendies

With this information, it’s time to start thinking about your case study’s framework.  

IV. Analyze research and create a case study outline 

The next step in designing your social media marketing case study involves analyzing your research and planning the format of your case study. 

Review all the information you’ve gathered and organize it into the following categories: Client background, problem or opportunity identification, goals, solution execution, and results. Each of these topics can become sections when writing your case study.      

V. Write and summarize the case study

This is where writers shine! When writing B2B case studies, use clear and simple language. Incorporate plenty of white space, bold key points, and separate sections with headings. This makes everything scanable. 

Include data and reports to showcase results, as well as samples of work that was produced for the client. Also, keep in mind that you’re telling a story. Prospective customers should be able to identify with the client you’re featuring and follow their journey from problem to success. Adding quotes from interviewees is a great personal touch. 

After writing the full case study, summarize up to 5 key points and the most impressive results. This can be included at the beginning of your case study or in an infographic to give readers a quick snapshot.  

What is the format for writing a social media marketing case study?

In its simplest form, a case study format should showcase a problem or opportunity, how it was solved, and related results. But, there’s much more you can do to stand out. Based on our research, we’ve compiled a list of 9 things an effective case study must include.  

1. A great headline

First, it’s important to have a great headline. Headlines should be descriptive and specific, so readers understand what they’ll learn from reading further.   

For example, a general headline like “How HeyOrca helped a company plan social content” doesn’t grab attention. With few details, it’s unclear what the case study is about or who it’s meant to target. Many companies plan social media content, so this isn’t a powerful claim. 

Let’s compare this to a more detailed headline: “A social media team saved 60 hours and more than $4,000 in a month using HeyOrca.” (Yes, those are real results !) Notice how the additional detail makes this headline more relatable and showcases desirable results. This is the type of headline you want for your case study! 

(If we’ve piqued your interest, get in touch to learn more about HeyOrca’s social media management tool for agencies and freelancers .) 

2. Case study summary or infographic

Effective case studies also have a summary or infographic at the beginning that outlines key points and metrics. This allows readers to quickly understand the story and decide where they should read further. Ultimately, leading with the right info will catch attention and make leads want to learn more. 

3. Client background info

Business case studies should include background details of the client or organization being featured. This section provides context and humanizes the narrative, so potential customers who fit the same persona identify with their character and want to follow their path to success. 

4. Problem description

A description of the problem or opportunity your client faced before you began working together is essential. This explains why they chose to work with your agency and how they were managing social media before seeking your expertise. The problem described should be relatable to target customers, making the story more impactful.  

5. Client goals  

Some may include goals in the problem or opportunity section, but this is important to call out. Clearly outline the client’s primary and secondary goals for social media, so readers can see how they were achieved by working with your agency. 

6. Executed solution 

In this section of your social media marketing case study, you describe how you worked with your social media client to solve their problem and lead them to success. It can outline specific strategies, tactics, processes, etc. that you suggested and executed. This is a great section to showcase your expertise and what prospective clients can expect when working with you. 

7. Results 

Of course, marketing case studies must include results. This is your opportunity to highlight impressive metrics and revisit your client’s goals to showcase the progress on each one. 

“Protecting the bottom line and mitigating risk is important for many prospective clients. Good case studies add those proof points and make the impact of projects crystal clear.” - Kurt Dunphy , Director of Growth, Spellbook

8. Clear writing 

While we touched on this in the steps above, it deserves repeating. Use clear and simple language throughout your case study. Write like a human! Potential clients don’t want to read complicated wording they have to work to understand your message. Make things easy, be brief, and keep the focus on your client’s story (this is what leads will relate to).   

9. Supporting images 

Add supporting images and graphics throughout your case study. This breaks up all the text and helps show results and the work you’ve done with the client. Include examples of posts, as well as reports and analytics. 

“Many case studies from agencies discuss the experience of working together, but don’t show any work, so you have to dig into their portfolio to connect the dots. If everything is packaged together, it’s easier for your prospect.” - Kurt Dunphy , Director of Growth, Spellbook

Other social media case study tips

In addition to our guide above, here are some other tips and tricks to create an effective social media marketing case study: 

1. To get started, consider finding a social media case study template to work with. Hubspot has free downloadable case study templates you can customize for your brand. 

2. Consider getting approval for writing case studies upfront during your sales or agency onboarding process, or making it part of your social media management contract . - Kurt Dunphy , Director of Growth, Spellbook ‍

3. Leverage your content by repurposing quotes, results, and other elements on multiple channels.   

4. Be creative and design a case study in a nontraditional format — make a video, a case study infographic or a podcast case study series. 

5. Create a case study presentation that you can use when pitching new clients. There are some great Canva social media templates to help with your PowerPoint. 

Social media case study examples

To help you put everything into practice, here are some marketing case study examples you can use for inspiration. 

#paid and Precision Nutrition 

#paid uses case studies to showcase how brands like Precision Nutrition achieve results with creator content. They use a simple case study template that includes a descriptive headline, key metrics, client background info, client goals, campaign details, and results. 

Slintel and Leoforce

Slintel created a case study to showcase how Leoforce used its sales intelligence tool to get more leads and sales meetings. This example does a great job of showcasing Leoforce’s challenges before using Slintel and the results of using their tool. The case study layout also uses a lot of visuals, white space, and clear language, making it easy to understand.

Trello and Desk Plants 

Trello’s case study about how Desk Plants used its platform to get more organized and increase sales is an awesome example of storytelling. There’s certainly room for improvement with its layout — visuals and headings could help break up all the text! But Trello does a great job of humanizing the main character, which helps create a personal connection. 

How long should a marketing case study be? 

Most sources suggest that B2B marketing case studies should be between 500-1,500 words. Some can be summarized in a page, while others may be up to 5. However, don’t have 5 pages of just text — this should include plenty of images, work samples, white space, and reports, as well as a summary of the case study that’s 100 words or less at the beginning. 

Why do agencies and freelancers use social media case studies? 

First and foremost, marketing case studies are a proven sales technique. According to research collected by Ascend2 , case studies are one of the most trusted content by marketers. 

There are many other benefits of case studies: 

1. They build trust and credibility since they’re based on research and customer testimonials.

2. They showcase different customer perspectives , which helps potential clients relate to the story. 

3. When done right, they’re a low-pressure sales tool . Instead of typical sales calls or pitches, case studies are essentially long-form customer reviews. 

4. They show and tell what it’s like to work with you as an agency or freelancer, your work, and the potential results.   

“Case studies do a lot of lifting across the marketing funnel. Traditionally, they're looked at as a sales enablement tool to help close deals with prospective customers. But, they're also impactful assets that brands should leverage at the top of the funnel to drive brand exposure and engagement. Social proof goes a long way!” - Henry Brown , Head of Growth, Gadget

Build your case (study)

Social media marketing case studies are great for showcasing your work as an agency or freelancer. A major advantage of case studies is that they follow your client’s perspective and are based on results, building trust and credibility. Hopefully, our guide will help create a powerful case study to win clients and utilize your social media management expertise. 

Alexander is a marketer and content writer with a passion for strategy and simplicity. Working with businesses across diverse industries, he delivers tailored marketing solutions and stellar written content.

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• For Small Business

10 Impressive LinkedIn Ad Case Studies to Inspire Your 2024 Marketing

• May 13, 2024
• by steven-austin

With over 900 million members worldwide, LinkedIn has become an essential advertising channel for B2B marketers looking to reach professional audiences. The platform‘s robust targeting options, variety of engaging ad formats, and unparalleled access to business decision-makers make it a powerful tool for driving brand awareness, generating quality leads, and achieving impressive marketing ROI.

To showcase what‘s possible with LinkedIn advertising, we‘ve rounded up 10 compelling case studies from a diverse set of companies. These examples, updated for 2024, illustrate creative and effective ways to leverage LinkedIn ads to meet different business goals. You‘ll see how brands are using single image, video, carousel, message, and text ads—along with smart targeting and optimization—to get remarkable results.

Whether you‘re new to LinkedIn ads or looking to level up your strategy, these case studies offer valuable insights and inspiration. Let‘s dive in!

1. Salesforce‘s Video Ads Drive Massive Engagement

Salesforce, the leading CRM platform, turned to LinkedIn video ads to promote their annual Dreamforce conference and generate excitement among their target audience of sales, marketing, and customer service professionals.

The company created a series of short, snappy videos featuring customer success stories, keynote speaker previews, and highlights from past events. They targeted the ads to relevant job titles and industries, and included prominent calls-to-action to register for the event.

The results were impressive: Salesforce‘s video ads earned an average view rate of 48%, with some even reaching 56%. The campaign also drove a 12% lift in Dreamforce registrations compared to the previous year. By using eye-catching visuals, concise messaging, and precise targeting, Salesforce was able to capture their audience‘s attention and inspire action.

Key Takeaway : Video is one of the most engaging ad formats on LinkedIn. Keep your videos short (under 30 seconds), highlight your key value propositions, and use targeting to ensure you‘re reaching the most relevant audience.

2. HubSpot‘s Lead Gen Forms Boost Conversions

HubSpot, a leading marketing, sales, and customer service software provider, used LinkedIn‘s Lead Gen Forms to drive high-quality conversions for their ebook and webinar content.

Lead Gen Forms allow LinkedIn members to submit their information with just a couple of clicks, as the forms are pre-filled with their profile data. This reduces friction in the conversion process and can significantly boost submissions.

HubSpot created Sponsored Content ads promoting their latest ebooks and webinars, with clear value propositions and eye-catching visuals. When members clicked the ads‘ call-to-action buttons, a Lead Gen Form would open within the LinkedIn interface, making it easy to sign up without navigating to a landing page.

The streamlined experience paid off: HubSpot saw a 5x increase in lead conversion rate compared to their standard landing page campaigns. They also found that the leads coming from LinkedIn tended to be higher quality, with better job titles and company information.

Key Takeaway : LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms are a powerful tool for B2B lead generation. Use them to gate your high-value content offers and make it as frictionless as possible for your target audience to convert.

3. Google‘s Text Ads Recruit Top Talent

Google is always looking for ways to attract the best and brightest talent across a range of technical and business roles. In this case study, the company used LinkedIn‘s Text Ads to promote open job listings and drive qualified applications.

Text Ads are simple, non-intrusive ad units that appear in the right rail of the LinkedIn desktop interface. While they may not be as flashy as other formats, they can be highly effective for targeting niche audiences with relevant messaging.

Google created Text Ads for various job openings, with concise, compelling copy that spoke directly to the qualifications and interests of their ideal candidates. They targeted the ads by job function, seniority level, skills, and location, ensuring they reached only the most relevant prospects.

The results were great for a recruitment campaign: Google‘s Text Ads generated a 30% higher apply rate than other channels, with a 50% lower cost per application. By leveraging LinkedIn‘s professional data for precise targeting, Google was able to fill their talent pipeline with high-quality candidates efficiently.

Key Takeaway : LinkedIn Text Ads are a great option for highly targeted, lower-funnel campaigns like job postings or demo requests. Use LinkedIn‘s robust targeting criteria to zone in on your exact persona and craft copy that resonates with their specific needs and interests.

4. Adobe‘s Carousel Ads Showcase Product Benefits

Adobe, the global leader in creative and digital marketing software, used LinkedIn‘s Carousel Ads to educate their audience about the key features and benefits of their Creative Cloud suite.

Carousel Ads allow you to include multiple visuals and headlines within a single ad unit, which users can swipe through to learn more. This format is ideal for telling a more complete brand story or showcasing different aspects of a product.

Adobe created Carousel Ads that highlighted essential Creative Cloud tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, with each card focusing on a specific use case or customer benefit. They targeted the ads to creative professionals and decision-makers across a range of industries.

The campaign was a big success: Adobe‘s Carousel Ads earned a 45% higher click-through rate and a 33% higher conversion rate than their single-image ad campaigns. By providing a more informative and interactive ad experience, Adobe was able to generate greater interest and drive more qualified leads for their Creative Cloud product.

Key Takeaway : Use LinkedIn Carousel Ads to tell a more in-depth story and highlight multiple features, benefits, or customer examples. Make sure each card has a strong visual and a clear, compelling headline to encourage engagement.

5. Wix‘s Message Ads Engage Decision-Makers

Wix, the popular website development platform, used LinkedIn‘s Message Ads to directly engage business owners and decision-makers with personalized offers and content.

Message Ads are delivered to LinkedIn members‘ inboxes, providing a unique opportunity to start a one-on-one conversation and build relationships with high-value prospects. Unlike InMail messages, Message Ads don‘t require a shared connection or open profile.

Wix created Message Ad campaigns offering a free trial of their premium business website plans, with personalized greetings and value propositions tailored to each recipient‘s industry and job function. They targeted small business owners and marketing decision-makers across a range of verticals.

The personalized approach worked well: Wix‘s Message Ads generated 3x more free trial sign-ups than any other LinkedIn ad format they tested, with a 25% open rate and an 8% CTR. By starting a direct conversation with their ideal customers, Wix was able to cut through the noise and drive meaningful business results.

Key Takeaway : Use LinkedIn Message Ads to reach out to your highest-value prospects with personalized offers and content. Keep your messages concise, relevant, and conversational, and include a clear call-to-action that aligns with your campaign goals.

These are just a few examples of how innovative brands are using LinkedIn ads to achieve their marketing objectives and drive serious ROI. As the platform continues to grow and evolve, we can expect to see even more creative and effective uses of LinkedIn advertising in the years ahead.

If these case studies have inspired you to explore LinkedIn ads for your own business, here are a few key best practices to keep in mind:

• Use LinkedIn‘s robust targeting options to reach your ideal audience based on job title, industry, company size, skills, interests, and more.
• Experiment with different ad formats to see what resonates best with your audience. Don‘t be afraid to try video, carousel, or message ads in addition to standard single-image ads.
• Keep your ad copy concise, compelling, and focused on your unique value proposition. Speak directly to your audience‘s needs and pain points.
• Include clear, eye-catching visuals that align with your brand and grab attention in the feed.
• Set up conversion tracking to measure your results and optimize your campaigns over time. Monitor your click-through rates, conversion rates, and cost per conversion to ensure you‘re getting the best return on your ad spend.
• Don‘t forget to nurture your leads after the click. Have a plan in place to follow up with prospects, provide value, and guide them through your sales funnel.

By following these guidelines and taking inspiration from the success stories above, you‘ll be well on your way to LinkedIn advertising success. Happy marketing!