Boutique agency innovates Paid Search with Skai’s AI and automation to boost conversions for clients
Challenge
With over two decades of experience in digital advertising, a Chicago-based boutique agency knew a one-size-fits all approach to Paid Search was not scalable. After experiencing some growing pains with native tools, they began evaluating other tech solutions for campaign management but were met with poor success. The team sought out a platform and partner built for scale. Skai’s extensive automation capabilities and optimization insights were a perfect match to meet client and agency growth goals.
Solution
Skai’s consolidated view delivered immediate impact as the team no longer needed to log into multiple Microsoft and Google accounts every day. Custom Audits kept the team on top of any campaign structure issues or inconsistent performance changes. Keeping track of Ad Strength, a key metric in measuring relevance and ad copy quality was important to monitor but took up valuable time every day. Automating always-on audits caught if any ads slipped to “average” or “poor” so the team could quickly make updates to stay at “good” or “excellent”.
Beyond management at scale, the agency prioritized proactive, strategic recommendations. One way to accomplish this in Skai was with Intent Driven Messaging (IDM). For example, IDM analyzed paid search for high-intent keywords not included in client search ads and found that adding “Service” to headlines such as “Meal Plan Delivery” better reflected consumer search intent. Adding in these phrases, the agency tracked improvements in CTR and CVR.
And as investment across Performance Max campaigns grew, the agency sought deeper insights to justify increased investments and improve transparency. Previously identifying poor performing asset types meant looking one-by-one across ad groups. With Skai’s analysis grid, the team seamlessly evaluated PMax results at the campaign or asset group level holistically. This freed up valuable hours in the workday that could be better used to swap out creatives for better performing ones. And when time came for clients to use additional spend, budget pacing enabled the agency team to allocate incremental dollars and make adjustments with a few clicks.
Results
One year following onboarding with Skai, the agency significantly grew its paid search spend, nearly doubling the initial level while improving at key performance metrics. Skai’s automation capabilities have reduced the stress of managing thousands of campaigns. By reinvesting their time savings, they can now concentrate more on strategic, high-value work for clients and business growth.
Quarter-over-quarter results for clients reflected:
- 39% increase in CTR
- 135% increase in Conversions
- 89% increase in Conversion Rate
- 12% decrease in CPC
“I’ve been able to get a better work-life balance, while still scaling and that doesn’t seem as scary anymore now that I have Skai helping me do that.”
Agency Owner
Solution used
