Resources & FAQ

For a local business to see meaningful results, plan on at least $1,000–$2,000/month in ad spend on top of management — that's the range where a platform's algorithm has enough data to actually optimize. Below roughly $1,000/month, most platforms can't gather enough signal to leave the learning phase, so campaigns tend to stay expensive and inconsistent. Businesses with more competitive markets (real estate, home services) usually see better results starting closer to $3,000+/month.

Google Ads targets intent — people actively searching for what you offer right now ("emergency plumber near me"). Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram) targets attention — people scrolling who aren't searching for you yet, but who fit your ideal customer profile. Search-heavy businesses (home services, real estate) usually lean Google first; visually-driven businesses (restaurants, gyms, hospitality) often get more out of Meta. Most businesses eventually benefit from both, but almost never need both on day one.

Expect the first 1–2 weeks to be a learning phase — the platform is testing audiences and creative, and cost-per-result is usually higher and less consistent during this window. Meaningful, stable data usually shows up around the 30-day mark, and 90 days is a more honest checkpoint for whether a strategy is actually working. Anyone who promises overnight results either doesn't understand how ad platforms learn, or is telling you what you want to hear.

A pixel is a small snippet of code on your website that tells the ad platform what happened after someone clicked your ad — did they call, book, or buy, or just leave? Without it, the platform is optimizing blind, spending your budget toward clicks instead of toward the actions that actually make you money. Pixel and conversion tracking setup is foundational — it's why it's part of onboarding before any ad spend goes live, not an afterthought.

Not on day one — plenty of effective campaigns launch with phone photos or existing content while a strategy proves itself. But content quality is usually the ceiling on ad performance long-term: the best targeting in the world can't fix a photo that doesn't stop the scroll. Most businesses see the biggest lift when strong creative and disciplined ad management are working together, not one covering for the other.

Boosting a post just pays to put existing content in front of more people — there's no real targeting logic, no conversion tracking, and no optimization toward an actual business outcome. A real campaign starts with a goal (calls, bookings, directions, purchases), builds targeting and creative around that goal, and is tracked and adjusted based on what's actually converting. Boosting can extend reach; it isn't a substitute for a managed campaign.

ROAS (return on ad spend) measures actual revenue generated per dollar spent on ads — it's the number that tells you whether a campaign is profitable, not just visible. Impressions and likes measure attention, not outcome; a campaign can have great reach and terrible ROAS. Any report that leads with vanity metrics instead of calls, bookings, or revenue is telling you the story that's easiest to tell, not necessarily the one that matters.

Our standard engagements run in 3-month cycles — long enough to get past the platform learning phase and gather real data, short enough that you're never locked into something that isn't working. We'd rather earn a renewal with results than hold you to a term you regret.