If you’ve spent any time managing your small business or startup, you’ve probably been tempted by the idea that more advertising = more clients. It’s such a simple equation. Blast ads everywhere, shout as loudly as possible, and you’ll eventually strike gold, right?
I wish it was that simple but the truth is it's not.
More advertising doesn’t mean better results. It just means more wasted money if you’re not paying attention to where your audience is and when they’re most likely to respond.
Advertising should work for you, not drain your budget. This is especially true for small businesses or service-based operations that may already be stretched thin. In this blog I am going to cover how targeted advertising can save you time, energy, and money.
It's About Efficiency, Not Expense
Advertising doesn't have to burn a hole in your pocket, but it will if you don’t use your resources wisely. Simply throwing your ads into every platform and hoping for the best is a surefire way to overspend. The truth is, not every platform or time slot is the right fit for your business.
Take this example from my work at On The Spot. When I started working with On The Spot Detailing again, their Google Ads were running 24 hours a day. Sounds proactive, right? Wrong again.
I ran an audit on the lifetime of their ads (which is a service I also offer through ASC Consultants) and discovered trends they hadn’t noticed. Certain hours—and even certain days—consistently had little to no conversions. But other, more specific hours showed incredible results. I refined the ad schedule to focus only on those peak hours and high-performing keywords.
The results?
A 20% increase in client acquisition
A reduction in cost-per-click from $5 to $1.93
Google Ads spend reduced by thousands each month
By targeting exactly when and where their audience was most active, we got better results for less money.
Timing is Everything
Here’s a hard truth, especially for service businesses—if you’re advertising during hours you can’t actually secure sales, you’re throwing cash away.
For instance, imagine you're a home cleaning service running ads at midnight. Sure, you might get some clicks from night owls or insomniacs, but can you convert those clicks into booked appointments if no one’s around to handle inquiries until morning?
Even during your regular business hours, there are peak times and non-peak times. It’s your job to figure out when your audience is actively searching and making buying decisions.
Don’t know where to start? Here’s a quick exercise:
Look at your sales or inquiry logs from the past 3-6 months.
Identify patterns. Are most of your inquiries coming between 9 a.m.–11 a.m.? Thursday afternoons?
Use these insights to allocate your advertising budget toward those golden hours.
Follow the Tastes of Your Audience
Advertising isn’t just about blasting your message into the void. It’s about meeting your audience where they already are.
Think about this—your ideal clients probably share tastes. They shop in similar places, scroll the same platforms, and even consume the same type of content. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. People who get your product or service often align with worldview or preferences, and that influences where they spend their time.
For example:
If your target demographic hangs out on Instagram, focus there instead of spreading your budget thin across five platforms.
Selling eco-friendly products? Align your ads with the values of your audience. Run campaigns on websites or platforms that advocate for sustainability.
Your primary job as an advertiser isn’t to be everywhere—it’s to choose the best places and times where you’ll find the maximum number of people most likely to convert.
Adapt, Test, and Learn
Advertising isn’t one-size-fits-all. What works for one business may fail miserably for another. Start with a narrow focus, measure the results, and keep refining. Here are three tips to help you along the way:
Start Small—Allocate a portion of your budget to test platforms, time slots, and strategies before scaling up.
Use Data—Platforms like Google and Facebook Ads provide robust analytics. Learn to interpret that data to adjust your campaigns.
Ask for Help—Don’t hesitate to ask an expert for guidance. (Maybe give me a call)
The idea is to run smarter campaigns, not necessarily bigger ones.
My Philosophy on Targeted Advertising
Here’s the heart of the matter—it’s not about how much you spend on advertising; it’s about how well you spend it. Dollar for dollar, targeted campaigns almost always outperform broad, generic ads.
And if you’re not sure how to start targeting effectively, don’t stress. There are solutions for that. Whether it’s running an audit of your ad history, analyzing your audience’s behavior, or helping you craft a strategy, professionals like myself can help optimize your efforts.
At the end of the day, your advertising budget should feel like an investment, not an expense. Make every dollar count.
Final Thought
You don’t have to advertise everywhere, and you definitely don’t need to advertise all the time. Be strategic, use data, and focus on where you can make the biggest impact.
If you’re ready to cut the waste and target smarter, reach out. I’d love to discuss how I can help you uncover hidden opportunities—like the ones I found for On The Spot Detailing. After all, your next best client might be just a perfectly-timed ad away.
Drop me a message, and let's talk about how you can make your advertising work harder and smarter for your business.
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