Paid search advertising, also known as pay-per-click or PPC advertising, is a powerful strategy that helps businesses edge out the competition. In a nutshell, paid search involves buying ads that are displayed in search engine results. When users search for a keyword related to your business, they’ll see your ad at the top of the page. It leads to more clicks on your website – and, thus, more sales.
At Mandzok Marketing, paid search advertising is one of our specialties. That’s why our client, National Mailboxes, reached out. National Mailboxes is a leading manufacturer and distributor of commercial and residential mailboxes in the United States. Yet their sales were stagnant, and quality leads were declining. They sought our agency’s expertise to develop a paid search campaign to boost average order volume, revenue growth, and return on ad spend (ROAS).
In today’s blog, we’re diving deeper into our PPC advertising case study for National Mailboxes. We’ll reveal the client’s challenges, our campaign to overcome them, and the results we delivered.
The Client
Did you know that there are over 159 million mailboxes in the United States? Although it may seem old-fashioned in an era of digital communication, physical mail is still a vital part of our world. From bills to birthday cards, it’s estimated that the United States Postal Service delivered 46 billion pieces of first-class mail in 2023 alone.
With such a high volume of mail, it’s important that homes and businesses have a mailbox they can trust and rely on. That’s where National Mailboxes come in. For over 25 years, National Mailboxes has manufactured and distributed the highest quality secure, locking mailboxes. Their mailboxes are USPS-Approved for official US mail delivery, as well as private-access use.
National Mailboxes offers:
- Apartment mailboxes
- Home mailboxes
- Cluster box units (CBU) mailboxes
- Horizontal mailboxes
- Vertical mailboxes
- Pedestal and wall-mounted mailboxes
- Free-standing collection mailboxes
- 4C mailboxes
Whether you’re seeking a utilitarian mailbox unit for apartments and businesses or a decorative pedestal mailbox for a single-family home, National Mailboxes can fulfill your needs. They also provide cell phone lockers, key cabinets, and other high-security storage.
Headquartered in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, National Mailboxes operates multiple warehouses around the United States for a wide-reaching distribution network that serves multiple regions. They have also supplied secure mailboxes to major organizations such as the US Air Force, Lockheed Martin, and even the USPS itself.
The Challenge
National Mailboxes is one of the top mailbox manufacturers and distributors in the country. Yet despite their superior products, the company’s sales were flat. New, high-quality leads had slowed and overall growth was slow. A small group of competing distributors in this niche marketplace were outperforming National Mailboxes and eating into the client’s base.
Upon reviewing the client’s account, we determined that National Mailboxes needed a strategic overhaul. Our primary challenge was poor campaign setup and campaign mismanagement:
- Keywords and Ad Groups: At the start, National Mailboxes’ campaign did not have proper segmentation for its target keywords and ad groups.
- Aggressive Keyword Bidding: The client was caught in bidding wars with their competitors, which hindered campaign success and caused low ROAS.
- Improper Sales Tracking: National Mailboxes’ campaign was not configured to track sales via Google Analytics or other platforms. This lack of data hampered efforts to analyze and refine their ad buying strategy.
- Missed Opportunities: The client’s previous providers did not follow best practices for paid search advertising and search engine marketing, which meant National Mailboxes was missing out on key optimizations.
The Solution
We began with a thorough review and analysis of the existing paid search campaign. This involved assessing target keywords, bid history, and the ad content itself. We determined that the keywords used did not always align with the ad content. Additionally, the client was engaged with aggressive keyword bidding.
By optimizing keyword quality scores and adjusting the campaign’s PPC bids, we knew we could improve National Mailboxes’ click-through-rate (CTR) while reducing cost. This would improve the overall ROAS for the campaign while maximizing growth.
Secondly, we implemented sales and revenue tracking that could be integrated with the client’s ads. This allowed us to gather precise data about ad performance. We began tracking vital metrics including CTR, average order amount, order volume, returning versus new customers, and more. This allowed us to adjust the campaign in real-time – and every strategic decision was based on hard data from ad performance. Capturing performance data also laid a foundation for data-driven decisions in future campaigns.
Lastly, our team focused on manual optimization. We looked at marketplace competitors, industry statistics, audience demographics, and other key information to guide our strategy. This resulted in our client outperforming competitors and generating consistent growth.
The Results
The results of our paid search advertising campaign for National Mailboxes speak for themselves. From 2017 to 2023, we significantly improved the client’s paid search performance and sales across all key performance indicators. This exceeded the client’s expectations and established solid ground for sustainable growth and continued success.
- Average Order Volume: Average order volume (AOV) is the average amount of money each customer spends in a single transaction. After implementing our campaign for National Mailboxes, their AOV rose 507%!
- Revenue Growth: Revenue growth refers to a company’s total income. National Mailboxes saw its revenue grow 43% in 2017.
- Return on Ad Spend: ROAS measures how much revenue is earned for each dollar spent on paid search or other advertising. We helped increase the client’s ROAS by 262%.
As National Mailboxes owner Dave V. said, “I would never have passed the $10 million mark without you.”
Paid Search with Mandzok Marketing
Whether you have a paid search advertising campaign that needs optimization, or you need to create one from the ground up, Mandzok Marketing can help. Our agency has delivered strong results for clients like National Mailboxes and many more. We’ll make sure you get the most out of your marketing budget and achieve sustainable results.
Our team works with businesses of all sizes across different industries. Contact us today for a free marketing consultation.