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If you’ve ever run paid ads for your agency and walked away feeling like you just threw money into a black hole, you’re not alone.
Here at Merchynt, we’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars testing every major ad platform to grow our business, promote our local SEO software Paige, and support thousands of agency partners. In this post, I’m breaking down the pros, cons, and cold facts about where your ad dollars actually work, and which ones just burn your budget.
Whether you're selling managed local SEO services, Google My Business optimization, or SaaS, this breakdown will save you money and help you grow.
Watch the full breakdown here: https://youtu.be/7ZOVv_xob18
Why Paid Ads for Agencies Are So Tricky
Before we get tactical, let’s clarify what we’re promoting: local SEO services (like Google Business Profile management), and digital marketing tools (like Paige). If you're doing something similar—trying to reach small business owners searching for help with search engine optimization or reputation management—this post is your new playbook.
🚫 Google Ads: The Most Wasted Ad Spend in Local SEO
Verdict: Avoid
Despite being the biggest ad platform, Google Ads is almost impossible to make work if you're trying to sell GBP optimization or SEO services.
Here’s why:
- Most searches around “Google My Business” are from people looking for Google support—not a service provider.
- Negative keywords can’t fully filter these out.
- You're competing with mega-brands who can outspend you daily.
TL;DR: Your ads will show up for the wrong searches, burn your budget, and leave you frustrated.
🎯 Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram): The Best Bang for Your Buck
Verdict: Highly Recommended
Meta has consistently been our highest-performing channel for driving qualified agency leads.
Here’s what works:
- Target page admins: Most small business owners are admins of their business’s Facebook page.
- Low-production video ads win: The more organic and less polished your video looks, the better it performs.
- Age matters: The 30–70 demographic that runs most businesses lives here.
Avoid Facebook lead ads (you’ll get ghosted); instead, drive users to a clean landing page that converts.
🤳 TikTok Ads: Only If You Love Trends
Verdict: Skip (Unless You’re a Creative Machine)
Unless you’re great at making short, engaging, trend-based videos, skip this platform. The audience skews young and isn’t always in a buying mindset.
To succeed here, you’d better be dancing—or paying someone who is.
🧵 X (Twitter): Good for Visibility, Not Conversions
Verdict: Use for Brand Awareness
Want cheap visibility and laser-focused targeting based on who users follow? X is a hidden gem.
But don’t expect floods of conversions. Use it to:
- Stay top of mind.
- Build trust with influencers’ audiences.
- Run low-budget, high-frequency brand campaigns.
👥 LinkedIn Ads: Great Targeting, Brutal Pricing
Verdict: Only If You're Selling High-Ticket
LinkedIn’s targeting is unmatched—you can hit decision-makers by job title and company size.
But it’s expensive.
Only use LinkedIn if:
- You’re selling high-ticket services to enterprises.
- You know exactly who your target buyer is.
- You have the budget to test.
Reddit Ads: Cheap but Be Cautious
Verdict: Niche-Only
Reddit lets you target by subreddit (communities), which is awesome if you’re selling to a specific niche like restaurants, electricians, or freelancers.
But:
- The average user isn’t flush with cash.
- Conversion rates tend to be low for high-ticket services.
- Good for testing creative angles. Not ideal for direct sales.
📺 YouTube Ads: Underrated + Strategic
Verdict: Try It With the Right Video
If you can make a solid landscape-format video (remember, people are watching on desktop), YouTube can work really well. Especially because:
- You can target viewers of your competitors’ channels.
- You only pay when someone watches past 3 seconds (👀 branding win).
Just make sure your logo is shown early, and don’t skimp on the production quality.
🧪 How to Budget for Ad Networks
- Start with $5/day per campaign and run it for 6–8 days to train the algorithm.
- Once the platform “learns,” slowly ramp up your budget.
- Rotate creatives weekly or bi-weekly. Ad fatigue is real, and stale creatives = higher costs.
💡 Final Recommendations for Agencies
If you’re just getting started with ads and want real results without the headaches:
Start with Meta.
- Easy to test.
- Affordable.
- Performs well for service-based offers.
- Great targeting for small business owners.
Avoid Google unless you're an expert at filtering and landing page design. Test X and Reddit for visibility. Use YouTube and LinkedIn once you’ve dialed in your funnel.
And if you're looking to scale your agency without lifting a finger on fulfillment, use Paige — our automated GBP optimization tool that:
- Posts to your client’s Google, Facebook, and Instagram accounts.
- Replies to reviews in your brand’s voice.
- Optimizes and uploads geotagged images.
- Runs SEO audits and heatmap ranking reports weekly.
Try Paige for just $1 and make every new lead from your ads worth it.
Ready to launch your next ad campaign the smart way?
Let us know which platform you're testing next 👇 or DM us if you want help setting up Paige for automated GBP management.
Thanks, and I’ll see you in the next one.
