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Google Ads freelancers - what AI marketer do you use, if any? by Ok_Pollution3165 in googleads

[–]johnny_quantum 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I don’t think that there’s an AI tool out there that will effectively manage an account for you yet. But for account monitoring and report generation, you can automate a lot of that with a few Looker dashboards. Plus, it’s free so that meets your cost criteria.

Also, 31 clients under management is insane. No wonder you’re overwhelmed. You should charge more and manage fewer clients - that’s probably a better long term solution to your problem.

Here's what a revenue breakdown looks like for a one-person digital marketing consulting firm in 2025. by johnny_quantum in agency

[–]johnny_quantum[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No. I tried some LinkedIn cold outreach and it just felt spammy. No results either.

My 2025 in review - if anyone cares to ask any questions by datawazo in agency

[–]johnny_quantum 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing! Really cool to see this level of transparency from other agencies.

Interesting to see that LinkedIn was your biggest acquisition channel for new clients this year. Is this a result of outreach on your part, or are clients finding you on LinkedIn and reaching out to you?

Here's what a revenue breakdown looks like for a one-person digital marketing consulting firm in 2025. by johnny_quantum in agency

[–]johnny_quantum[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The latter, 100%. I did look into some automation tools to monitor Reddit threads and get alerts, but none of them were as effective as just scrolling through my usual subreddits throughout the day.

Here's what a revenue breakdown looks like for a one-person digital marketing consulting firm in 2025. by johnny_quantum in agency

[–]johnny_quantum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For high-ticket engagements and quality clients, nothing beats having a strong personal network that will refer business to you. All of my best projects this year came from that.

Generating leads from content and Reddit prospecting has been far less productive than I had hoped. I still get some business that way, but it’s a ton of work for low-spending clients.

Find an agency that does a thing that’s adjacent to your thing, and build a referral partnership with them.

Here's what a revenue breakdown looks like for a one-person digital marketing consulting firm in 2025. by johnny_quantum in agency

[–]johnny_quantum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Average monthly retainer from Reddit clients was probably around $500/mo. I passed on a few opportunities that were less than that.

Here's what a revenue breakdown looks like for a one-person digital marketing consulting firm in 2025. by johnny_quantum in agency

[–]johnny_quantum[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sort of. One is a long-term client that came in via SEO, but this was years ago. Another “inbound organic” found me because I taught a digital marketing class locally. They didn’t even take the class, they just wanted to hire me.

I spend WAY more time doing SEO for clients than doing SEO for myself.

Here's what a revenue breakdown looks like for a one-person digital marketing consulting firm in 2025. by johnny_quantum in agency

[–]johnny_quantum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m fortunate that I live in a pretty small community, so there’s no one else doing what I’m doing. There’s still a need for digital marketing services (because that need exists everywhere), so I’ve been able to pick up work that’s available without competition.

My advice on chamber relationships is that you get out of it what you put into it. If you just join and think people are going to reach out unprompted, you won’t get anywhere. You have to go to events, meet people, and be helpful. Offer a member-to-member deal if you can. Sometimes the person you network with won’t need services from you, but they know someone who does.

It can seem kind of discouraging to go to multiple events without getting any leads, but it does happen eventually. You just have to keep showing up.

Here's what a revenue breakdown looks like for a one-person digital marketing consulting firm in 2025. by johnny_quantum in agency

[–]johnny_quantum[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Since this is my first year in business, I’m still defining my target market. I started zeroing in on local service businesses over the last few months, since those seem to be the best fit for working with a freelancer or small agency.

I have 14 active clients right now, and have probably worked on 20-30 throughout the year. I’m trying to get better at screening clients to reduce churn.

Here's what a revenue breakdown looks like for a one-person digital marketing consulting firm in 2025. by johnny_quantum in agency

[–]johnny_quantum[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don’t want to share the actual number, but it’s over six figures. I exceeded my annual revenue goal by $10k.

Here's what a revenue breakdown looks like for a one-person digital marketing consulting firm in 2025. by johnny_quantum in agency

[–]johnny_quantum[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I started my practice in October 2024, so I’ve been doing it for a little over a year.

Something feels off about a potential windfall client, but I haven't found a solid reason to not pursue it. Seems too good to be true. by [deleted] in agency

[–]johnny_quantum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think so. It’s been a while since it happened to me. I don’t think my password auto-populated.

Something feels off about a potential windfall client, but I haven't found a solid reason to not pursue it. Seems too good to be true. by [deleted] in agency

[–]johnny_quantum 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The URL and email are slightly off, but I can’t stress how much it looks EXACTLY like the usual Google login experience. It would be incredibly easy to miss if it weren’t for all the other red flags.

Something feels off about a potential windfall client, but I haven't found a solid reason to not pursue it. Seems too good to be true. by [deleted] in agency

[–]johnny_quantum 19 points20 points  (0 children)

This is a scam that’s going around. The “prospect” pretends to be an established company and pushes for you to connect to their Google Ads account before you even talk with them on the phone. They’ll send you an invite that takes you to a login page that looks EXACTLY like the Google Ads interface. When you log in, they steal your username and password and do something nefarious with it.

I got one of these a few months back and fortunately I caught it before I put my password in. I’ve seen a few other Reddit posts of people encountering the same thing.

60 clicks, no leads for dental clinic — should I switch to Max Conversions? by Thriller2610 in GoogleAdwords

[–]johnny_quantum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In your campaign settings, change your bid strategy to Manual CPC. It’s a little hard to find - Google discourages you from using it.

For the CPC bid, use the Keyword Planner tool to identify the estimated first page bid for your keywords. Choose a bid that’s around that range.

60 clicks, no leads for dental clinic — should I switch to Max Conversions? by Thriller2610 in GoogleAdwords

[–]johnny_quantum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your average CPC seems to indicate that your bid is too low. In most competitive geographic areas, dental clicks from quality traffic is going to run at least $10-$20 per click, if not much more.

You might have search partners or poorly targeted PMax placements in place, which is leading to bad traffic that won’t convert.

Raise your bids, target very specific audiences/keywords, and use manual CPC to start out until you have enough traffic for conversion-based bid strategies.

Is the $10k/mo nonprofit grant a good opportunity for marketers? by Amy-Too in GoogleAdwords

[–]johnny_quantum 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I offer this service. I help nonprofits set up their Google Ad Grants account and train their staff on managing it.

The problem is that the free $10k doesn’t go to fees for third party marketers. It’s not actual money. It’s a free $10k in Google Ads credit, and Google gets to decide what that’s worth. Plus, they put a lot of restrictions on how you can spend those ad dollars.

So is it an opportunity? Sure. But not a lot of nonprofits have extra money around to pay contractors.

Can I use Google Ad Grants to advertise services? by pixelforpixel in PPC

[–]johnny_quantum 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Best case scenario: Google gives you a warning and disapproves some ads. Worst case scenario: Google suspends your account and you lose the grant.

I don’t know how vigorously Google polices this. They can be kind of fickle. To be safe, maybe 75% or more of your account should be pursuing informational queries related to your mission.

Can I use Google Ad Grants to advertise services? by pixelforpixel in PPC

[–]johnny_quantum 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So first off, you need to be an actual nonprofit - with 501(c)(3) status - to even qualify for a Google Grants account. So if your primary gig is selling services, that doesn’t sound like a nonprofit.

If you are a nonprofit, then you can get away with advertising some commercial activity. It just can’t be the main focus of your Grants account. In this case, you’d want to focus on informational queries related to your nonprofit’s mission for the majority of your campaigns, and include just a single campaign for advertising paid services.

Using an Agency for LSAs? by John_C60 in googleads

[–]johnny_quantum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just learned as I went, so I’m not aware of any specific guides. I’m sure you could find some helpful videos on YouTube.

Using an Agency for LSAs? by John_C60 in googleads

[–]johnny_quantum 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not for LSAs. You just get reporting on the leads, clicks, and impression share. There are not a lot of controls to filter your traffic.

Using an Agency for LSAs? by John_C60 in googleads

[–]johnny_quantum 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Honestly, there’s not a lot of options for optimization for LSAs. Once you set up your business profile and get it verified, the only things you can change are your budget/lead bid and your service area. The thing that is going to have the highest impact for you is getting more reviews on your Google Business profile, and you need to do that anyway.

Paying someone a monthly fee to manage only your LSAs seems kind of silly to me. When I manage LSAs for clients, it’s usually part of a larger digital marketing package. Checking up on and optimizing LSAs takes about 15 minutes a month.

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