Looking to try targeted ads instead of SEO — what are they and what budget should I start with?

Don't completely shelve SEO, but setting aside a budget for targeted ads is the right call. SEO is a long-term investment, while targeted ads bring in immediate cash flow. You can always funnel the revenue generated from those hot leads back into building up your organic rankings down the road.

We went through the exact same thing with our furniture workshop. With a monthly targeted ad budget of 75,000 rubles, we only managed to get 6 orders in the first month and we panicked. In the second month, we changed up the creatives, made the offer clearer, and hit 22 orders on the same budget. Don't throw in the towel after month one.

Correction: I misremembered the figure, it was a bit lower.

The biggest misconception with targeted ads is confusing lead volume with actual sales. Social media traffic doesn't have the same sense of urgency as search traffic. Are you prepared to deal with dozens of people who just drop a "price?" and vanish, and do you have the staff to answer them instantly?

Don't send people straight to your homepage. Direct them either to a one-page landing page featuring your portfolio with a price quote form, or directly to a messaging channel. When it comes to curtains, letting customers ask questions and get instant replies doubles conversion rates.

Are you targeting just one city, or shipping nationwide? Since custom-made curtains usually require on-site measurements, you might have to stick to your own city, which shrinks your target audience pool.

Knock out these three steps before launching: 1) Make sure your page features high-quality photos and videos of past work. 2) Have a solid hook offer, like "free fabric swatches and measurements." 3) Set daily spending caps in your ad manager so the algorithm doesn't blow through your whole budget in one day.

seo keeps u waiting for months while targeted ads bring clients by tonight then honestly but if ur creatives look amateur its money down the drain. just run 10 sec reels of u guys sewing in the workshop as ads, works way better than slick banners.

The first time I tried targeted ads, I picked a broad audience and burned through 20,000 rubles in two days—all I got were teens leaving meme comments. Everything turned around once I narrowed it down to married folks aged 30–55 who follow home renovation pages. Pay close attention to your targeting settings.

My perspective changed after experiencing that. A page that answers one question works better than one touching on five topics.

Let me summarize the topic, since several different answers were given. Everything goes well for the first three months; problems arise in the fourth.

Any unwritten clause becomes a point of disagreement later, as both sides remember it differently.

There is something to watch out for. If you don't write this down from the start, it leads to arguments later.

Good luck with that.

i'm curious too.

We got stuck at the same point for a while. Don't trust anyone who gives guarantees; there are no guarantees in this business.

If you post the result here, it will help others too.

You're right, I've been down that road too. When making a decision, first look at what data you have on hand.

If I were you, I'd go this route.

I disagree with you on this point. Start with a small trial; don't commit to everything at once.

I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.

Saved.

sorry but this doesn't apply in every case... map listings bring more business than blog poss for most local businesses.

the hardr it is to reverse a decision the slower you should make it.

You're right.