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PARTNER
Adtrak
INDUSTRY
Full-Service Digital Marketing Agency
COMPANY SIZE
51-200 Employees
HEADQUARTERS
Nottingham, UK

About

Adtrak is a full-service digital marketing agency focused on helping businesses achieve sustainable online growth. 
Senior Paid Marketing Consultant Mark Smith-Neale leads paid advertising strategy across platforms including Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising, combining strategic planning, data analysis and ongoing optimisation to help clients generate high-quality leads, increase online revenue and improve return on advertising investment.
Mark works across a broad mix of B2B and B2C clients, tailoring paid media strategies around each client’s audience, market and wider commercial objectives.

The challenge: increasing revenue while reducing acquisition costs

For one client, Adtrak wanted to increase revenue while keeping CPA under control, helping offset rising advertising costs across other paid media platforms.

Before the team invested properly in Microsoft Advertising, conversion tracking was not in place, limiting the ability to use automated bidding effectively. As Mark explains,

“Previously there was no tracking, which meant that we were unable to make the most of smart bidding strategies.”

The key KPIs were conversions, CPA and cost, with the wider objective of increasing sales and revenue more efficiently.

The strategy: combining stronger tracking with Microsoft-specific optimisation

Adtrak used high-performing Google campaigns as a starting point, but then optimised activity around Microsoft Advertising rather than treating it as a direct copy.

The strategy included:

  • Mirroring proven Google campaign structures as an initial foundation
  • Improving conversion tracking to give automated bidding stronger optimisation signals
  • Using Microsoft Search to take advantage of lower CPCs and CPAs
  • Running Audience Ads to extend reach and bring additional visitors to the website
  • Using Performance Max to identify additional converting queries beyond existing Search activity
  • Reviewing performance specifically for Microsoft’s audience and auction environment


Performance Max helped Adtrak reach conversions that were falling outside its Search campaigns, while contributing to lower CPCs and a lower overall account CPA.

The results: more purchases and revenue at a lower CPA

The combination of improved tracking and a broader Microsoft Advertising strategy delivered strong gains in both growth and efficiency.

The results included:

  • 40% decrease in CPA
  • 27% increase in purchases
  • 34% increase in revenue
  • FLower CPCs and CPAs than Google


The campaign delivered exactly what Adtrak had set out to achieve: more sales and revenue while reducing the cost of acquisition.

Purchases increased by 27%, revenue increased by 34% and CPA decreased by 40%, helping us increase sales while driving acquisition costs down.

Mark Smith-Neale, Senior Paid Marketing Consultant
Adtrak

The takeaway: build specifically for Microsoft Advertising

The campaign reinforced Adtrak’s view that Microsoft Advertising should be approached as a channel in its own right. As Mark explains,
“My key advice would be to avoid treating Microsoft Advertising as simply an extension of Google Ads. Although importing campaigns provides a useful starting point, performance should be reviewed and optimised specifically for Microsoft’s audience, search network and auction environment.”
Accurate measurement is another important part of that approach. Mark adds,
“Accurate conversion tracking is essential, as this gives automated bidding the data it needs to optimise effectively.”
He also recommends exploring the capabilities unique to the platform:
“I would also recommend testing Microsoft-specific features, such as LinkedIn profile targeting, audience campaigns and different search partner settings, where relevant.”
The results have strengthened Adtrak’s confidence in the opportunity available through the channel. Having seen Microsoft deliver lower CPCs alongside increased sales and revenue, Mark says, “We would recommend more budget to the end client.”
ClickTech also played a role in helping Adtrak identify opportunities to improve performance. As Mark explains, “This was a result of the insight and recommendations by ClickTech.”

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