Running ads that miss the mark can feel like pouring money down the drain. If you’re a business in Kent, you might recognise the signs. Your ad campaigns aren’t bringing in the right traffic. The leads don’t feel like a fit. The sales, well, they’re not what you’d hoped. It’s frustrating, but the good news is that poor ad targeting isn’t permanent. It can be fixed, and fixed properly with the right steps.
Fixing ad targeting starts with understanding why it isn’t working in the first place. Sometimes it’s about aiming too broadly. Other times it’s about using the wrong data or guessing what people want rather than knowing. Either way, a little digging and a smarter approach can go a long way toward improving your results. And if you’re running local ads in Kent, there are smart techniques that can help you focus sharper and reach the right people at the right time. Here’s how to start turning things around.
Understanding Your Audience
If your ads aren’t reaching the people you want, there’s a good chance you don’t fully know who those people are. Getting clear on your audience is the foundation behind fixing poor targeting. Without a proper grip on who you’re speaking to, messaging becomes generic or worse, irrelevant. That’s when clicks stop and impressions don’t turn into action.
To sharpen your ad targeting, begin by gathering real data about your audience:
- Demographics: Age, location, job titles, household size, or income level.
- Psychographics: Interests, values, lifestyles, and buying habits.
- Behavioural signals: Past purchases, time spent on your site, or actions taken with past ads.
You can collect this information through tools built into your ad platforms, surveys, feedback forms, and even observing trends in your CRM. But don’t stop at collecting the data. You have to understand what it’s telling you.
Once you’ve spotted some patterns in your audience, build two to three personas. Give them names, roles, pain points, and motives. For example, if you run a local kitchen showroom in Kent, one of your personas might be Sophie, a 41-year-old homeowner who wants to redesign her kitchen for a growing family. She keeps Pinterest boards, scrolls on Instagram, and values style with function. Knowing this can help you write ads that show the benefits she actually wants rather than just listing product specs.
The more focused your understanding, the more tailored your ads can be. People are far more likely to take action when they feel like the ad speaks directly to them. That starts with knowing exactly who you’re talking to.
Analysing Past Campaigns
If past ad campaigns didn’t work as expected, don’t write them off completely. They hold clues. Struggles with past performance often point to what needs to be adjusted, and a quick audit can show more than you think.
Start by pulling up your campaign reports. Look for ads that underperformed, which ones led to conversions, and which ones brought in poor traffic. Keep an eye out for patterns, like high clicks but no purchases. That often hints that your targeting was too wide or messaging didn’t match audience intent.
A good review involves comparing:
- Click-through rate (CTR)
- Conversion rate
- Cost per click (CPC)
- Impressions and reach by audience group
Take feedback into account too, if you’ve gathered any. Whether it’s customer comments or reviews left on social platforms, those insights can highlight what resonated and what fell flat. For example, if users clicked on an ad offering free home consultations but didn’t book, maybe the follow-up process wasn’t as clear as they needed.
Measuring your results makes it easier to make informed tweaks rather than guessing. The more clearly you understand what failed or succeeded, the faster you can adjust audience targeting or messaging to suit what Kent users are actually looking for. That makes every pound you spend work a lot harder.
Utilising Advanced Targeting Options
Ad platforms offer a range of targeting tools designed to sharpen who sees your ads. These advanced options can make a noticeable difference when you’re aiming to hit a more specific audience in Kent. Venturing into these settings might seem overwhelming at first, but a few strategic choices can significantly improve your efforts.
Start with geotargeting. This allows you to focus precisely on Kent or specific areas within it. You’ll reach people close enough to visit your business or who may be influenced by local events and culture. For example, if you’re promoting a new product or service, targeting nearby towns with tailored messaging could drive helpful local attention.
Next, look at behavioural targeting. This dives into what users do online, like the types of websites they visit or products they’ve browsed. Tapping into these patterns helps you craft campaigns based on what matters to your audience instead of basic profile information.
Retargeting, also called remarketing, helps you stay in front of users who already visited your site, clicked an ad, or showed some interest but didn’t finish the process. These are warm leads worth revisiting. A friendly reminder or a fresh, focused ad might be the thing that finally pushes them to take action.
You’ll find these tools in the audience or targeting sections of popular ad platforms. Pick one element to experiment with, then monitor and compare the impact. Making one solid change at a time gives you clearer results and helps you keep building what works best.
Collaborating With a Creative Agency in Kent
There’s a real upside to working with a creative agency based in Kent when trying to fix targeting problems. A local agency understands the area, what matters to residents, and how to speak in ways that make sense regionally. They’ll also be more aware of local buying patterns or cultural touchpoints that matter when you’re trying to draw attention.
A creative agency offers fresh concepts, sharper campaign angles, and stronger design choices. But more importantly, they’ll help make sure your ad targeting actually aligns with your intended audience. From tone of voice to visuals, they bring insight and precision that can lead to better outcomes.
When looking for a creative agency in Kent, focus on:
- Experience working with businesses like yours
- Results they’ve delivered through past client work
- Local knowledge relevant to your specific products or services
Once you begin working with an agency, transparency becomes important. Describe where your ads have fallen flat in the past, what your ideal outcome looks like, and what kind of audience you want to connect with. The more detail you provide, the better your agency can shape an approach that matches where you are and where you want to be.
Taking Action to Improve Ad Targeting
To get things moving in the right direction, take a step-by-step approach. Start by exploring updated customer personas and pair that knowledge with data from your past campaigns. Look for trends that show where current ads get stuck.
From there, begin tweaking elements one by one. Adjust your copy or visuals if your messaging feels flat. Test new geotargeted areas or behavioural segments. Use retargeting to chase warm opportunities. At each stage, measure performance and continue shaping your content around what works.
Make regular check-ins part of the plan. Ads aren’t a one-time job. Watch your numbers weekly or monthly. Set aside time to adjust based on real results. That way, your campaigns stay fresh, and you respond quickly when something falters.
Keep in mind, great targeting needs smart thinking, regular reviews, and realistically, some outside help. If you’re stuck or just want better results sooner, teaming up with specialists can save time and help campaigns land with better focus. When your traffic improves, leads feel right, and conversions rise, you’ll know the adjustments were worth it.
To really see your ad campaigns thrive, partnering with a creative agency in Kent can be the game-changer you need. By leveraging local insights, such an agency can help you sharpen your messaging and targeting, ensuring your ads resonate with your intended audience. Discover more about how Wonderful can support your digital campaigns.
