Clicks Aren’t Enough: How to Build a Profitable Paid Ads Funnel

Paid Growth #3

I know a financial advisory that spends $7K to acquire a client. Sounds steep, right? But they make a profit from the first transaction, and they know their clients’ lifetime value (LTV) down to the dollar. For them, spending $7K is a no-brainer.

You’ll never know if your funnel is profitable unless you try. But to move fast without wasting money, you need a setup that measures every step.

What gets measured, gets managed.

If you don’t know if it’s working, don’t try to scale it. Here’s how to set up your analytics to build a profitable, data-driven growth machine:

Review Your Sales Process

Knowing your sales process inside and out is essential. Break down the stages from visitor to client and know the conversion rates at each step. Here’s what you should track:

Lead-to-Booked Call Conversion Rate: What percentage of leads book a call with you? If this number is low, it might indicate that your initial engagement (such as website copy or ad messaging) needs work.

Booked Call-to-Client Conversion Rate: How many booked calls turn into clients? This rate reveals if there’s friction in your sales calls or if expectations aren’t aligning.

These numbers should give you a clear picture of where you might need adjustments to increase profitability.

Know Your CAC and LTV

CAC and LTV are two of the most important metrics to determine profitability.

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost): This is the total amount spent to acquire a client. Include ad spend, agency fees, and any other associated costs. Your goal is to keep CAC lower than the LTV.

LTV (Lifetime Value): This metric estimates the total revenue from a client over their relationship with your business. It’s essential because a high LTV allows you to justify a higher CAC.

Set Up Analytics Tools

Start with the essentials, like Google Analytics (GA4) or alternatives. Combine it with Google Tag Manager to track specific actions on your site, such as button clicks, downloads, and page views.

These tools allow you to see where your leads are coming from, how they navigate your site, and what actions they take. This data helps you optimize ad targeting and website structure, leading to higher conversion rates.

Set Up UTM Parameters

UTM parameters are tags added to URLs that help you track where your traffic is coming from. They’re vital for understanding the effectiveness of each ad or campaign.

UTM parameters provide clear insights into which channels are delivering the best ROI, enabling you to invest in what’s working and cut what’s not.

Set Up Goals, Conversion Events, and Funnels

In Google Analytics, you can define goals that align with your campaign objectives, like “Lead Submission” or “Booked Call.” Then, create conversion events and funnels to see where users drop off in the journey.

Funnels provide a bird’s-eye view of the customer journey and help you pinpoint areas for optimization.

Set Up Retargeting for High-Intent Visitors

Retargeting allows you to re-engage users who visited your site but didn’t convert. By using tools like Google Tag Manager, you can add retargeting pixels for Google or Facebook and build custom audiences.

Retargeting is cost-effective because it focuses on people already familiar with your brand, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

Connect with a CRM

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool like SalesForce, PipeDrive, WealthBox etc. tracks interactions with leads and clients, showing their journey from first touchpoint to closed deal.

Use CRM data to see which channels produce the highest-value clients, helping you allocate your budget to the most profitable sources.

Set Up Session Recording Software

Session recording tools like Hotjar capture how visitors interact with your site in real time, showing you where they scroll, click, or drop off.

If users are consistently clicking an unlinked image or ignoring a CTA button, session recordings will reveal this. Adjusting these elements can reduce friction and improve conversions.

Session recordings uncover usability issues, providing actionable insights to optimize user experience and increase conversions.

Set Up Visitor Identification Software

Visitor identification tools like VisualVisitor help you identify names, emails and phone numbers of your visitors. 

Identifying high-interest visitors lets you proactively engage with potential clients, increasing the chance of converting them. Nothing beats selling by phone.

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If you’re spending money on ads or paid lead generation without this level of insight, you’re not just risking your marketing budget—you’re also missing out on the opportunity to learn what works and what doesn’t.

Get your analytics in order first, and then scale with confidence.