Many small businesses invest in digital marketing but still struggle with one frustrating reality: They don’t show up where it matters most.
Local search results are crowded. Competitors are aggressive. And even when businesses run paid ads, they often focus only on bottom-of-funnel tactics, targeting people who are ready to buy right now, while missing the larger audience still researching and comparing options.
That was exactly the challenge facing one small business that turned to 10TH DEGREE.
They wanted to:
- Educate local customers on what they had to offer
- Improve their local visibility
- Drive qualified leads
- Promote a free digital offer designed to increase sales
Instead of relying solely on traditional search ads, 10TH DEGREE implemented a Google Ads Demand Gen campaign built to create awareness, engagement, and measurable action.
The results speak for themselves.
The Challenge: Visibility Without Momentum
Like many small businesses, this company faced several common obstacles:
- Limited visibility in competitive local search results
- Low awareness among decision-makers in their market
- Inconsistent engagement with paid campaigns
- Difficulty driving qualified leads at a cost-effective rate
They knew they needed more than just more clicks. They needed more visibility, better engagement, and stronger conversion performance, all while promoting a free digital offer designed to bring new customers into their sales funnel.
The Strategy: A Google Demand Gen Campaign
To address these challenges, 10TH DEGREE launched a Google Ads Demand Generation campaign specifically designed to reach potential customers earlier in their buying journey.
Unlike traditional paid search campaigns that focus on high-intent keywords, Demand Gen allows brands to:
- Reach prospects before they actively search
- Appear across high-engagement Google placements
- Deliver visually compelling creative
- Build interest before making a direct sales ask
The campaign focused on Google’s premium placements, including:
- YouTube
- Google Discover
- Gmail
These placements allowed 10TH DEGREE to put strong, visually engaging creative in front of local decision-makers while highlighting the value of the business’s products and services without immediately pushing a hard sale.
Campaign Objectives
The Demand Gen strategy was built around four clear goals:
- Boost local awareness of the business’s products and services
- Increase visibility across high-engagement Google placements
- Drive traffic to a free digital promotion landing page
- Generate form-fill leads from interested customers
This was not just about impressions. It was about turning visibility into engagement and engagement into measurable conversions.
Why Demand Generation Was the Right Fit
Demand Gen campaigns allow 10TH DEGREE to influence prospects earlier in their decision-making process. For small businesses, this is critical.
Most customers:
- Research multiple businesses
- Watch YouTube videos
- Browse related content
- Open promotional emails
- Explore options before ever filling out a form
If you only advertise to people searching for your service in that exact moment, you are missing everyone still deciding. Demand Gen bridges that gap.
By delivering compelling messaging across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail, 10TH DEGREE positioned this small business in front of potential customers before competitors dominated the conversation.
The Results: 45 Days of Measurable Growth
Within just 45 days of launching the campaign, the performance metrics showed significant growth.
Strong Engagement
- 2.98% average click-through rate
- CTR increased from 3.21% to 4.71%, even with a reduced budget
- 235% increase in click rate growth
This upward CTR trend demonstrates the effectiveness of 10TH DEGREE’s creative strategy and audience targeting refinement throughout the campaign.
Improved Conversion Performance
- 17% improvement in conversion rate growth
- Increased form-fill submissions tied to the free digital promotion
- 20% increase in core page views since campaign launch
The campaign did not just drive traffic. It drove qualified traffic that engaged with key site pages and converted.
Cost Efficiency
- $0.17 cost per click, significantly lower and more cost-effective than a traditional paid search campaign
- 16.5% TrueView Rate on video placements
By leveraging Demand Gen placements instead of relying solely on competitive search terms, 10TH DEGREE was able to reduce cost per click while improving overall engagement.
What This Means for Small Businesses
This case study reinforces an important truth: If you want to grow locally, you cannot rely only on bottom-of-funnel search ads.
Small businesses that win in competitive markets are the ones that:
- Build awareness before customers search
- Stay visible during the research phase
- Use strong creative to educate and differentiate
- Capture leads once interest is built
Demand generation creates momentum, and momentum compounds.
Demand Gen as a Growth System
For this small business, Demand Gen was not just another ad campaign. It became a system that:
- Increased visibility
- Improved engagement
- Lowered cost per click
- Drove qualified leads
- Strengthened overall site activity
Importantly, it did so while promoting a free digital offer that supported long-term sales growth.
Ready to Drive Real Demand?
At 10TH DEGREE, we do not believe in one-size-fits-all marketing strategies. We build data-driven demand generation campaigns that help small businesses:
- Compete locally
- Educate their market
- Drive cost-effective leads
- Turn visibility into measurable growth
If your business is struggling to stand out in local search results or if your current campaigns are not delivering the results you need, it may be time to rethink your strategy with the help of 10TH DEGREE.