The problem
Despite significant ad spend and two previous agency relationships, paid media had critical structural flaws, inaccurate tracking, and little strategic oversight. Brand and non-brand terms were mixed together, obscuring incremental return and donor acquisition costs. The account lacked regular search-term hygiene, negative keyword management, ad copy testing, and bid strategy management. Search was also its only channel, leaving display retargeting, connected TV, streaming audio, and video distribution untapped.
The solution
Within 10 days of onboarding, Surge Digital rebuilt the paid search account to separate brand and discovery activity, clean up conversion attribution, and create transparent reporting. The team implemented granular match types, aggressive negative keyword pruning, intent-led ad copy, and dynamic extensions. With search operating more efficiently, Surge expanded into cross-device display, connected TV, streaming audio, and targeted retargeting, then established a roadmap for YouTube and paid social campaigns using the client’s video library. The revised search program exceeded a 20% click-through rate and 10% conversion rate within the first 1.5 weeks, while programmatic campaigns became net-positive on return on ad spend within three weeks.