Johnathan Dane

Indicators of a successful agency: They know how to say "NO" to things that steal their focus away from the main thing. Here are some well intentioned requests from employees and friends that we've said no to this year: "We should launch a DTC brand.." "We should launch a course.." "We should focus on DEI initiatives..." "We should take Fridays off.." "Will you work for my startup in exchange sweat equity, no cash.." "Can you give us a free month because of the challenges we've faced on the channel?.." "You should launch a B2B offering.." "We should launch a consulting business.." "We should launch our own software.." "We should start an agency accelerator.." Some of these on their own could work out and have worked out for others agencies. But saying yes to any of the above means saying no to doing more of the things that we know will improve our service and profit today. Clarity and focus is a super power.

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Our new IMM Marketing website is officially live — and we’re doubling down on what drives results: data-backed PPC audits. If you’re spending $5K, $25K, or $100K+ per month on: • Google Ads • Paid Search • Meta Ads • Display & YouTube You need a structured PPC audit process. We uncover: 🔍 Budget inefficiencies 🔍 Tracking gaps 🔍 Keyword cannibalization 🔍 Low-performing creatives 🔍 Missed growth opportunities Before you increase budget — audit your foundation. 👉 Start with a PPC Audit today: https://imm.marketing/ #PPCAudit #GoogleAdsStrategy #PaidMedia #DigitalGrowth #MarketingLeadership

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🚀 Key Insights from 16,000+ Paid Search Campaigns from WordStream by LocaliQ (Apr ’24 – Mar ’25): CTR: 6.66% on average - but over half of industries saw a drop CPC: $5.26 on average - 87% of industries faced higher costs CVR: 7.52% on average - 65% of industries saw improvements CPL: $70.11- up 5% year-over-year 📊 By industry: Legal continues to be the priciest for leads ($131) Auto Repair remains the most efficient ($28) Takeaway: Costs are climbing, so you need to have smarter, more relevant campaigns paired with stronger landing pages to drive better results. Reach out to the Digital Strike - Targeted Marketing team if you are not getting the results you need! 🔗 Full report: https://lnkd.in/ejvjkGxy #PPC #PaidSearch #DigitalStrike #GoogleAds #CampaignOptimizations

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DIY websites don't work. - Wix spent $425M on marketing last year - Squarespace spent $350M - GoDaddy... $357M Those three companies spend over a BILLION a year selling the idea that building a website is something you can handle in a weekend. This is what they DON'T tell you 1. 98% of buyers check a business online before deciding to call 2. Most local searches happen on mobile where DIY templates break down fast 3. DIY platforms block the clean page structure that Google and AI search reward 4. Strong UI design alone can lift conversions over 200% 5. Your site needs to keep IMPROVING after launch, DIY sites stall the moment you stop touching them A homeowner searching for a contractor is making a decision in under TEN seconds. If your site is: - slow - buries the phone number - looks like a template they have seen a hundred times That lead's already gone. Fast and cheap has a cost.

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Having audited DTC & B2B affiliate programs for the past decade… Here are 3 suggestions we make to (almost) every brand:  Affiliate most certainly is not a silver bullet marketing channel. It only starts to perform when you have the right foundation in place. So before you even think about launching, here are 3 checks to run: Tip 1: Aim for $1M/year through your site BEFORE launching. This is important because below that threshold: - You usually don’t have the traffic volume or trust signals publishers care about. - You’ll struggle to attract partners who can actually move the needle. - And even if you get some inbound traffic, conversions will be sporadic at best. Affiliate is a performance channel, and publishers want proof it’ll make them money. Tip 2: Build your primary acquisition stack first. Most people believe affiliate can be a primary growth lever from day one. But this is wrong for three reasons: - Affiliate can create demand, just like all other acquisition channels but it works best when the conversion funnel is firing on all cylinders. - Your paid channels (Meta, Search, Influencer, etc.) are what seed the trust publishers rely on. - Without a proven acquisition engine, you’re asking affiliates to drive cold traffic. That’s not their job. Tip 3: Affiliate (or really any channel) needs additional support . Understand this and you’ll avoid wasting budget and time because: - Publishers evaluate whether others are already promoting you. If nobody is, that’s a red flag. - They look for branded search, traffic trends, and competitive momentum. - Without those, your program looks risky and gets ignored. Takeaway: If you want affiliate to work, show the market that others are already betting on you. Because if they’re not? Publishers won’t either.

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I’ve spent the last 10 years scaling DTC brands with SEO. And I’ve audited enough sites to see the same story play out: – They "tried” SEO before. Ran it for 90 days. Pulled the plug because it wasn’t PPC-fast. – Their category pages were nothing more than product grids. No content, FAQs, or a single contextual internal link. – Their link profile was built on copy-paste guest posts any competitor could buy tomorrow. So they came away thinking: “SEO doesn’t work for us.” Of course it didn't work... it was never set up for success in the first place. When the fundamentals are done right, the results speak for themselves. We scaled Davines from 36K to 180K monthly visits (2018 → now). Took Neighbor from launch to 100K+ organic visits/month. And more recently, a skincare brand saw a 46% YoY lift in organic revenue from a single product line, even as traffic fell due to AI search. That’s what happens when you build on solid ground → the wins compound. Meanwhile, you’ll spend $200K on ads this quarter, but hesitate to spend 10% of that fixing the SEO fundamentals and building defensibility into your business. Then wonder why your CAC keeps climbing. These aren’t fancy hacks. They’re fundamentals done right. That’s the difference between SEO being a sunk cost… And SEO compounding into a growth engine.

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Most DTC brands say they hyper-segment their highest-value customers. Very few actually have the stack to act on it. The reason is structural: persona intelligence and activation usually live in two different systems that don't talk to each other, or even more commonly, that information doesn't exist. So the influencer, the ultra-high-LTV repeat-buyer, and the new customer that also happens to fit your ideal ICP all get the same marketing and experience OuterSignal and PostPilot just closed that gap. OuterSignal surfaces the personas hiding inside a brand's customer list. PostPilot's integration means the second OuterSignal flags a customer in a specific persona, our triggered campaign fires a postcard or even a real, personalized handwritten card built for that specific moment. A few of my favorite use cases this unlocks: - Influencer gets a handwritten card that recognizes them, no coupon, no ask. We've already seen this lead to social content that brands are normally paying for. - Brand advocate or ultra high-LTV repeat-buyer gets a handwritten card with a real reason to come back and an offer that respects their tier. - Each customer gets a creative variant that fits their persona. Check out our Mizzen+Main case study. Insane results. OuterSignal tells you who's buying. PostPilot delivers the card that matches the person and the moment. What most brands call a "VIP program" is the same email blast with VIP in the subject line, but they dream of this level of personalization and engagement at scale. We've made it a reality. We'll help you implement and launch by next week.

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If you want 150% YoY Growth on Instacart, you need to balance velocity with new-to-brand customers (NTB). You can’t grow with only one of these. You need both. Use Sponsored Products to keep velocity high. -Strong ROAS -Repeat purchases -Defend your category position -Protect your hero SKUs Sponsored Products keep your core shoppers buying and keep your placements steady. Use Shoppable Display to bring in new shoppers. -Reach new households -Build awareness -Drive trial -Pull shoppers into your funnel These formats are built for NTB growth, not efficiency. Use them for reach. Build a simple ad structure that supports both goals. -One engine for velocity -One engine for new households -Both running at the same time This creates stable growth instead of “on/off” cycles. Retarget lapsed shoppers.  -Bring back shoppers who dropped off -Remind them of hero SKUs -Use lightweight promos to re-engage Retargeting protects your base and keeps your basket volume healthy. Use your Brand Page as the center of your funnel -Tell your story -Arrange your SKUs in a clear order -Override basic product images with lifestyle images -Add promos in smart spots Brand Pages help turn awareness into conversion. — When you balance velocity and NTB, you increase household penetration and keep your velocity strong. Want to see what’s blocking your Instacart growth? Get a free audit and unlock your roadmap to 150% YoY growth. Comment “Instacart” below and send me a connection request.

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If you're running an agency, you’ve probably heard this pitch a dozen times: “We offer transparent CPMs, outcome-based buying, premium inventory, and proprietary data.” Sound familiar? That’s because every DSP is starting to say the same thing. And as an agency owner, you’re left wondering what’s actually different anymore? The truth is, most DSPs have overlapping supply paths, use the same exchanges, and offer similar targeting layers. A lot of them even white-label the exact same backend. What’s changed is the language, not the performance. So the real question isn’t which DSP has the best slide deck. It’s who helps you activate faster, measure deeper, and deliver real outcomes your clients can see. Here’s where the best agencies are pulling ahead: They’re choosing platforms that connect retail media, streaming TV, and first-party commerce data They’re prioritizing measurement, not just reach They’re skipping the middlemen and going direct to platform to protect margins And they’re demanding results...not fluff At Lambos Digital, we partner with agencies that are tired of generic DSP pitches and want real programmatic performance, especially on Amazon DSP where the stakes and scale are higher. If your current DSP partner sounds like everyone else, it might be time to look at who’s really helping you grow. Because in this market, sameness isn’t safe. It’s a liability. #AgencyLife #ProgrammaticAdvertising #AmazonDSP #AdTech #MediaBuying #StreamingTV #LambosDigital #AgencyGrowth #CTV

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What video stats matter most for my D2C business? The top 3: 📈 Engagement Rate (ER) 🧲 View-through rate (especially first 3 seconds) 💸 CTR on product links or CTAs When we shifted one client’s video cadence based on ER drops, they regained momentum fast—+34% engagement within 2 weeks. We know what numbers to chase—and when to pivot.

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Great article from Microsoft post in Search Engine Journal this morning with some good guidance on optimizing content for AI tools / LLMs. There are a few other things I'd probably add to the list (especially around site speed/page performance metrics), but these are definitely a lot of the core things we've been telling clients to start working into their content and strategies, so it's great to see that lining up :) https://lnkd.in/ezxM5eQy

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The exit of two of the world’s biggest agencies from Openpath isn’t just a story about one marketplace. It highlights a deeper truth: transparency can’t be bolted on as a feature. When fee flows and inventory paths are opaque by design, no amount of “directness” messaging will rebuild trust. The industry is at a crossroads: either we accept that auditability requires architecture (immutable records, governance that removes conflicts of interest, and verifiable economics) or we keep repackaging the same dynamics with better branding. AI only accelerates the urgency. As automated decisioning takes more control over spend, buyers need to know the system itself is trustworthy, not just the sales deck. The open web doesn’t just need better players. It needs better infrastructure. Read my full comment in Performance Marketing World: https://lnkd.in/eYdpGKw9

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Are you wasting your PPC budget on the wrong audience? Industrial pay-per-click campaigns often fail because it's easy to overspend without seeing real results. The main problems? Poor targeting, budgets spread too thin, and focusing on vanity metrics instead of actual leads or sales. The fix: Get laser-focused with your targeting. Break your audience into smaller ad groups, start with traffic campaigns (not just lead forms), and measure results all the way down your funnel—not just clicks. Quick changes can save budget and drive the right leads. Start small, learn quickly, and optimize. https://lnkd.in/e5PckzJ5 #B2B #IndustrialMarketing #PPC #GoogleAds #LinkedInAds #MarketingROI

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A dealership was getting criticized for "expensive" $8 clicks. Their Google Ads consultant insisted the market average of $1.50 was better. But when we looked at the complete picture, the truth was shocking. Traditional approach: 20 clicks at $1.50 = $30 cost, 1 lead, poor conversion. AI-optimized approach: 2 clicks at $8 = $16 cost, 1 lead, better conversion. The "expensive" clicks were actually 47% cheaper and delivered higher-quality prospects. This illustrates the fundamental flaw in most dealership metrics: focusing on intermediate numbers while losing sight of what actually matters—selling cars profitably. "Your email open rates are below average." "Your social media engagement should be higher." "Your cost per click is too high." All of these statements share the same problem: they optimize isolated metrics instead of working backward from the sale. Here's what changes everything: Think of metrics as a hierarchy. At the top: Ultimate outcomes (cars sold, gross profit, customer satisfaction) Below that: Direct contributors (show rates, close rates, customer experience) Next: Leading indicators (lead quality, response time, engagement) Bottom: Activity metrics (traffic, impressions, open rates) The key is understanding how each level supports the ones above it. AI looks at millions of data points to optimize for what matters. Humans often get stuck analyzing metrics in isolation. The most successful dealerships work backward from profitable sales to identify which metrics actually predict success at each level. I've broken down exactly why focusing on intermediate metrics leads dealerships astray and how to build the metrics hierarchy that helps AI optimize for real results in today's slide deck. This isn't about measuring more—it's about measuring what matters. Check out the complete metrics framework below. 👇 #AutomotiveRetail #MetricsThatMatter #DealershipAnalytics #AIOptimization

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Everyone's talking about Claude Code and agents. I spent the last 14 months actually building with it. I've been running Meta and Google ads for DTC brands since 2017. $50M+ managed under my agency's umbrella. What I built inside Claude Code now runs the daily operations across all of it. Today, 75% of the daily actions at Blue Water Marketing are executed by AI agents. Onboarding, media buying, copywriting, graphic design. I haven't paid a graphic designer in 6 months. Just dropped a full walkthrough of the stack. No edits, no polish. Just the screen. What's in it: A performance dashboard pulling Meta, Google, and Shopify out of our Supabase warehouse. Pause buttons that fire live against the Meta API. Creative diagnostics with hook + hold matrices and full funnel drop-off views. A strategy command center that runs deep research, generates personas, and builds sprint plans from 2 years of historic ad data. Every ad analyzed. An ad publisher that stages creatives from ClickUp and deploys to Meta in one flow. A cold outbound engine that replaced Clay for us. Thousands of enriched, personalized emails per day. An agent roster running in Slack with socket mode on. Ask any agent anything. Tap a button to execute. A recursive self-learning loop where every agent scores its own decisions, waits for the measurement window, and gets smarter. This isn't a demo. It's what runs the agency. If you want me to break down how the CLI is structured, the SOPs baked into the prompts, or how the Slack action buttons actually fire against Meta, drop a comment. Video in the comments.

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Your Google Ads might be showing to people 50 miles outside your service area right now. And you're paying for every click. Google's default location targeting setting is 'Presence or interest.' That means someone in Miami RESEARCHING plumbers in Tampa can trigger your Tampa ad. They're not in your city. They'll never hire you. But you just paid $35 for that click. This one default setting wastes thousands per year for contractors who don't know to change it. Fix: go to your campaign settings. Location options. Change from 'Presence or interest' to 'Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations.' Now your ads only show to people who are actually IN your service area. Same budget. Better leads. Fewer wasted clicks from the wrong zip codes.

Cold outreach brands close faster than referrals for retail agencies with the most consistent pipelines. DELIVERS: Why, referral brands trust the agency, not their own readiness; cold-outreach respondents self-selected because the message resonated (meaning they've done research). Fix: pre-call qualification layer for both. What's your referral-to-cold ratio?

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