When performance is strong, but growth slows
Google Ads has long been the foundation of paid search, and it still is. But across multiple clients, we started seeing a consistent pattern. Performance would be strong, campaigns well optimised, and efficiency stable, yet growth would begin to slow. Not because Google wasn’t working, but because we were operating within a fixed pool of demand.
The shift from optimisation to expansion
At that point, the question changes. It’s no longer about how to optimise further, but where the next layer of growth will come from. That’s where our approach has evolved. We’ve shifted from thinking purely in terms of channels, to thinking about how to access new demand and improve efficiency at scale.
The Expansion into Microsoft Ads.
One of the most effective ways we’ve done this is by expanding into Microsoft Ads. What we’re noticing is that it opens up a different layer of opportunity. The audiences are slightly different, often skewing in ways that aren’t fully captured on Google. At the same time, competition is typically lower, which creates less pressure in auctions and allows for stronger visibility at a more efficient cost.
How we approach it
Because of how closely it mirrors Google Ads, it’s not a heavy lift to implement. We’re not reinventing the strategy, we’re extending what already works, applying the same structure and learnings, and scaling based on performance.
Where the value actually comes from
This is where the real value comes in. It’s not about adding another platform for the sake of it, but about recognising when growth is being constrained. When that happens, the opportunity isn’t always in doing more within the same system, it’s in expanding the system itself.
The Sonar point of view
At Sonar, we don’t see Google Ads as the ceiling. We see it as the starting point. And once that foundation is strong, the focus shifts to where else growth can be unlocked.
