Why Expansive Digital

Experienced paid search management. Built around your business.

Work directly with a senior practitioner who understands your business, manages your paid search activity and takes responsibility for improving its performance.

Get in touch Explore the results

Expansive Digital brings together more than 21 years of paid search experience, a strong client-side perspective and a commitment to long-term client relationships. We work with a small number of organisations in financial services, insurance and the not-for-profit sector, combining hands-on management with clear accountability and a flexible fee structure.

Client results

Results that matter
to the business

Success is defined with each client and measured against their commercial priorities. That might mean generating more leads, applications or sales, improving sales value, or maintaining the required volume at a lower cost.

Not-for-profit · Health initiative

50% less media spend

By month six, comparable sign-up volume at half the media spend

A not-for-profit client engaged us to manage paid search for a health initiative. We benchmarked performance against the monthly averages for sign-up volume and media spend across the full previous financial year, during which the account was managed by another agency.

In our sixth month, we delivered comparable sign-up volume using half that average monthly media spend. Further improvements in acquisition efficiency allowed the client to reduce spending again. At times, sign-up volumes exceeded programme requirements, creating opportunities to focus more closely on quality and make further spending reductions.

Financial services · Lending

64% more approved loans

64% more approved loans with 3% less media spend

For a lending client with an annual media investment of several million dollars, we improved performance in our first month managing the account. Twelve months later, a December-to-December comparison showed approved loan volumes had increased by 64%, while media spend had fallen by 3%.

That equates to an approximately 41% reduction in media cost per approved loan. Both comparison months were under our management, demonstrating further improvement on the performance achieved at the start of the engagement.

Our approach

Built on experience,
understanding and accountability

Senior experience in the day-to-day work

Your paid search activity is managed by Kham Tran, whose experience spans more than 24 years in digital, including 21 years in paid search. The person developing your strategy also works directly in your accounts and discusses performance with you.

That experience informs everyday decisions, from identifying where acquisition costs can improve to managing budgets through changing market conditions. You have direct access to the person responsible for the work.

A client-side understanding of your priorities

Kham has spent much of his career client-side in large organisations across financial services, insurance (general, health and life), telecommunications and product comparison. That background brings an understanding of internal stakeholders, commercial pressures and the need to explain how marketing investment contributes to the business.

Our approach draws on the strengths of a capable in-house team: close involvement, business knowledge and accountability. We take the time to understand your products, market position, operating requirements and wider marketing activity so paid search decisions reflect your business priorities.

Sector knowledge and a wider view of performance

Customer demand and acquisition performance are influenced by more than changes inside an advertising account. We keep informed about financial markets, economic conditions and relevant government policy developments, and consider how these interact with competitor activity, product pricing and customer behaviour.

Our sector experience also helps us work within your approval processes, compliance requirements and time-sensitive operational needs. This context informs campaign timing, messaging, budgets and our interpretation of results.

Knowledge that builds with the relationship

Working with the same practitioner over time allows knowledge to accumulate. Previous tests, seasonal patterns and the reasons behind decisions remain part of the working relationship, helping each new decision benefit from what has already been learned.

We seek long-term partnerships and work with a limited number of clients so we can remain closely involved. We take on an engagement when we believe there is a strong fit and a clear opportunity to deliver significant value.

Clear goals and visibility of the work

We agree on the measures that matter to your business and revisit them as your needs change. Our focus is efficient customer acquisition, including recognising when the required outcome can be achieved with less media investment.

Account changes, daily budget tracking, analysis and campaign builds are documented in shared Google Sheets that you can access at any time. You retain ownership of your data and campaign history, with a clear record of the work and decisions behind performance.

The comparison

Choosing the right
management model

A capable in-house team, a larger media agency and a specialist agency can each be a good fit. The right arrangement depends on the experience, capacity, breadth of service and working relationship your organisation needs.

The comparison below outlines our approach alongside common considerations for the alternatives. Individual agencies, teams and engagement terms vary.

Consideration	Expansive Digital	Larger media agency	In-house person or team
Day-to-day management	Kham Tran, with 21+ years in paid search	Assigned specialists, with senior involvement depending on the engagement	The person or team recruited by the organisation
Business understanding	Developed through close collaboration, informed by extensive client-side experience	Depends on the assigned team, access to the business and working relationship	Direct exposure to internal priorities and day-to-day business activity
Sector expertise	Focus on financial services, insurance and not-for-profit organisations	Depends on the agency and the team assigned to the account	Depends on recruitment and experience developed in the role
Continuity	An ongoing relationship with the same founder and practitioner	Depends on staffing, account allocation and handovers	Depends on staff retention, documentation and succession planning
Communication	Direct access to the person making and implementing decisions	Through the delivery team and/or an account management contact	Direct internal access
Cost structure	A fixed base fee plus agreed retainer hours, with no automatic percentage-of-spend increase	May use retainers, staffing-based fees, percentage fees or a combination	Salary and employment costs, plus relevant tools and operating costs
Breadth and capacity	Specialist paid search management, with an agreed allocation of time and ongoing monitoring and response arrangements	Can provide access to a broader range of disciplines and personnel	Determined by the size, skills and composition of the team
Commitment	Month-to-month, with an agreed two- or four-week notice period	Contract terms vary by provider and engagement	Ongoing employment and resourcing commitment

Fees & engagement

Clear fees that reflect
the work required

Our fee structure gives you access to experienced paid search management without the cost of recruiting an equivalent full-time employee. It combines a fixed base monthly management fee with an agreed allocation of retainer hours.

Increasing your media investment does not automatically increase our fees. We assess the work required and agree on changes with you in advance. Media spend is separate from our management fees.

01 / Ongoing responsibility

A fixed base monthly management fee

The base fee covers ongoing monitoring and responsiveness, including automated and manual performance checks, time-critical account changes and urgent intervention. This includes agreed out-of-hours support when an issue needs attention, such as a website outage or a scheduled product or rate change.

The fee is set at the beginning of the engagement according to your business requirements, including the level of monitoring, responsiveness and time-sensitive work involved. It remains fixed throughout the engagement, without annual inflation increases.

02 / The agreed workload

Agreed monthly retainer hours

Retainer hours cover the regular work required to manage and improve your paid search activity, including:

Day-to-day account management, bid and budget adjustments, and budget pacing.
Ongoing optimisation and improvements.
Regular performance analysis and reporting, at a frequency suited to your business.
Ad-hoc analysis, reporting and insights.

We agree on the allocation before the engagement begins, considering your market, account requirements, media investment, frequency of changes and reporting needs.

Hours can increase or decrease as the work required changes, but only by agreement in advance. A larger media budget may require no additional hours. Equally, a sustained reduction in activity may allow a smaller allocation while the base management fee remains unchanged.

Annual retainer review

Retainer hours and the hourly rate are reviewed annually. Proposed rate increases typically reflect inflation and require your approval before taking effect.

Long-term relationships with flexible terms

Engagements operate month to month. You choose a two- or four-week notice period at the outset, which applies to both parties. Our aim is to earn an ongoing relationship through the value of the work and the results it delivers.

Ongoing management throughout the year

Account management continues during planned leave, with advance notice of any changes to routine availability. Regular requests may take longer to receive a response during these periods, while urgent matters remain prioritised.

Let's talk

A close working relationship, with clear commercial goals

We work best with organisations that value open communication, shared understanding and measurable outcomes. Close collaboration gives us the context to make informed decisions and adapt as your priorities change.

If you are looking for experienced, hands-on management of your paid search activity, get in touch with a brief outline of your business and requirements. We can discuss the opportunity, the work involved and whether Expansive Digital is the right fit.

Get in touch