We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful David Esau. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with David below.
David, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
Growing up in a small, family-owned business, I knew first-hand that there is always too much to do. There was never enough time to do it all, especially when it came to learning something new like digital marketing. But over the years, digital marketing has become one of the most efficient ways to connect with potential customers and grow a business.
Think about it! When you are traveling through a new area, do you use Google to find “restaurants near me,” or “best coffee shop?” I bet you do, yet so many local businesses don’t understand the power of local SEO. During the early pandemic days, I randomly stumbled upon Liquid Bean Cafe, a quaint coffee shop located in a business park in Del Mar. The garden was beautiful and a perfect tranquil scene to enjoy a cup of coffee and some delicious bites. The only problem was that she relied heavily on the people who worked nearby as her main source of revenue. No one was coming to the office anymore or even driving by much.
I could see the pain in her eyes that her business was struggling and I really wanted to help. I mentioned how I could get her business to show up more often in local searches by leveraging Google, her Google Business Profile, and Google Maps. After I finished my iced oat milk latte with coffee ice cubes, I left my business card, asked for her email, and told her I would reach out later that week.
Fast-forward a month later with a working relationship, I was back in town to visit my coffee shop client and to see if the sales aligned with the increased visibility on Google. I even Googled “coffee near me,” over 5 miles away and Liquid Bean showed up on the 1st page of the map results. That made me feel great but I wanted to hear directly from her, or her guests. Minutes after I showed up, a cute family of 4 showed up and started ordering coffee, acai bowls, and avocado toast. Naturally, I had to ask them in front of the owner, “How did you hear about Liquid Bean?” Luckily, they answered, “We found it on Google Maps while searching for coffee near us” I winked at the owner and knew she would be a long-term happy client and she is still one today. Just recently she mentioned that her sales were up 80% compared to the previous months even prior to Covid. Yes, 80% percent and she is now open on Sundays, because who doesn’t want coffee every day?
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As mentioned earlier, I grew up in a small family-owned business but I also played drums in a few bands for many years and needed to market our shows. I was doing email marketing in the early 2000s after we collected fan emails on a piece of paper at our shows. Whenever we had another show coming up, I could send an email and quickly reach people who already liked our band. After we produced a CD, we started selling it on our website (eCommerce) but without credit cards. People would send a check or money order to the address, then we would mail a CD back to them. This is truly the backbone of how I started learning about digital marketing but my big break was getting a 2-year contract role at Google many years later. Immediately I knew that Google Ads was something I really wanted to immerse myself in and learn as much as possible during my contract. I took hundreds of courses through Google, studied active accounts and campaigns, and was able to work with some of the largest advertisers and agencies around. After I left Google, I landed at MotiveMetrics which is a software company that helps Google and Bing advertisers maximize their ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) with automation, machine learning, and more. This is where I learned even more about Google and how to optimize campaigns for scalable, efficient growth.
From there, I realized that I wanted to help the smaller local businesses even though their budgets are much smaller than what I was used to seeing. Making an impact on an SMB is rewarding and I knew if I could be affordable but valuable to many small businesses, I could start my own business. I launched Click Track Marketing in late 2021 with the goal of generating more NEW customers for my clients. I focus on restaurants, bars, coffee shops, asphalt companies, law firms, pool companies, and many other types of businesses but mainly ones who are ready to take the first step into marketing but don’t know where to go, what to do, or who to trust. Most of my business is coming from referrals and I tend to post results on my Facebook and LinkedIn pages which also builds interest in my services.
I offer an array of services but it really depends on what the client whats, aligning expectations, then crafting a strategy to meet and exceed those goals. When I first meet with a new client their online presence is usually a disaster meaning the business information is not submitted to online directories besides a few or listed incorrectly, there is no analytics on the site, and they rarely use the Google Business Profile. I typically start by submitting their business information to high-quality directories, set up a Google Ads campaign (low budget), and then get to work on setting up the tracking with Google Tag Manager, and optimizing for SEO, both technical and on-page. After these things are in place, I’ll set up reports to share on a weekly or monthly basis and then keep growing the business. I also run Facebook, Bing, and LinkedIn Ads but always start with Google.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Referrals have been the best source of new clients for me. Liquid Bean referred a boat tour company and then the boat tour company referred an eco-friendly boat company all within a month or two. It’s been great knowing that the clients are so happy they tell others about Click Track Marketing. Just the other day, my dog walking client shared some details with a gas station owner (3 locations) and we will likely start working together soon.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As mentioned earlier, I grew up in a small family-owned business but I also played drums in a few bands for many years and needed to market our shows. I was doing email marketing in the early 2000s after we collected fan emails on a piece of paper at our shows. Whenever we had another show coming up, I could send an email and quickly reach people who already liked our band. After we produced a CD, we started selling it on our website (eCommerce) but without credit cards. People would send a check or money order to the address, then we would mail a CD back to them. This is truly the backbone of how I started learning about digital marketing but my big break was getting a 2-year contract role at Google many years later. Immediately I knew that Google Ads was something I really wanted to immerse myself in and learn as much as possible during my contract. I took hundreds of courses through Google, studied active accounts and campaigns, and was able to work with some of the largest advertisers and agencies around. After I left Google, I landed at MotiveMetrics which is a software company that helps Google and Bing advertisers maximize their ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) with automation, machine learning, and more. This is where I learned even more about Google and how to optimize campaigns for scalable, efficient growth.
From there, I realized that I wanted to help the smaller local businesses even though their budgets are much smaller than what I was used to seeing. Making an impact on an SMB is rewarding and I knew if I could be affordable but valuable to many small businesses, I could start my own business. I launched Click Track Marketing in late 2021 with the goal of generating more NEW customers for my clients. I focus on restaurants, bars, coffee shops, asphalt companies, law firms, pool companies, and many other types of businesses but mainly ones who are ready to take the first step into marketing but don’t know where to go, what to do, or who to trust. Most of my business is coming from referrals and I tend to post results on my Facebook and LinkedIn pages which also builds interest in my services.
I offer an array of services but it really depends on what the client whats, aligning expectations, then crafting a strategy to meet and exceed those goals. When I first meet with a new client their online presence is usually a disaster meaning the business information is not submitted to online directories besides a few or listed incorrectly, there is no analytics on the site, and they rarely use the Google Business Profile. I typically start by submitting their business information to high-quality directories, set up a Google Ads campaign (low budget), and then get to work on setting up the tracking with Google Tag Manager, and optimizing for SEO, both technical and on-page. After these things are in place, I’ll set up reports to share on a weekly or monthly basis and then keep growing the business. I also run Facebook, Bing, and LinkedIn Ads but always start with Google.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Referrals have been the best source of new clients for me. Liquid Bean referred a boat tour company and then the boat tour company referred an eco-friendly boat company all within a month or two. It’s been great knowing that the clients are so happy they tell others about Click Track Marketing. Just the other day, my dog walking client shared some details with a gas station owner (3 locations) and we will likely start working together soon.
Reference : Canvas Rebel
