Advertising & Paid Media
Google Ads, paid social and digital media campaigns planned around your goals and measured on real results.
Advertising should bring in customers, donors and leads, not just impressions. Helm Digital is an advertising agency in Portland, Maine that plans and manages digital campaigns across Google, social media and the wider web, then measures them against the results that matter to you.
We recommend a channel mix based on where your audience actually is, set up tracking before anything launches, and keep shifting budget toward what works.
Google Ads, paid social and digital media
Search ads reach people who are already looking for what you offer. Paid social on Meta and LinkedIn builds awareness and brings back people who've visited your site. Display and video extend your reach across the web. We plan them together so each channel does the job it's best at, and when a campaign calls for traditional media like radio or print, we can fold that in too.
How we run campaigns
- Plan. We define goals, audiences, budget and the right channel mix.
- Build. We write ads, create visuals, set up tracking and prepare landing pages.
- Launch. We start campaigns with a clear testing plan.
- Optimize. We refine targeting, bids and creative, and shift budget toward what performs.
- Report. We show you spend, results and what we're changing next.
Local advertising in Maine
For organizations that serve a specific community, targeting matters. We focus campaigns on the towns, regions and audiences that can actually become customers, so your budget isn't wasted on clicks from people you can't serve.
Part of a bigger plan
Ads work best alongside strong SEO, an effective website and social media. See how we combine them in our digital marketing and lead generation programs. Running an online store? Our specialty team at First Pier handles e-commerce advertising.
Results from our clients
- Ragged Coast Chocolates
Search and social advertising for a Westbrook chocolatier that delivered a 9x average return and a 40% lift in holiday-quarter sales. - Halcyon Yarn
A rebuilt Google Ads program for a Bath, Maine yarn and weaving retailer: 6x return on ad spend at a 20% lower cost per sale. - Versa Gripps
Growth marketing for the Maine inventor of the weightlifting strap: ad spend scaled 3x at a 6x blended return, with orders up 66%. - Gneiss Spice
Meta and Google campaigns, alongside foundational SEO, that grew orders 57% at a 6x blended return for a Maine spice brand.
For the first time, I feel like we are able to make real forward movement toward our goal… When we would try to implement things ourselves in the past they just wouldn't work, but when you implement things for us… what you implement works.
Common questions
Which advertising channels do you manage?
We focus on digital: Google Ads search, display and video, and paid social on Meta and LinkedIn. When a campaign calls for it, we can also plan and buy traditional media such as radio and print. We recommend the mix based on where your audience is, not a fixed package.
How much should we spend on advertising?
Your budget should follow your goals and what a new customer or donor is worth to you. We help you set a starting budget, test it, and shift spend toward the campaigns that produce results.
Can you target ads to Maine or specific towns?
Yes. Digital campaigns can be targeted by state, region, town or radius around your location, so your budget reaches the people who can actually become customers.
How do you measure advertising results?
We set up conversion tracking before campaigns launch, so results are measured in calls, form fills, donations and sales, not only clicks. You get regular reporting on spend, results and what we're changing next.
Ready to get started?
Tell us where you want to go. We will help you get there.