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Digital Advertising

Running ads without strategy isn't marketing. It's just spending money.

Spending money on ads isn't the same as advertising. There's a difference.

  • Have you run ads before and seen impressions, not results?
  • Are you spending money on advertising without a real picture of what's working?
  • Do you know which channels actually make sense for your business and why?
  • Bottom line: Is your advertising built to grow your business, or just to run?

Digital Advertising Strategy

The platform isn't the problem — your strategy is.

Two stories we hear constantly — and both end up in the same place.

“I've never done this before.”

You know your customers are online. You just don't know where to start, what to spend, or which platforms actually make sense for your business — and you don't want to hand money to someone who'll pick for you and hope for the best.

"I've tried it and it didn't work."

You ran ads. You got reports. You got impressions. You didn't get much else — and you're not sure what went wrong.

Different situations. Same missing piece: nobody sat down at the beginning and defined what success actually looks like for your business. Not impressions. Not clicks. What would make this worth it.

No Strategy, No Results

Why most ad campaigns underperform

Here's what we see most often when businesses come to us after a failed ad campaign.

  • Reaching the wrong people

    You can have great ads and a generous budget — if they're reaching the wrong people, none of it matters.

  • Only advertising at one stage

    Most campaigns only run at the "ready to buy" stage. That leaves a huge part of your future customer base completely untouched.

  • No connection to real goals

    Impressions and clicks aren't results. If your campaign isn't tied to leads, calls, or revenue — it's just a number on a report.

  • One-size-fits-all approach

    The same campaign template doesn't work for a home builder, a restaurant, and a law firm. Every business needs a strategy built for its specific goals and audience.

Two colleagues discussing project on laptop

The Customer Journey

How digital advertising works

The best strategies reach people at every stage — not just when they're ready to buy.

Awareness

They don't know you yet. Show up before the need hits. 

Consideration

They're researching. Be visible when it counts.

Research & Discovery

They're comparing options. Stay in the loop.

Decision

They're ready to act. The right message closes.

Loyalty

They've already bought. 

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Calculate Your Marketing Budget

Not sure what to spend on digital marketing?

Our free marketing budget calculator gives you a smart starting range based on your revenue and goals — in about 30 seconds.

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Online Advertising Platforms

The right tool for the right moment.

There's no single best platform — just the right one for where your customers are and what you're trying to accomplish.

Google Search Ads

High intent. They're actively searching for what you offer. You either show up or your competitor does.

Facebook & Instagram Ads

Wide reach, precise audience selection. Build awareness and stay in front of warm audiences — the people who've already shown interest in what you do.

YouTube Video Ads

Video builds trust fast. YouTube puts your brand in front of a large, targeted audience before they even start searching.

Connected TV (Streaming)

Your ads on Hulu, Roku, Peacock — actual TV screens, with the precision to reach specific audiences. Most local competitors aren't here yet. That's the opportunity.

Retargeting & Display

Reconnect with people who've already shown interest. Keeps your brand visible across thousands of sites and apps through the buying decision.

AI-Optimized Campaigns

The latest AI-driven ad tools automatically optimize placements, audiences, and spend across multiple channels at once. Powerful when guided by the right strategy — flat-out wasteful without it.

Why Cougar Digital Marketing?

We're not the agency for every advertising budget. We're the right one for yours if you're ready to do this right.

We've gotten selective. Not because we're too busy, but because we've seen what happens when advertising runs without strategy, without the right client relationship, without honest conversations about what's actually working. It wastes money — yours and ours.

What we offer is a real partnership. We learn your business, build a strategy around your specific goals, and stay invested in the results. We're local, which means you can sit across a table from the people running your campaigns. We're not routing you through account managers or reading from a script.

  • Strategy before platforms — we figure out what makes sense before we spend a dollar

  • Direct access to the people actually running your campaigns

  • Plain-English reporting tied to goals — not a wall of metrics nobody explains

  • 13+ years in this market: healthcare, construction, food & bev, professional services, trades

  • Invested in what happens after launch — not just at launch

leads in the first year alone

What happens when you pair a new, modern auto repair shop website with a hyper-focused Google Search Ads strategy?

team blog

125+ 5-Star Reviews

When you do great work, people notice.

The team at Cougar Digital Marketing are great to work with! They were very professional throughout the entire process of creating a beautiful website for me. Every member of the team I worked with was attentive to all of my questions/needs and they delivered exactly what I was hoping for in a website. I am so glad I found them!

It is always a pleasure working with Cougar Digital, especially with Josh and Mykaela. It's been a very good partnership with them. Very professional, always available for any questions or inquiries. Looking forward for more years of partnership.

Couldnt be happier with Cougar Digital! They crushed our websites!

Josh did a great job on my headshot. He provided a timely appointment and spent the time to make sure he got the best shot. He was even willing to try several different locations. I would recommend him for anybody looking to update the professional photos.

Great experience designing and launching my new website!

Working with Josh Kandle on several video projects was such a great experience . He is not only a real pro and easy to work with but he was also so open to all of my ideas for creativity and understood a lot of what I was looking for as an independent recording artist. i would highly recommend him and look forward to hopefully being able to do more in the future. ~ Lisa Mitts, Recording Artist Songwriter, Performer

I used Cougar Digital Marketing for a personal Christmas gift in 2024. Josh was professional, friendly, and helpful throughout the whole process from setting up location and time for photos, to helping me through the purchasing process to get the photos printed. The Christmas gift was my father's favorite this year-- thank you , Cougar Digital Marketing!

We recently had the pleasure of working with Cougar Digital Marketing for a photography/video project, and we couldn’t be more impressed. From start to finish, their team was professional, creative, and incredibly easy to work with. We highly recommend!

Cougar Digital Marketing ROCKS! I've worked with Travis and Josh from the very beginning. These folks know their stuff and do a fantastic job with website design & promotion, digital photography and so much more. Their services are very reasonably priced and they know how to GET RESULTS. Great BANG for your marketing BUCK. Look no further that Cougar Digital - these folks will take good care of you.

Had a great experience working with Josh! Super easy to work with and really knows his stuff - especially when it comes to lighting and editing for interior shots. The photos turned out amazing, with just the right vibe we were going for. We ended up adding a few extra shot requests last minute, and Josh had no problem fitting them in. He also helped with staging, which made a big difference, and the drone footage was a great bonus. His pricing was very reasonable for the quality we got. Great value for money. We’ll definitely be hiring him again for future shoots!

I enjoyed working with Josh. Josh explains things in a way that make easily understandable for someone who is not in the marketing industry.

We had a great experience working with COUGAR DIGITAL for creating our website and helping us with our ongoing marketing needs. Ashley, did an exceptional job with the website. Josh created an awesome logo and branding bible for us, and Makayla's photos added a professional touch. Highly recommended for top-notch digital marketing solutions!

We hired these guys to handle some commercial photos for both exterior and aerial shots. Josh and team were excellent to work with and made things easy while adapting to changing schedules and weather. The photos turned out amazing in the end. Highly recommend.

I recently had an opportunity to choose a web designer to re-vamp and optimize Stepping Stones Alliance's website. Having worked with Cougar Digital before they were my choice for this project. I'm so glad they were able to work with us! The entire process from first meeting to re-launch of the site was stellar. They are quick to respond, listen to feedback, professional and clear in their communications, and spot-on with fulfilling the client desires. The entire team was great to work with along the way and I appreciated the high level of customer service at every point. Not only will I continue to work with them for all our organization's website needs, but I will recommend them to anyone looking for website and marketing projects.

Cougar Digital went above and beyond to ensure our complete and total satisfaction with creating and launching our new website which can be a challenging process when multiple opinions are involved. Josh in particular was very attentive, patient and helpful throughout the creative process and also with recommendations for SEO and innovative solutions for soliciting reviews and feedback from customers to boost online reviews. He also facilitated communication with our existing IT support to smoothly transition our domain and emails. I highly recommend the expertise of Cougar Digital for help with all things digital. If they don't offer a solution themselves, they will help you find one!

Our website turned out great! Nick was super easy to work with really made the process a breeze. Josh was our photographer for our website, after seeing the results from the first shoot we had to schedule for another! The pictures turned out better than imagined. Josh did a great job staying out of our crews way but managed to catch all the action with great detail. 10/10 would recommend to anyone!

Every business, large or especially small, should have professional help on marketing. As a small business owner, I only have so much time. I need to keep my focus on the daily tasks and still be able to be a family man. Cougar Digital takes this immense pressure off my shoulders. Not only does my business grow, it's easier. Highly recommend.

I am the Office Manager of a business that badly needed a website reworked. I knew that Cougar Digital was up to the task, but I was unsure of my own Manager. He really didn't want to go through the steps to work with anyone on anything like a website. Nick was fabulous (as in over the top) in his Customer Service skills with a very hard to work with man. The professionalism of Cougar Digital, coupled with the patience and skills of Nick, provided my Manager with everything he needed to get a new website. The website is beautiful and I am one very pleased customer. I will always go to Cougar Digital for all of my marketing needs.

We highly recommend Cougar Digital Marketing for their exceptional marketing services. We used them initially to build our new website for our commercial and residential General Contracting company, and we signed on with them for future partnership hours. We have been pleased with the seamless results Travis's company has provided us. The team's collaboration and communication with the website designer, Ashlie, the marketing guru, Josh, and the photographer, Mykayla, were ALL GREAT. Having these marketing resources under one roof has made our transition from our last website company, much easier than expected. Their prompt availability and amazing support made the entire experience enjoyable. We are extremely satisfied with the results and grateful for their partnership and guidance!

I absolutely love working with Cougar Digital for every aspect of marketing our business utilizes. From digital content and graphic design work, to helping us create content (photos, videos and language) for various types of media and needs, Cougar does it all. The staff is awesome! Everyone is personable, prompt and professional. They are fun and I look forward to working with them on each project because I know the results will be incredible every time. Cougar's team members are open and flexible in helping us reach our goals and are authentic in their approach to meeting expectations and timeliness. Their consistent delivery of high level results within projected timeliness makes them my first choice for all marketing needs

Very easy to work with and extremely professional. Cougar Digital was able to take our vision and make it a reality as well as making it easy and seamless. I would highly recommend Cougar Digital to anyone!

Cougar digital marketing is a fantastic company for your online marketing needs I had couple estimates on building my website cougar digital was one of the highest but their knowledge and responsive put them apart from other marketing companies which is why chose them best dollars I've spent for my business is here

We had a short timetable and a limited budget. The end result was great. Working with the Cougar Digital team made the project very enjoyable.

Had a great experience working with Josh! Super easy to work with and really knows his stuff - especially when it comes to lighting and editing for interior shots. The photos turned out amazing, with just the right vibe we were going for. We ended up adding a few extra shot requests last minute, and Josh had no problem fitting them in. He also helped with staging, which made a big difference, and the drone footage was a great bonus. His pricing was very reasonable for the quality we got. Great value for money. We’ll definitely be hiring him again for future shoots!

These guys are top notch! Very knowledgeable and helpful!

My class and I had a great time learning from Josh about his background, experience in design and video, and creative process. Thank you so much for volunteering!!

Josh was fantastic to work with! He took Real Estate photography photos on the 14th, and had all of them beautifully edited and back to me in 24 hours! Highly recommend his services!

We've had a great experience working with Cougar Digital. We purchased a package deal with a new logo, photography and web design for the Grace Brethren Church of Sunnyside. Nick and Josh were both great to work with. We've had a lot of positive feedback on the work they've done.

Thank you Cougar Digital. Over the past couple of years we have worked with Cougar Digital for rebranding, website updates, new logo, updating our business card and promotional material. They also produced an amazing testimonial video - so much fun working with Josh and his team to create this. I can’t begin to express how happy we are with the work Cougar Digitial has completed for us over the years. They are professional, punctual, very creative and so easy to work with. Looking forward to our partnership for years to come. I would highly recommend Cougar Digitial. Our team at New Leaf Creations is thankful for all of your amazing work and looking forward to working with Cougar Digital in the future.

We have nothing but great things to say about Cougar Digital Marketing! Travis took the time to understand our goals, worked around our schedule, and went above and beyond to make our vision come to life. Ashley was a whiz and was always available when we needed her. Our site turned out better than we imagined. Can't recommend them enough.

Josh Kandle was excellent to work with on remaking our branding guidelines, etc. He was helpful, patient and his work was outstanding. Thanks Cougar Digital and Josh for making this process so great.

Cougar Digital should be your only call for web design. I would give them 6 stars if I could. #Silverline

Cougar Digital has been so incredible to work with! They are always able to turn our words and ideas into a beautiful finished product quickly. The staff is responsive and professional and we love working with Josh. He is a true artist and always delivers a stunning product. Thank you Cougar!

So great to have a guy like Josh and the Cougar Digital team in your corner. Professional, fast, and awesome to work with.

Awesome experience working with Josh on a 25th anniversary video of my wedding photos set to music. Couldn’t be happier with the finished product. Thank you Cougar Digital and Josh!

Josh was quick to reply and great to work with. I would highly recommend and look forward to the next opportunity we get to work with him.

I really love the team approach with Travis and the group, they are very professional, organized, and skilled at what they do. I wish I had employed them for my website and advertising years ago. I regret spending so much money trying to do it on my own or with cheap services that took my money and did nothing. I feel like they are MY team, and I feel I'm not alone trying to achieve my business goals to get my services out to the public.

Thank you Josh for your patience and expertise in helping us design our logo! Matt and I are really happy with the end result.

Cougar Digital is a top notch company. As a business owner you have to be sure that the dollars you are spending are worth the result. All too often we are promised things that never materialize. These guys deliver and they make it easy. I am not computer savvy and I'm sure asked dumb questions. They took all the time necessary to help make sure I understood and was comfortable. Great people too. Highly recommend.

We absolutely loved working with Cougar Digital on the launch of our new website and throughout several incredible photo shoots. From start to finish, their team was creative, responsive, and truly understood our vision.

Happy we have businesses like this locally! Great customer service. Stayed in communication with me through the whole process. Five-star service.

It has been a pleasure working with Cougar Digital. From managing our ads, rebuilding our website, and maintaining our Google reviews, we have been more than satasfied. We also have no problem getting a hold of them with any questions we may have or help we may need. I highly recommend them! Thank you, Alison and the rest of us at Columbia Basin Satellite & Electric

I honestly don't know where to start. My partners and I could not be happier with the process from start to finish working with Ashley and Cougar Digital Marketing. It was an absolute pleasure working with Ashley and I would recommend her to anyone who is looking to either create a website for their business or enhance their current one like we did. The service and pricing we experienced completely exceeded our expectations.

We’ve had the pleasure of working with Cougar Digital Marketing on both of our company websites—Ellison Earthworks and EE Traffic Management—and we couldn’t be happier with the results. From the very first meeting, their team was attentive, creative, and incredibly easy to work with. They took the time to understand not just our services, but our brand values and voice, and they translated that into two beautiful, functional, and user-friendly websites. Their communication was consistent and clear throughout the process, and every step felt collaborative. They made what could’ve been a stressful experience feel seamless and even fun. The final products truly reflect the heart of our companies and the industries we serve. We highly recommend Cougar Digital to any business looking to elevate their online presence. Thank you for bringing our vision to life so perfectly!

Josh Kandle and his team did a great job educating us about the importance of up-to-date digital tools, and how quickly out-of-date solutions can hinder our on-line reach. The solutions he offered were more than fairly priced, paid immediate dividends, and I am happy to refer him to any business in need of a productive digital marketing program.

Cougar digital has been an awesome! Basin Pacific Insurance could not be more happy about the work that they have done, the personal experience, and the creative ideas! Keep up the good work! Josh Toner/ Basin Pacific Insurance

Awesome local digital agency. Their webdesign capabilities and customer rapport is super impressive. Loved working with Travis and Josh!

Josh did a great job making a couple of highlight videos for me. Easy to work with and prompt service

We’ve been working with Cougar Digital Marketing for almost 6 years, and they have consistently gone above and beyond for Boiada Brazilian Grill. Josh is amazing at graphic design and always brings our ideas to life in fun, creative ways. Travis and Ashley have done an exceptional job with every aspect of our new website build — from strategy meetings and design to training and development. Cougar is professional, timely, fun to work with, and they create outstanding content. We couldn’t be happier with our new website — it’s beautiful and easy for our team to edit and update. Highly recommend Cougar to any business looking for a true marketing partner!

Travis and his team are top notch and very professional! They kept us on tract to make our website target date with daily/weekly tasks. They made the job seamless and supported us through the whole process! Our site is interactive with our industry software because Travis took the extra time to learn what we needed to make it work. Thank you so much Cougar Digital!

Questions?

Digital advertising FAQs

If you’re thinking it, there’s a good chance someone else asked it too. 

How much do Facebook ads cost?
How much should a local business spend on digital advertising?
How do I know if my digital ads are working?
How long does it take digital advertising to work?
Do you work with small digital advertising budgets?
What is the best digital advertising platform for a local business?
What is the difference between Google Ads and Facebook Ads?

Digital Marketing for Busy Professionals

Learn more. Grow faster.

Quick, useful reads to help you think bigger and market smarter.

Let's Talk

Ready to treat your advertising like an investment instead of an experiment?

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