Online advertising: what works and what doesn’t in 2025

Find out which online advertising platforms and approaches work in 2025 and how to build an effective strategy for your market, product and audience.

Valentin Genov

Posted in Business & Marketing
on 01/07/2025.

Online advertising is not a one-size-fits-all solution – what works for one brand may not work at all for another. It all depends on the product, the audience, the margin, the competition, the stage the business is at and the resources available. There are no universal templates – there is a strategy that has to be built and tested.

Below you will learn more about the different platforms, advertising budgets and the cost of hiring an agency, along with key tips for your online advertising.

The most relevant platforms in 2025

When you plan online advertising in 2025, it is important to first work out which platforms are relevant to your business and why. Each has its own strengths and limitations, and your choice should be based on your product, audience and goals.

Meta (Facebook & Instagram)

Suitable for products aimed at a mass audience. Works very well for visually appealing products (clothing, cosmetics, accessories), UGC, remarketing and brand presence. Achieving results requires active testing of creatives, offers and angles.

Google (Search, Display, Performance Max)

Better suited to services and products with active search demand. Performance Max needs a good feed and a solid budget. Search campaigns remain the leading option when you need to capture intent. We don’t recommend Display unless you are a brand with an advertising budget in the hundreds of thousands and simply want maximum coverage across online ad placements.

TikTok

A strong channel for e-commerce, new brands and products with a wow factor aimed at a younger audience. Suitable for UGC formats and emotional, visual products.

Differences in creatives: USA vs Bulgaria

Online advertising in 2025 shows clear differences between markets, especially when it comes to creatives and how audiences perceive advertising content. Here is a closer look:

USA: Consumers in the US prefer authentic UGC videos (user-generated content) that look naturally filmed. Raw-style formats, short spontaneous videos and storytelling (stories featuring real people and situations) build a sense of trust. The audience there values content that resembles what they would see from friends and acquaintances rather than from a corporate brand.
Bulgaria: The Bulgarian market still responds better to structured visuals – banners with clear benefits, well-organised elements, and professional-looking videos with good editing and added subtitles. A clear call to action (CTA) and before/after results also work well.
Trend: Although the traditional style still dominates in Bulgaria, the trend is for brands to start adopting more authentic formats. More and more campaigns in Bulgaria are achieving excellent results with a UGC approach close to what is seen in markets such as the US and Western Europe.

Why it won’t work without a strategy

Online marketing doesn’t work without a strategy. Strategy is the process that ensures every amount spent delivers maximum value and that advertising is not just an expense but an investment in sustainable growth. Good planning saves money, time and mistakes. Here is what a truly effective strategic approach involves:

Market and competitor research – analysing trends, audience behaviour, and competitors’ prices and messages. This gives a realistic picture of the challenges and opportunities.
Analysis of the product and its competitive advantages – clarifying margins, unique selling points (USPs), opportunities for supporting products and the potential for cross-selling and upselling.
Channel selection – not every platform suits every product. Channels are chosen according to the audience, the stage of the business and its goals.
Developing the right creatives and messages – creatives should reflect the right marketing angles, speak the audience’s language and prompt action.
Landing page optimisation – the page the customer lands on should be a logical continuation of the ad: fast, clear and focused on conversion.
Scaling logic – a plan is built for how the elements that work can be developed and expanded with minimal risk and maximum efficiency.

Without this preparation, even the right platform won’t deliver results, because the advertising will be chaotic and lack direction.

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How much does it cost to hire a marketing agency?

The price depends on:

The number of platforms and the amount of work – the more channels are managed, the more time, expertise and resources are needed.
The complexity of the strategy – building a strategy for a single product is easier than creating a complete funnel for a multi-product brand with different audiences.
Creative requirements – if the agency produces video, banners, copy and UGC content, the price goes up.
Whether accounts already exist or need to be built from scratch – starting from zero requires more preparation and setup.

The price of the service is set individually and often combines fixed fees with a percentage of turnover. It is important to be clear about exactly what the service includes – from strategy and management to content creation. For more on Facebook advertising budgets, see Facebook advertising budgets.

Final words

Online advertising in 2025 is a powerful tool, but it only works with the right strategy, a carefully chosen mix of channels and well-made creatives tailored to the market and the audience. That means analysis, testing, constant optimisation and a willingness to learn from the data. It doesn’t work for those who just want to “put something out there” without preparation and realistic expectations. At Evol.bg we don’t just make ads – we build systems, funnels and sustainable strategies that sell and help businesses grow over the long term. We work with a clear vision and a personalised approach for every client.

If you would like to discuss your case and get a professional opinion, book a free consultation with our team.

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Written by Valentin Genov

Valentin Genov is head of the PPC team at Evol Marketing, where he is responsible for the strategic management of advertising projects and coordinates a team of digital advertising specialists. With more than 5 years of experience in digital marketing, he has managed advertising budgets worth hundreds of thousands of euros and delivered impressive results for clients across a range of industries. His career began as a freelancer building websites and online shops. He later joined a WordPress agency in Sofia and, a year later, relocated to Vratsa and joined the Evol Marketing team. There he completed the in-house training, grew into a PPC specialist and played an active part in building the in-house web development team. Over time he became head of the PPC team and took on the coordination of key client projects. For the past few months he has been travelling regularly between Sofia and Vratsa, also leading the agency's Sofia marketing team, which specialises in paid advertising. He is often invited to speak at digital marketing events. He loves digital marketing because, whether a business succeeds or not, statistics and data always answer the questions that begin with HOW and WHY.

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