In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, the biggest wins often come from 'arbitrage'—finding a channel where the cost of reaching a customer is significantly lower than the value that customer brings to your business. For Australian small business owners, identifying these underpriced channels allows you to compete with larger brands without needing their massive budgets.
This guide will show you how to audit your current performance, spot emerging trends, and move quickly to exploit gaps in the market before they become saturated and expensive.
Why This Matters
Most businesses stick to the 'Big Three' (Google Search, Facebook, and Instagram) because they are comfortable. However, as more businesses bid for the same eyeballs, prices rise. By finding underpriced channels—whether it’s a new social platform, a niche local directory, or an overlooked offline tactic—you can lower your Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and grow your Brisbane business much faster than your competitors.---
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure you have the following:- A clear understanding of your LTV: You must know the Lifetime Value of your customer to know what a 'cheap' acquisition actually looks like.
- Google Analytics 4 (GA4) installed: To track where your current leads are coming from.
- A small 'testing' budget: Usually $500 - $1,000 that you are prepared to spend on experimentation.
- Your ABN and business details: For setting up new ad accounts or directory listings.
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Step 1: Audit Your Current CAC by Channel
You can't find 'underpriced' channels if you don't know what you are currently paying. Open your GA4 dashboard and navigate to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition. What you should see: A table showing your primary traffic sources (Organic Search, Paid Search, Referral, etc.) along with conversion rates. Calculate your CAC for each by dividing the total spend on that channel by the number of leads generated. This is your baseline.Step 2: Identify 'High Intent, Low Competition' Keywords
Use a tool like SEMRush or the free Google Keyword Planner. Look for long-tail keywords specific to the Australian market (e.g., "best emergency plumber North Lakes" instead of just "plumber"). Pro Tip: Look for keywords with a high search volume but a 'Low' or 'Medium' competition score. These are often underpriced in Google Ads because big agencies haven't bothered to target them yet.Step 3: Explore Emerging Social Platforms
Underpriced attention usually lives where the users are growing faster than the advertisers. Currently, platforms like TikTok (for older demographics than you'd think) or even niche platforms like Reddit (with Australian-specific subreddits like r/brisbane or r/ausfinance) offer lower CPMs (cost per 1,000 impressions) than Meta.Step 4: Analyse Your 'Referral' Traffic for Hidden Gems
In your GA4 reports, look closely at the 'Referral' section. Are there specific local blogs, Australian forums, or industry directories sending you traffic for free? These are 'signal' sources. If a free link is sending traffic, a paid partnership or featured placement on that site is likely an underpriced acquisition channel.Step 5: Test 'Old School' Offline Channels
In a digital-first world, physical mail or local community boards can be underpriced. For a Brisbane service business, a well-designed letterbox drop in a specific suburb (using Australia Post’s target mail services) can often yield a lower CAC than competitive Facebook ads.Step 6: Set Up a 'Micro-Experiment'
Once you identify a potential channel (e.g., Pinterest ads or a local podcast sponsorship), don't go all-in. Set a 14-day window and a small budget. Screenshot Description: If setting up a new ad account, you should see a 'Campaign Setup' screen. Ensure your 'Location' is set strictly to your service area (e.g., 'Brisbane + 20km') to avoid wasting budget on interstate clicks.Step 7: Measure the 'Attention Gap'
The 'Attention Gap' is the difference between where your customers spend their time and where your competitors spend their money. Ask your last 10 customers: "Where do you spend most of your time online?" If they all say 'LinkedIn' but your competitors are only on 'Instagram', you’ve found an underpriced channel.Step 8: Optimise the Creative for the Channel
A common mistake is using the same ad for every channel. If you are testing TikTok, your ad must look like a TikTok, not a polished TV commercial. Use 'User Generated Content' (UGC) style videos—they are cheaper to produce and perform better on emerging platforms.Step 9: Use 'Local' as Your Unfair Advantage
For Australian businesses, Google Business Profile (GBP) is the ultimate underpriced channel. It is free, yet many businesses don't optimise it. Ensure your ABN is verified, upload fresh photos weekly, and respond to every review. The 'reach' you get from the local map pack often outperforms paid search.Step 10: Review and Pivot
After your 14-day experiment, compare the new channel's CAC to your baseline from Step 1. If the new channel is 20% cheaper, it's time to 'exploit' it by moving budget from your most expensive underperforming channel into this new winner.---
Pro Tips for Success
- The First-Mover Advantage: When a platform launches a new ad format (like when Instagram first launched Reels ads), they usually subsidise the reach to encourage adoption. Jump on new features immediately.
- Look for 'Dead' Channels: Sometimes platforms that were 'cool' five years ago become underpriced because the 'hype' has moved on, but a loyal, high-value audience remains.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- The 'Set and Forget' Mentality: Underpriced channels don't stay underpriced forever. As soon as others notice, the price goes up. You must be ready to move within 3-6 months.
- Ignoring Attribution: Ensure you use UTM parameters on your links so you know exactly which channel the lead came from. Without tracking, you're just guessing.
- Over-complicating Production: Don't spend $5,000 on a video for a $500 test. Use your iPhone and keep it authentic.
Troubleshooting
"I'm getting clicks but no conversions." This usually means the channel is right, but the landing page is wrong. Ensure your website is mobile-optimised and that the message on the ad matches the message on the page. "The channel is too small to scale." Some underpriced channels are 'niche'. They might only give you 2-3 leads a month. That’s okay! A portfolio of five small, cheap channels is often better than one large, expensive one. "I can't find my target audience on these new platforms." Don't assume. Use the platform's 'Audience Insights' tool. You might be surprised to find that the 'over 50s' demographic is the fastest-growing segment on platforms like Facebook and even TikTok in Australia.Next Steps
- Calculate your current CAC using the formula in Step 1.
- Pick one 'experimental' channel to test this month.
- Need a hand identifying your gaps? Our team at Local Marketing Group can run a full digital audit to find where your competitors are missing out. Contact us here to get started.