Category archive
Improve paid acquisition with curated resources on Google Ads, PPC, paid social, campaign strategy, targeting, creatives, bidding, tracking, budgets, and conversion optimization.
Google is moving Local Services Ads into the Google Ads interface and updating how LSAs are built and managed. Review your current LSA setup and prepare to integrate with PMax campaigns.
The Google Display Network can be a powerful platform for promoting your business, but it can also be a super easy way to spend a lot…
Guide to measuring competitor ad spend so you can compare budgets and inform your own approach. Check competitor spend reports and adjust your ad budget accordingly.
Framework explaining the eight decisions that shape a PPC strategy before launch. Review each decision and test your choices in a campaign draft.
WordStream explains OTT ads on streaming apps and YouTube, including interactive features for lead capture. Review the five OTT advertising examples to adapt ideas for your campaigns.
WordStream’s 2026 Google Ads benchmarks use data from 13,000+ search campaigns across 23 industries to show CTR, CPC, conversion rate, and cost-per-lead averages. Review the benchmarks for your industry.
Understand PPC marketing and how pay-per-click campaigns work to drive targeted traffic. Set up a small test campaign to learn bidding, ad copy, and conversion tracking.
WordStream explains Google Ads pricing with benchmarks and factors affecting cost, noting there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Review the guide to set a realistic Google Ads budget for your business.
A how-to guide explains Google Ads competitor analysis and lists top tools for the job. Test the recommended tools to map competitors’ keywords and ad strategies.
WordStream’s guide summarizes 10 years of online ad cost tracking and compares platform efficiency on Google, Facebook, and Instagram. Use the guide to set or adjust your ad budget.
Semrush outlines 11 Google Ads best practices aimed at improving return on ad spend for your campaigns. Review the recommended practices and update one campaign with a change this week.
Search Engine Land explains how PPC and SEO teams misattribute rising CPC and falling branded CTR to separate problems when a single SERP change causes both. Investigate combined SERP signals and align.
WordStream’s guide shows current TikTok ad costs and compares data from managed TikTok ad accounts and large studies to explain bidding and spend. Review your budget and test a small TikTok campaign.
Explains Google Ads’ “Eligible (limited)” status for sensitive categories and outlines three strategies to work within targeting and language limits. Review your account’s sensitive category settings and test new targeting approaches.
Explains differences between SEO and PPC strategies and how each scales and drives growth, from Search Engine Journal. Compare your goals and budget to decide which approach to test next.
A 2026 guide compares reach, targeting depth, and automation across 10 major PPC ad platforms to help media planning. Review the platform comparisons to decide where to invest paid media.
WordStream lays out six Google Ads reports like the Search terms and Auction insights reports to help find actionable data. Review the Search terms report to spot high-value queries and negatives.
Vibe coding uses GPT-5 to generate custom PPC tools in plain English, letting marketers build tools in minutes instead of months. Try generating a simple PPC script with vibe coding.
Buffer’s 2026 beginner guide covers running Facebook ads and using Facebook’s audience targeting across Facebook and Instagram. Test a small campaign to learn targeting, budgets, and creative options.
A data-driven look compares reach, targeting depth, and automation across 10 major PPC ad platforms to inform 2026 paid media choices. Review the platforms and update your media plan.
Learn the essentials
Clear, practical answers to common questions about Paid Ads.
Paid advertising makes sense when the business has a clear offer, a defined audience, reliable conversion tracking, and enough margin to acquire customers profitably. Ads can accelerate demand capture and testing, but they rarely fix weak positioning, poor landing pages, or an offer customers do not want.
Work backwards from the economics. Estimate what a qualified lead or customer can be worth, set a test budget large enough to generate useful data, and limit downside while the campaign is learning. A budget should reflect expected value and available demand—not simply what competitors appear to spend.
Clicks, impressions, CPC, CTR, and platform conversion rates help diagnose a campaign, but the business should ultimately care about qualified acquisition cost, revenue, contribution margin, lead quality, and customer value. Platform-reported return can be useful, but it should be checked against first-party business data where possible.
Ad platforms optimize toward the conversion signals they receive and use their own attribution models. If the tracked conversion is low quality, duplicated, or too far from revenue, the platform can report strong results while sales remain weak. Accurate tracking and offline outcome feedback are therefore critical.
Confirm tracking is trustworthy, search terms or audiences are relevant, the offer converts, landing pages work well on mobile, and the existing budget is not being wasted on obvious low-quality traffic. Scaling a campaign before fixing these problems usually scales the inefficiency as well.