paid-advertising

Paid Advertising

Paid media strategy and optimization across platforms for profitable customer acquisition.

Language & Quality Standards

CRITICAL: Respond in the same language the user is using. If Vietnamese, respond in Vietnamese. If Spanish, respond in Spanish.

Standards: Token efficiency, sacrifice grammar for concision, list unresolved questions at end.

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When to Use This Skill

Apply paid advertising expertise when:

• Planning paid campaign strategy
• Optimizing ad performance and ROAS
• Managing budgets across platforms
• Setting up tracking and attribution
• Creating ad copy and creative briefs
• Troubleshooting underperforming campaigns

Core Concepts

Campaign Objectives by Goal

Objective	Use When	Primary KPI	Platform Features
Awareness	Building brand	CPM, Reach	Brand awareness, video views
Traffic	Driving site visits	CPC, CTR	Traffic campaigns
Engagement	Growing social	CPE, engagement rate	Engagement campaigns
Leads	Generating contacts	CPL, lead quality	Lead forms, conversions
Conversions	Driving sales	ROAS, CPA	Purchase, signup events
App Installs	Mobile acquisition	CPI, install rate	App campaigns

Funnel-Based Targeting Strategy

TOFU (Awareness) - Cold Audiences

• Broad interest targeting
• Lookalike audiences (1-3%)
• Video viewers (3s+)
• Content: Educational, entertaining
• Bid: CPM or ThruPlay

MOFU (Consideration) - Warm Audiences

• Website visitors (7-30 days)
• Email list matches
• Engaged social audiences
• Content: Case studies, comparisons
• Bid: Landing page views

BOFU (Decision) - Hot Audiences

• High-intent visitors (pricing, demo pages)
• Cart abandoners (1-7 days)
• Trial users, demo requesters
• Content: Offers, urgency, testimonials
• Bid: Conversions, ROAS

Platform-Specific Guidelines

Google Ads

Campaign Type	Best For	Key Settings
Search	High intent, BOFU	Exact match, SKAG
Display	Awareness, retargeting	Placement exclusions
Shopping	E-commerce	Feed optimization
Performance Max	Full-funnel automation	Asset variety
YouTube	Awareness, TOFU	Audience targeting

Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram)

Campaign Type	Best For	Key Settings
Traffic	Website visits	Landing page optimization
Conversions	Sales, signups	Pixel setup, CAPI
Leads	B2B, services	Lead form optimization
Catalog Sales	E-commerce	Dynamic product ads
Advantage+	Automation	Broad targeting

LinkedIn Ads

Campaign Type	Best For	Key Settings
Sponsored Content	Awareness, leads	Job title targeting
Message Ads	Direct response	Personalization
Lead Gen Forms	B2B leads	Pre-filled forms
Document Ads	Thought leadership	Gated content

Key Metrics & Benchmarks

Metric	Formula	Good Range	Action If Below
CTR	Clicks / Impressions	1-3%	Improve creative/targeting
CPC	Spend / Clicks	<$1-5 (varies)	Improve quality score
CPL	Spend / Leads	<$20-100	Optimize landing page
CPA	Spend / Conversions	< 1/3 LTV	Full funnel review
ROAS	Revenue / Ad Spend	3:1+	Improve AOV or CVR
CVR	Conversions / Clicks	2-5%	Landing page optimization

Budget Allocation Framework

70-20-10 Rule for Mature Programs:

• 70% to proven, profitable campaigns
• 20% to optimization tests
• 10% to new channel/audience experiments

Startup/Testing Phase:

• Equal split across channels until data
• Minimum viable spend per test ($500-1000)
• 2 weeks minimum per test

Best Practices

Campaign Setup Excellence

1. Pixel/Tracking First: Never launch without proper tracking
2. Exclusion Lists: Exclude converters, competitors, irrelevant audiences
3. Naming Conventions: Consistent, searchable campaign names
4. UTM Discipline: Track all campaigns in analytics

Creative Excellence

1. Hook in 3 Seconds: Capture attention immediately
2. Mobile-First: Design for mobile, adapt to desktop
3. Test Variations: 3-5 creatives per ad set minimum
4. Refresh Regularly: Combat creative fatigue

Optimization Excellence

1. Let Data Accumulate: 50+ conversions before major changes
2. One Variable at a Time: Isolate what's working
3. Weekly Review Cadence: Regular but not daily changes
4. Segment Performance: Break down by audience, placement

Agent Integration

Agent	How They Use This Skill
attraction-specialist	Paid campaign strategy and setup
copywriter	Ad copy creation
researcher	Competitor ad analysis
planner	Budget allocation planning

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Anti-Pattern	Why It's Wrong	Do This Instead
Launching without tracking	Can't measure success	Pixel first, always
Too broad targeting	Wasted spend	Start narrow, expand
One creative only	No learning, fatigue	Test 3-5 variations
Daily bid changes	Disrupts algorithm	Weekly optimization
Ignoring landing page	Blames ads for LP issues	Optimize full funnel

Platform-Specific Resources

• references/meta-ads.md - Facebook/Instagram advertising
• references/google-ads.md - Search and display
• references/linkedin-ads.md - B2B advertising
• references/tiktok-ads.md - TikTok advertising

Related Commands

• /content/ads - Create ad copy for platforms
• /analytics/roi - Calculate campaign ROI
• /campaign/plan - Full campaign planning