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.

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

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

Creative Excellence

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

Optimization Excellence

Let Data Accumulate: 50+ conversions before major changes
One Variable at a Time: Isolate what's working
Weekly Review Cadence: Regular but not daily changes
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