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

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

Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram)

LinkedIn Ads

Key Metrics & Benchmarks

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

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

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

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Supporting file: references/google-ads.md

Google Ads

Search, display, and YouTube advertising guide.

Campaign Types

Search Campaigns

• Text ads on search results
• Keyword-triggered
• High intent traffic
• CPC bidding

Display Campaigns

• Visual ads across web
• Audience/placement targeting
• Brand awareness focus
• CPM or CPC bidding

Shopping Campaigns

• Product listing ads
• Feed-based
• E-commerce focused
• High purchase intent

Video Campaigns

• YouTube ads
• Multiple formats
• Awareness to conversion
• CPV or CPM bidding

Performance Max

• AI-optimized
• All Google properties
• Goal-based
• Conversion focused

Keyword Match Types

Quality Score

Components (1-10)

• Expected CTR
• Ad relevance
• Landing page experience

Impact

• Ad position
• Cost per click
• Ad extensions eligibility

Improvement

• Tighter ad groups
• Keyword-ad alignment
• Landing page optimization
• CTR improvement

Ad Extensions

Bidding Strategies

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Supporting file: references/linkedin-ads.md

LinkedIn Ads

B2B advertising on LinkedIn.

Campaign Objectives

Ad Formats

Sponsored Content

• Single image ads
• Video ads
• Carousel ads
• Event ads

Message Ads (InMail)

• Direct message delivery
• CTA button
• Personal approach
• Best for high-value offers

Text Ads

• Right column placement
• Small image + text
• Lower cost, lower CTR

Dynamic Ads

• Personalized to viewer
• Follower ads
• Spotlight ads

Targeting Options

Professional Targeting

• Job title
• Job function
• Seniority level
• Industry
• Company size
• Company name

Interest/Trait Targeting

• Member groups
• Member interests
• Member traits

Account-Based Marketing

• Company list upload
• Website retargeting
• Contact targeting

Best Practices

Creative

• Professional imagery
• Clear value proposition
• Statistics and data
• Thought leadership angle

Copy

• Speak to pain points
• Business outcomes
• Social proof
• Professional tone

Lead Gen Forms

• Minimize fields (3-5)
• Pre-filled from profile
• Thank you message
• CRM integration

Benchmarks

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Supporting file: references/meta-ads.md

Meta Ads

Facebook and Instagram advertising guide.

Campaign Structure

Hierarchy

Campaign → Ad Set → Ad

Campaign Level

• Objective selection
• Budget optimization (CBO)
• A/B testing

Ad Set Level

• Audience targeting
• Placements
• Budget and schedule
• Optimization goal

Ad Level

• Creative (image/video)
• Copy and CTA
• Destination URL
• Tracking

Audience Types

Core Audiences

• Demographics
• Interests
• Behaviors
• Connections

Custom Audiences

• Website visitors
• Customer list uploads
• App users
• Engagement audiences

Lookalike Audiences

• Based on custom audiences
• 1-10% similarity range
• 1% = most similar

Ad Formats

Optimization Tips

Creative

• Use high contrast
• Front-load value
• Show product in use
• Include social proof
• Test multiple variants

Copy

• Hook in first line
• Focus on benefits
• Include CTA
• Keep mobile-first

Targeting

• Start broad, narrow down
• Use exclusions
• Layer interests carefully
• Refresh audiences regularly

Pixel Setup

Standard Events

• PageView
• ViewContent
• AddToCart
• InitiateCheckout
• Purchase

Best Practices

• Use Conversions API
• Match customer data
• Test event firing
• Use aggregated event measurement

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Supporting file: references/paid-media-playbook.md

Paid Advertising Playbook

Based on research from Google Ads (https://ads.google.com/), Meta Business (https://www.facebook.com/business), WordStream (https://www.wordstream.com/).

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Platform Comparison

Audience & Intent

Best Use Cases

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Google Ads

Campaign Types

Search Structure

Account
└── Campaign (Budget, Settings)
    └── Ad Group (Keywords, Ads)
        ├── Keywords
        └── Ads (Headlines, Descriptions)

Match Types

Quality Score Factors

Google Ads Benchmarks (Search)

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Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram)

Campaign Objectives

Audience Types

Lookalike Strategy

Ad Formats

Meta Ads Benchmarks

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LinkedIn Ads

Campaign Objectives

Targeting Options

Ad Formats

LinkedIn Benchmarks

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Bidding Strategies

By Objective

Bidding Progression

Start: Manual CPC → Understand baseline
Then: Maximize clicks → Volume
Then: Target CPA → Efficiency
Scale: Target ROAS → Profitability

Budget Pacing

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Creative Best Practices

Ad Copy Framework

Headline: [Pain point or benefit]
Primary text: [Problem] → [Solution] → [Proof] → [CTA]
CTA: [Action verb] + [What they get]

Video Ad Structure

Creative Testing Framework

Ad Fatigue Signs

• CTR declining
• Frequency >3 (prospecting)
• Frequency >7 (retargeting)
• CPM increasing
• Conversion rate dropping

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Retargeting Strategy

Audience Segments

Retargeting Exclusions

Sequential Retargeting

Day 1-3: Reminder ad (simple)
Day 4-7: Benefit ad (value)
Day 8-14: Social proof ad (testimonial)
Day 15-21: Offer ad (incentive)
Day 22+: Last chance ad (urgency)

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Measurement & Optimization

Key Metrics

Optimization Checklist

Attribution Windows

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Budget Allocation

New Campaign Testing

Channel Mix by Goal

Scaling Rules

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Supporting file: references/tiktok-ads.md

TikTok Ads

Advertising on TikTok.

Ad Formats

In-Feed Ads

• Native format
• Up to 60 seconds
• Full-screen vertical
• Swipe up CTA

TopView

• First ad seen
• Premium placement
• Up to 60 seconds
• High impact, high cost

Branded Hashtag Challenge

• User participation
• Viral potential
• High engagement
• Significant investment

Branded Effects

• Custom filters/stickers
• Interactive experiences
• Brand awareness focus

Spark Ads

• Boost organic posts
• Native appearance
• Higher engagement
• Lower production cost

Targeting Options

Demographics

• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Language

Interests & Behaviors

• Interest categories
• Video interactions
• Creator interactions
• Hashtag interactions

Custom Audiences

• Customer file upload
• App activity
• Website traffic
• Engagement audiences

Creative Best Practices

Format

• 9:16 vertical
• 15-30 seconds optimal
• Native TikTok style
• Sound on design

Content

• Hook in first 3 seconds
• Show product in action
• Use trending sounds
• Include captions
• Clear CTA

Style

• Authentic, not polished
• User-generated aesthetic
• Humor and entertainment
• Trend participation

TikTok Pixel

Events to Track

• PageView
• ViewContent
• AddToCart
• CompletePayment
• SubmitForm

Best Practices

• Use Events Manager
• Set up CAPI
• Test event firing
• Use UTM parameters

Performance Benchmarks