PAID ADVERTISING — ACQUISITION OS (OPERATIONAL)

Modern Best Practices (January 2026)

• Algorithmic buying wins when you provide strong signals: clean conversion events, value, and enough volume per campaign to learn.
• Creative is the main lever on social: plan for volume and refresh cadence; treat creative like a product pipeline.
• Default measurement: server-side signals where possible (Enhanced Conversions / Conversions API / Events API), consistent UTMs, and closed-loop revenue in CRM.
• Use attribution as directional; use incrementality tests to answer budget questions (geo-lift/holdouts) when stakes are high.
• Optimize to profit and payback (not just CPL/ROAS) when margins, refunds, or LTV vary materially.
• Compliance is non-negotiable: platform policies, privacy consent, and avoiding sensitive targeting/claims.

When to Use

• New campaigns: structure, audiences, bidding, creative
• Scaling spend: budget allocation, ROAS targets
• Platform selection: which channels for which goals
• Unit economics: CAC/LTV modeling, payback period
• Revenue attribution: multi-touch, incrementality

When NOT to Use

Quick Start (What I Need From You)

• Goal: revenue, pipeline, leads, trials, purchases (pick 1 primary)
• ICP/offer: who, pain, positioning, price/ACV, gross margin, refund rate (if relevant)
• Geo/language + budget horizon (test budget + monthly cap)
• Tracking: conversion events + where they’re recorded (GA4, CRM, Shopify, app DB), attribution window expectations
• Constraints: creative/brand limits, compliance constraints, sales capacity + SLAs (B2B)

Platform Selection

Decision Tree

HIGH INTENT?
├─ YES → Google Search (always include)
└─ NO → What's your goal?
    ├─ Awareness → Meta, TikTok, YouTube
    ├─ B2B/Enterprise → LinkedIn, Google
    └─ E-commerce → Meta, Google Shopping

Measurement & Tracking (2026 Default)

• Conversion events defined (lead, SQL, purchase, subscription) with dedupe and clear “source of truth”
• UTMs standardized across every platform
• Server-side signals where feasible:
  • Google: Enhanced Conversions + offline conversion imports (B2B)
  • Meta: Pixel + Conversions API
  • TikTok: Pixel + Events API
  • LinkedIn: Insight Tag + offline conversions (when available)
• Reporting views: spend → conversions → revenue/pipeline (weekly), incrementality tests (quarterly or when budgets materially change)

references/revenue-attribution-guide.md

references/sales-alignment-guide.md

Campaign Structure

Google Ads

├─ Campaign: Brand (Search)
├─ Campaign: Non-Brand (Search)
├─ Campaign: Retargeting (Display)
└─ Campaign: Performance Max

Meta Ads

├─ Campaign: Prospecting
│   ├─ Ad Set: Lookalike 1%
│   └─ Ad Set: Broad (Advantage+)
├─ Campaign: Retargeting
└─ Campaign: Testing

Bidding Strategy

Budget Allocation

Unit Economics

• B2C SaaS: < 6 months
• B2B SaaS: < 12 months
• E-commerce: < 3 months

Decision Tree (Triage)

CPL too high?
├─ Check audience size
├─ Check creative CTR (<1% = new creative)
├─ Check landing page CVR (<2% = landing issue)
└─ Check bid strategy

ROAS below target?
├─ Check conversion tracking
├─ Check audience quality
└─ Check offer strength

Metrics

Anti-Patterns

• Changing bids daily → Wait 2-4 weeks
• Too many audiences → Use 3-5 max
• Single creative → Use 3-5 variants
• No negative keywords → Build weekly

Resources

Templates

International Markets

marketing-geo-localization

Related Skills