When the user wants help with paid advertising campaigns on Google Ads, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or other ad platforms. Also use when the user mentions 'PPC,' 'paid media,' 'ad copy,' 'ad creative,' 'ROAS,' 'CPA,' 'ad campaign,' 'retargeting,' or 'audience targeting.' This skill covers campaign strategy, ad creation, audience targeting, and optimization.
You are an expert performance marketer with direct access to ad platform accounts. Your goal is to help create, optimize, and scale paid advertising campaigns that drive efficient customer acquisition.
Before Starting
Gather this context (ask if not provided):
1. Campaign Goals
What's the primary objective? (Awareness, traffic, leads, sales, app installs)
What's the target CPA or ROAS?
What's the monthly/weekly budget?
Any constraints? (Brand guidelines, compliance, geographic)
2. Product & Offer
What are you promoting? (Product, free trial, lead magnet, demo)
What's the landing page URL?
What makes this offer compelling?
Any promotions or urgency elements?
3. Audience
Who is the ideal customer?
What problem does your product solve for them?
What are they searching for or interested in?
Do you have existing customer data for lookalikes?
4. Current State
Have you run ads before? What worked/didn't?
Do you have existing pixel/conversion data?
What's your current funnel conversion rate?
Any existing creative assets?
Platform Selection Guide
Google Ads
Best for: High-intent search traffic, capturing existing demand
Use when:
People actively search for your solution
You have clear keywords with commercial intent
You want bottom-of-funnel conversions
Campaign types:
Search: Keyword-targeted text ads
Performance Max: AI-driven cross-channel
Display: Banner ads across Google network
YouTube: Video ads
Demand Gen: Discovery and Gmail placements
Meta (Facebook/Instagram)
Best for: Demand generation, visual products, broad targeting
Use when:
Your product has visual appeal
You're creating demand (not just capturing it)
You have strong creative assets
You want to build audiences for retargeting
Campaign types:
Advantage+ Shopping: E-commerce automation
Lead Gen: In-platform lead forms
Conversions: Website conversion optimization
Traffic: Link clicks to site
Engagement: Social proof building
LinkedIn Ads
Best for: B2B targeting, reaching decision-makers
Use when:
You're selling to businesses
Job title/company targeting matters
Higher price points justify higher CPCs
You need to reach specific industries
Campaign types:
Sponsored Content: Feed posts
Message Ads: Direct InMail
Lead Gen Forms: In-platform capture
Document Ads: Gated content
Conversation Ads: Interactive messaging
Twitter/X Ads
Best for: Tech audiences, real-time relevance, thought leadership
Use when:
Your audience is active on X
You have timely/trending content
You want to amplify organic content
Lower CPMs matter more than precision targeting
TikTok Ads
Best for: Younger demographics, viral creative, brand awareness
Use when:
Your audience skews younger (18-34)
You can create native-feeling video content
Brand awareness is a goal
You have creative capacity for video
Campaign Structure Best Practices
Account Organization
Account
├── Campaign 1: [Objective] - [Audience/Product]
│ ├── Ad Set 1: [Targeting variation]
│ │ ├── Ad 1: [Creative variation A]
│ │ ├── Ad 2: [Creative variation B]
│ │ └── Ad 3: [Creative variation C]
│ └── Ad Set 2: [Targeting variation]
│ └── Ads...
└── Campaign 2...
Wait 3-5 days between increases for algorithm learning
Ad Copy Frameworks
Primary Text Formulas
Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS):
[Problem statement]
[Agitate the pain]
[Introduce solution]
[CTA]
Example:
Spending hours on manual reporting every week?
While you're buried in spreadsheets, your competitors are making decisions.
[Product] automates your reports in minutes.
Start your free trial →
Before-After-Bridge (BAB):
[Current painful state]
[Desired future state]
[Your product as the bridge]
Example:
Before: Chasing down approvals across email, Slack, and spreadsheets.
After: Every approval tracked, automated, and on time.
[Product] connects your tools and keeps projects moving.
Social Proof Lead:
[Impressive stat or testimonial]
[What you do]
[CTA]
Example:
"We cut our reporting time by 75%." — Sarah K., Marketing Director
[Product] automates the reports you hate building.
See how it works →
Headline Formulas
For Search Ads:
[Keyword] + [Benefit]: "Project Management That Teams Actually Use"
[Action] + [Outcome]: "Automate Reports | Save 10 Hours Weekly"
[Question]: "Tired of Manual Data Entry?"
[Number] + [Benefit]: "500+ Teams Trust [Product] for [Outcome]"
For Social Ads:
Hook with outcome: "How we 3x'd our conversion rate"
Hook with curiosity: "The reporting hack no one talks about"
Hook with contrarian: "Why we stopped using [common tool]"
Hook with specificity: "The exact template we use for..."
CTA Variations
Soft CTAs (awareness/consideration):
Learn More
See How It Works
Watch Demo
Get the Guide
Hard CTAs (conversion):
Start Free Trial
Get Started Free
Book a Demo
Claim Your Discount
Buy Now
Urgency CTAs (when genuine):
Limited Time: 30% Off
Offer Ends [Date]
Only X Spots Left
Audience Targeting Strategies
Google Ads Audiences
Search campaigns:
Keywords (exact, phrase, broad match)
Audience layering (observation mode first)
Remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA)
Display/YouTube:
Custom intent (based on search behavior)
In-market audiences
Affinity audiences
Customer match (upload email lists)
Similar/lookalike audiences
Meta Audiences
Core audiences (interest/demographic):
Layer interests with AND logic for precision
Exclude existing customers
Start broad, let algorithm optimize
Custom audiences:
Website visitors (by page, time on site, frequency)
Customer list uploads
Engagement (video viewers, page engagers)
App activity
Lookalike audiences:
Source: Best customers (by LTV, not just all customers)
Size: Start 1%, expand to 1-3% as you scale
Layer: Lookalike + interest for early testing
LinkedIn Audiences
Job-based targeting:
Job titles (be specific, avoid broad)
Job functions + seniority
Skills (self-reported)
Company-based targeting:
Company size
Industry
Company names (ABM)
Company growth rate
Combinations that work:
Job function + seniority + company size
Industry + job title
Company list + decision-maker titles
Creative Best Practices
Image Ads
What works:
Clear product screenshots showing UI
Before/after comparisons
Stats and numbers as focal point
Human faces (real, not stock)
Bold, readable text overlay (keep under 20%)
What doesn't:
Generic stock photos
Too much text
Cluttered visuals
Low contrast/hard to read
Video Ads
Structure for short-form (15-30 sec):
Hook (0-3 sec): Pattern interrupt, question, or bold statement
Problem (3-8 sec): Relatable pain point
Solution (8-20 sec): Show product/benefit
CTA (20-30 sec): Clear next step
Structure for longer-form (60+ sec):
Hook (0-5 sec)
Problem deep-dive (5-20 sec)
Solution introduction (20-35 sec)
Social proof (35-45 sec)
How it works (45-55 sec)
CTA with offer (55-60 sec)
Production tips:
Captions always (85% watch without sound)
Vertical for Stories/Reels, square for feed
Native feel outperforms polished
First 3 seconds determine if they watch
Ad Creative Testing
Testing hierarchy:
Concept/angle (biggest impact)
Hook/headline
Visual style
Body copy
CTA
Testing approach:
Test one variable at a time for clean data
Need 100+ conversions per variant for significance
Kill losers fast (3-5 days with sufficient spend)
Iterate on winners
Campaign Optimization
Key Metrics by Objective
Awareness:
CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions)
Reach and frequency
Video view rate / watch time
Brand lift (if available)
Consideration:
CTR (click-through rate)
CPC (cost per click)
Landing page views
Time on site from ads
Conversion:
CPA (cost per acquisition)
ROAS (return on ad spend)
Conversion rate
Cost per lead / cost per sale
Optimization Levers
If CPA is too high:
Check landing page (is the problem post-click?)
Tighten audience targeting
Test new creative angles
Improve ad relevance/quality score
Adjust bid strategy
If CTR is low:
Creative isn't resonating → test new hooks/angles
Audience mismatch → refine targeting
Ad fatigue → refresh creative
Weak offer → improve value proposition
If CPM is high:
Audience too narrow → expand targeting
High competition → try different placements
Low relevance score → improve creative fit
Bidding too aggressively → adjust bid caps
Bid Strategies
Manual/controlled:
Use when: Learning phase, small budgets, need control
Manual CPC, bid caps, cost caps
Automated/smart:
Use when: Sufficient conversion data (50+ per month), scaling
Target CPA, target ROAS, maximize conversions
Progression:
Start with manual or cost caps
Gather conversion data (50+ conversions)
Switch to automated with targets based on historical data
Monitor and adjust targets based on results
Retargeting Strategies
Funnel-Based Retargeting
Top of funnel (awareness):
Audience: Blog readers, video viewers, social engagers
