Paid ads, run properly
Clear thinking behind the spend, and you always know what changes next.
What you receive
- 01Campaigns set up or cleaned up on the channels that suit you.Structure, audiences and the ads themselves, written and checked.
- 02Tracking checks and practical landing-page feedback.So a click that becomes an enquiry or a sale is counted as one.
- 03A short weekly update: what the spend did, and what changes next.A few lines in your inbox. No dashboard to log into.
- 04Monthly recommendations tied to outcomes, not clicks.What to keep, what to stop, and where the budget goes next.
Spend is running, but you can't see which offer, audience or page earns it back.
- The account has grown for years and nobody has stepped back to look at it.
- Clicks look fine, but you can't tell which ones became real enquiries.
- Someone else set up the tracking, and you're not sure it still works.
- Changes get made, but not explained.
Ad platforms are very good at spending money.
Less good at telling you if it was worth it.
What separates useful spend from wasted spend is rarely the ads. It is honest tracking, one clear job per campaign, and someone explaining what changed. Most of the waste comes from campaigns that were never told what a good outcome looks like, so nobody can say whether they found one.
So the work starts before the spend: agree what a good result is, make sure it gets counted, and only then turn the budget up. The weeks that go well and the weeks that do not both get explained.
What I actually do.
- Work out what each campaign is actually for.
- Check the tracking, so the numbers mean something before decisions rest on them.
- Run one focused test at a time on Google, Facebook and Instagram.
- Go through what the spend brought in with you, and move budget for a reason I can explain.
See what you actually get.
Part of the job: the short read you get every week the ads are running.
- What you spent, what came in, and what each enquiry cost.
- Checked against the limit we agree before any money goes out.
- The one change I would make next, for your yes, and anything I need from you.
The weekly update
From Jarrah, every Friday
Your ads this week: one change to approve
- Spend
- $760
- Enquiries
- 6
- Cost per enquiry
- $127
Under the $150 per enquiry we agreed as the limit.
- What I'd like to change
- Pause the ad that costs the most per enquiry and move its budget to the one bringing in work. Reply yes and I'll do it Monday.
- Anything I need
- Just your yes on the change above.
Answers before we talk.
Do I need to be on Google, Facebook and Instagram?
Usually not all at once. I would rather run one channel properly than spread a small budget across three.
What ad budget makes sense?
It depends on your market and what a customer is worth to you over the first year. Before you commit, I will tell you straight whether it is enough to learn anything, and sometimes the honest answer is not yet.
Who owns the ad accounts?
You do. If an agency set them up, the first step is making sure you are the admin in your own name, and I will tell you exactly what to ask for. From then on your accounts and data stay in your name, so if we stop working together nothing has to be handed back or rebuilt.
Will you tell me if the ads are not working?
Yes. The weekly update covers the weeks that do not go your way as plainly as the ones that do.
Want my honest take?
Send your website and what's bothering you. I'll tell you what I'd fix first.