PAID ADVERTISING — ACQUISITION OS (OPERATIONAL)
No-fluff execution skill for paid acquisition across Google, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn.
References: Google Ads, Meta Business, TikTok Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager
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)
If unknown, start with assumptions and label them; then validate with data in week 1.
Platform Selection
| Platform |
Best For |
Typical Cost (Relative) |
| Google Search |
High intent capture |
Medium |
| Meta |
Efficient demand creation + retargeting |
Low–Medium |
| LinkedIn |
B2B precision, ABM |
High |
| TikTok |
Low-cost reach + creative velocity |
Low |
Note: Costs vary massively by industry, geo, offer, tracking quality, and seasonality. Use as directional only.
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)
Minimum viable measurement before scaling:
- 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)
For deep dives: 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
| Strategy |
When to Use |
| Manual CPC |
<50 conversions/month |
| Target CPA |
50-100 conversions |
| Target ROAS |
>100 conversions |
Budget Allocation
| Stage |
% of Budget |
| Brand |
10-20% |
| Prospecting |
40-60% |
| Retargeting |
20-30% |
| Testing |
10-15% |
Unit Economics
| LTV:CAC |
Status |
Action |
| < 1:1 |
Losing money |
Stop spending |
| 3:1 |
Healthy |
Maintain/scale |
| > 5:1 |
Under-investing |
Scale aggressively |
Payback Targets:
- 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
| Metric |
Target |
| CTR |
>1% (creative health) |
| CVR |
>2% (landing health) |
| Frequency |
<3 (fatigue) |
| Quality Score |
>6 (Google) |
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
This skill covers US-centric platforms. For regional advertising:
Tip: If your query mentions regional platforms or specific countries, also use marketing-geo-localization.
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