Advertising problems and what actually causes them
Every article starts with a question in the words people use, answers it in the first two lines, then works through the diagnosis in the order I follow when reviewing an account. No invented market averages and no general advice: steps you can run on your own account and read the result of.
How do I choose a media buyer for my business? Seven criteria before I sign
Choose someone who starts from your cost-per-order ceiling rather than your budget, shows results with their source in the ad account itself, sets up measurement before spending the first pound, and tells you plainly when the problem is the page or the price rather than the ads. Make sure the ad account and the pixel are in your name, not theirs. And if someone promises guaranteed sales, or will not show you how they calculate their numbers, walk away however attractive the offer.
Read the articleMy ads are running but sales are flat — where do I start?
Start with measurement, not the campaign: confirm an order is actually recorded, then read the cost at the event that reaches the bank rather than at add-to-cart, then open your checkout on a phone the way your customer does, then calculate your margin to see whether the campaign can be profitable at all. Targeting is the last suspect, not the first, and in most accounts I have reviewed the problem sat in one of those first three steps.
Read the articleCost per order keeps climbing month after month — what is happening?
The causes are few and numbers can separate them: ad fatigue on a limited audience, a dearer auction in a season or a city, audience saturation, a measurement gap hiding real orders so the cost only looks higher, or a new competitor paying more. Read them in this order: frequency and CTR first, then CPM, then measurement, then the market.
Read the articleMeta's numbers don't match my store's orders — which one do I trust?
The two figures differ by nature rather than by error: the platform credits an order to the day of the ad inside an attribution window you chose, your system records it on the day of the order, and the platforms do not talk to each other, so each credits the same order to itself. Use your own system's numbers to judge profitability, and the platforms' numbers to compare campaigns and creative — after aligning the window and the date basis.
Read the articleSeeing the same problem in your account?
I review the account and the numbers and tell you where the problem actually is — measurement, the page, the margin, or the campaign.