ads

Paid Acquisition & Ad Copy

Paid acquisition amplifies what's already working. If your landing page doesn't convert organic traffic, ads won't fix it. This skill helps you run profitable Google Ads on a small budget — from campaign setup to weekly optimization.

Core Principles

• Paid acquisition amplifies what's already working. If your landing page doesn't convert organic traffic, ads won't fix it.
• Start with the highest-intent keywords. People searching for "[Competitor] alternative" are closer to buying than people searching for "what is [category]."
• Small budgets demand focus. $10-20/day on 5-10 exact-match keywords beats $100/day spread across 500 broad-match keywords.
• Test the message, not the channel. If Google Ads doesn't work at $10/day, the problem is usually your ad copy or landing page, not the channel.
• CAC must be less than 1/3 of LTV from day one. If the math doesn't work at small scale, it won't work at large scale.
• Every dollar should be traceable to a conversion. If you can't track it, don't spend it.

Prerequisites (Before Spending a Dollar)

• Landing page converts organic visitors at 2%+ (signup rate)
• Analytics tracking working (can attribute signups to source)
• Payment flow works (can track ad spend → signup → payment)
• You know your activation rate (what % of signups become real users)
• You have a rough LTV estimate (even if based on pricing × estimated retention)

If any of these are missing, fix them first. Ads on a broken funnel is burning money.

Google Ads for SaaS

Campaign Structure for Solo Founders

Start with ONE campaign, 2-3 ad groups:

Campaign: [Product Name] — Search
  Budget: $10-20/day
  Bidding: Maximize conversions (once you have 15+ conversions)
           OR Manual CPC to start (set bids at $2-5 range)
  Network: Search only (NOT Display, NOT Search Partners)
  Location: Countries where your ICP lives

  Ad Group 1: Competitor Keywords (highest intent)
    Keywords:
      [competitor name] alternative
      [competitor name] vs
      [competitor name] pricing
      switch from [competitor name]
      [competitor name] review

  Ad Group 2: Problem Keywords (high intent)
    Keywords:
      [specific problem] tool
      [specific problem] software
      how to [solve specific problem]
      best [category] for [audience]
      [category] for small teams

  Ad Group 3: Solution Keywords (medium intent)
    Keywords:
      [category] software
      [category] platform
      [category] app
      online [category] tool

Keyword Strategy

Match types (start narrow, expand later):

• Exact match [keyword]: Start here. Only shows for this exact search.
• Phrase match "keyword": Add after exact match proves profitable.
• Broad match: Avoid until you have significant conversion data and use Smart Bidding.

Negative keywords (add immediately):

free
open source
tutorial
how to build
DIY
jobs
hiring
salary
reddit
github
course
template (unless you sell templates)

Finding keywords:

• Google's autocomplete: Type your problem and see what Google suggests.
• "People also ask": Search your main keyword and mine the related questions.
• Competitor's meta keywords (view source on their pages).
• Google Keyword Planner (free with a Google Ads account).
• Your own customer conversations — what words do they use to describe the problem?

Ad Copy That Converts

Google Search Ad structure:

Headline 1 (30 chars): [Primary benefit or problem]
Headline 2 (30 chars): [Differentiator or social proof]
Headline 3 (30 chars): [CTA with specificity]
Description 1 (90 chars): [Expand on benefit, address objection]
Description 2 (90 chars): [Proof point + CTA]

Templates by ad group:

Competitor keywords:

H1: Tired of [Competitor]?
H2: [Product] — Built for [ICP]
H3: Try Free — No Credit Card
D1: [Specific advantage over competitor]. Switch in minutes, not days.
D2: Join [X] teams who switched from [Competitor]. Start free today.

Problem keywords:

H1: [Problem] Solved in Minutes
H2: [Product] for [Audience]
H3: Start Free — Setup in 5 Min
D1: Stop [painful manual process]. [Product] [specific outcome] automatically.
D2: [Social proof]. Free plan available. No credit card required.

Solution keywords:

H1: [Category] Built for [ICP]
H2: Simple, Fast, Affordable
H3: Free Plan Available
D1: [Product] helps [audience] [achieve outcome]. [Key differentiator].
D2: Trusted by [X] teams. Start free in under 2 minutes.

Ad copy rules:

• Include the keyword in at least one headline (improves Quality Score).
• Always mention "free" if you have a free tier or trial.
• Numbers beat adjectives: "Setup in 5 minutes" beats "Quick setup."
• Address one objection in the description: price, complexity, or switching cost.
• Write 3-4 ad variants per ad group. Let Google optimize for performance.

Landing Pages for Ads

Do NOT send ad traffic to your homepage. Create dedicated landing pages:

URL structure:
  yoursite.com/vs/[competitor]     → for competitor keywords
  yoursite.com/use-case/[problem]  → for problem keywords
  yoursite.com/for/[audience]      → for audience keywords

Each landing page should:

• Match the ad's headline (message match = higher conversion).
• Address the specific search intent (not generic product pitch).
• Have a single CTA (signup or trial start).
• Load in <2 seconds.
• Include no navigation links away from the conversion goal.

Tracking Setup

Essential tracking:

1. Google Ads conversion tracking
   - Signup completed (primary conversion)
   - Trial started (if separate from signup)
   - Payment completed (import from your backend if possible)

2. Google Analytics 4
   - UTM parameters on all ad URLs
   - utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=[campaign]&utm_term=[keyword]

3. Your own database
   - Store utm_source on user signup record
   - Track: Ad click → Signup → Activation → Payment (full funnel by source)

Budget Management

Weekly Review Ritual (15 minutes)

| Metric              | This Week | Last Week | Target |
|---------------------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| Spend               |           |           | $70-140|
| Clicks              |           |           |        |
| CTR                 |           |           | >3%    |
| CPC (avg)           |           |           | <$3    |
| Signups from ads    |           |           |        |
| Cost per signup     |           |           | <$XX   |
| Signups → Activated |           |           | >30%   |
| Signups → Paid      |           |           | >5%    |
| CAC (paying)        |           |           | <1/3 LTV|

Decision Rules

CTR < 2%:
  → Ad copy isn't compelling. Rewrite headlines.

CPC too high (>$5 for SMB SaaS):
  → Keywords too competitive. Go more longtail or niche.

Clicks but no signups:
  → Landing page problem. Check message match, page speed, form friction.

Signups but no activation:
  → Product/onboarding problem, not an ads problem. Pause ads and fix.

CAC > 1/3 LTV:
  → Unprofitable. Improve conversion rate, test new keywords, or pause.

Everything working:
  → Increase budget by 20-30% per week. Don't double overnight.

Scaling Rules

1. Don't increase budget by more than 30% per week.
2. Add new keywords only after existing ones are profitable.
3. Expand to phrase match only after exact match has 30+ conversions.
4. Consider Meta/LinkedIn Ads only after Google Search is profitable.
5. Never spend more than you can afford to lose for 3 months with zero return.

CAC Tracking

Simple CAC calculation:
  CAC = Total ad spend in period ÷ Paying customers acquired from ads in period

Blended CAC (all channels):
  Blended CAC = Total marketing spend ÷ Total new paying customers

Sustainability check:
  LTV:CAC ratio = LTV ÷ CAC
  Target: 3:1 or better

  Payback period = CAC ÷ Monthly revenue per customer
  Target: <6 months for bootstrapped

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Setting Up a Campaign

Tell AI:

Set up a Google Ads search campaign for my SaaS:
- Product: [what it does]
- Audience: [who it's for]
- Budget: [$10-20/day to start]
- Top 3 competitors: [names]
- Main problem solved: [one sentence]

Create:
1. Campaign structure with 2-3 ad groups (competitor, problem, solution keywords)
2. 10-15 exact-match keywords per ad group
3. Negative keyword list
4. 3 ad copy variants per ad group (with character counts)
5. UTM parameters for tracking
6. Landing page recommendations for each ad group

Tell AI (for ad copy iteration):

Write 4 Google Search ad variants for this ad group:
- Target keyword: [keyword]
- Landing page: [URL]
- Our differentiator: [what makes us different]
- Social proof: [user count, notable customers, specific results]

Follow Google Ads limits: H1-H3 (30 chars each), D1-D2 (90 chars each).
Include the keyword in at least one headline.
Show character counts for each line.

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Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Running ads before landing page converts	Get 2%+ organic conversion rate first
Broad match keywords from day one	Start with exact match. Expand after 30+ conversions
No negative keywords	Add the standard exclusion list on day one
Sending traffic to homepage	Create dedicated landing pages per ad group
No conversion tracking	Set up Google Ads conversion tracking before spending
Scaling too fast	Increase budget max 30% per week
CAC > 1/3 of LTV	Pause and fix conversion rate before spending more

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Related Skills

• landing-page — Build dedicated landing pages for each ad group
• conversion — Optimize the signup flow that ads drive traffic to
• analytics — Track ad spend → signup → payment attribution
• copywriting — Write stronger ad headlines and descriptions
• seo — Build organic traffic so you're not paying for every click