/ads

name: ads
description: "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,' 'ROAS,' 'CPA,' 'ad campaign,' 'retargeting,' 'audience targeting,' 'Google Ads,' 'Facebook ads,' 'LinkedIn ads,' 'ad budget,' 'cost per click,' 'ad spend,' or 'should I run ads.' Use this for campaign strategy, audience targeting, bidding, and optimization. For bulk ad creative generation and iteration, see ad-creative. For landing page optimization, see cro."
metadata:
  version: 2.0.1

Paid Ads

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

**Check for product marketing context first:** If `.agents/product-marketing.md` exists (or `.claude/product-marketing.md`, or the legacy `product-marketing-context.md` filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

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?

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?

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Platform Selection Guide

| Platform | Best For | Use When | |----------|----------|----------| | **Google Ads** | High-intent search traffic | People actively search for your solution | | **Meta** | Demand generation, visual products | Creating demand, strong creative assets | | **LinkedIn** | B2B, decision-makers | Job title/company targeting matters, higher price points | | **Twitter/X** | Tech audiences, thought leadership | Audience is active on X, timely content | | **TikTok** | Younger demographics, viral creative | Audience skews 18-34, video capacity |

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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]
└── Campaign 2...

Naming Conventions

[Platform]_[Objective]_[Audience]_[Offer]_[Date]

Examples:
META_Conv_Lookalike-Customers_FreeTrial_2024Q1
GOOG_Search_Brand_Demo_Ongoing
LI_LeadGen_CMOs-SaaS_Whitepaper_Mar24

Budget Allocation

**Testing phase (first 2-4 weeks):**

• 70% to proven/safe campaigns
• 30% to testing new audiences/creative

**Scaling phase:**

• Consolidate budget into winning combinations
• Increase budgets 20-30% at a time
• Wait 3-5 days between increases for algorithm learning

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Ad Copy Frameworks

Key Formulas

**Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS):** > [Problem] → [Agitate the pain] → [Introduce solution] → [CTA]

**Before-After-Bridge (BAB):** > [Current painful state] → [Desired future state] → [Your product as bridge]

**Social Proof Lead:** > [Impressive stat or testimonial] → [What you do] → [CTA]

**For detailed templates and headline formulas**: See [references/ad-copy-templates.md](references/ad-copy-templates.md)

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Audience Targeting Overview

Platform Strengths

| Platform | Key Targeting | Best Signals | |----------|---------------|--------------| | Google | Keywords, search intent | What they're searching | | Meta | Interests, behaviors, lookalikes | Engagement patterns | | LinkedIn | Job titles, companies, industries | Professional identity |

Key Concepts

• **Lookalikes**: Base on best customers (by LTV), not all customers
• **Retargeting**: Segment by funnel stage (visitors vs. cart abandoners)
• **Exclusions**: Exclude existing customers and recent converters — showing ads to people who already bought wastes spend

**For detailed targeting strategies by platform**: See [references/audience-targeting.md](references/audience-targeting.md)

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Creative Best Practices

Image Ads

• 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%)

Video Ads Structure (15-30 sec)

1. Hook (0-3 sec): Pattern interrupt, question, or bold statement 2. Problem (3-8 sec): Relatable pain point 3. Solution (8-20 sec): Show product/benefit 4. CTA (20-30 sec): Clear next step

**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

Creative Testing Hierarchy

1. Concept/angle (biggest impact) 2. Hook/headline 3. Visual style 4. Body copy 5. CTA

---

Campaign Optimization

Key Metrics by Objective

| Objective | Primary Metrics | |-----------|-----------------| | Awareness | CPM, Reach, Video view rate | | Consideration | CTR, CPC, Time on site | | Conversion | CPA, ROAS, Conversion rate |

Optimization Levers

**If CPA is too high:** 1. Check landing page (is the problem post-click?) 2. Tighten audience targeting 3. Test new creative angles 4. Improve ad relevance/quality score 5. Adjust bid strategy

**If CTR is low:**

• Creative isn't resonating → test new hooks/angles
• Audience mismatch → refine targeting
• Ad fatigue → refresh cr