Paid Ad Basics (Part 1) | All Ad Platforms Are Similar But Different

Level 1 - NGMI

Welcome

Suh Anon. I’m BowTied Indominus Rex, welcome to my substack. 

Before I get started here’s a background on where I come from and what I plan to share with you in the future.

First, I’m a dinosaur. 

Second I’m a degenerate digital marketer. 

My specialty is Facebook ads but over the years I’ve spent some coin on other advertising channels including:

• Google /Youtube

• Pinterest

• Taboola

• Outbrain

• Reddit

• Twitter

• and more…

In the future, the main topics I will cover will be related to Facebook ads. I’ll also hit general digital marketing topics and other random shit that could be valuable to you. 

In this first post, I’m covering marketing concepts that can be found in many ad platforms.

1. Ad Account Structures

2. Website Conversions

3. Conversion Tracking

If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave them in the comments. 

Thank you for joining me on this journey anon. 

LET’S GOOOO!

“Are you guys silly? I'm still gonna send it!”

- Larry Enticer

Part 1: Structure

After spending endless hours and monies on various ad platforms, I’ve realized they’re all similar but different. This may sound confusing, but let me explain…

Most ad platforms have the same or similar metrics to track performance. They even have similar structures when it comes to their ad platform.

Example 1: 

Taboola and Outbrain (native advertising) are almost identical when it comes to their ad platform. 

• Both platforms have a similar UI/UX

• Both are structured around sites and publishers

Note: Outbrain agreed to be acquired by Taboola in October of 2019. But after some time the two content-based ad platforms decided to split ways. Both companies went public around the same time in 2021 (Taboola [June 30, 2021], Outbrain [July 23, 2021]). 

SOURCE

Example 2: Facebook and Google have similar campaign structures and naming conventions, but different when it comes to how they target users with ads. 

SOURCE

Many paid advertising platforms have structures that look like this:

Ad Settings (Campaign) > Targeting (Ad Set/Group) >> Creative/Copy (Ad) 

Facebook ads campaign structure:

Campaign > Ad Set >> Ad

SOURCE

Pinterest ads campaign structure:

Campaign > Ad Group >> Ad/Keyword

SOURCE

Google ads campaign structure: 

Campaign > Ad Group >> Ad/Keyword

SOURCE

Part 2: Conversion

What is a conversion?

Here’s the definition according to Facebook:

“The number of times a specific action like purchase or add to cart was taken, as recorded by your pixel, app, or offline event set.”

Typically a conversion comes in the form of a purchase or lead. It can also be a different action taken on a site/page (add to cart, contact), but purchases and leads make us WIFI money.

Example 1: Online clothing and apparel store

• Target Conversion = Purchases

• Price range is 20 - 200

  • Users needs less convincing to convert 

  • User lands on site > adds to cart >> buys (purchase)

Example 2: Online school/education platform looking for new students for the next semester

• Target Conversion = Lead

• Price range is 500 - 5k

  • Users need more convincing to convert

  • User lands on site > fills out form (lead) >> talks to sales >>> buys (purchase)

Example conversion flow with purchase as the target conversion

Part 3: Tracking

When it comes to tracking conversions, each ad platform will have a tracking pixel/tag that needs to be implemented on the site (also known as events). Most tracking pixels/tags will come with a base code that acts as a general tracking layer and event code layers to track specific actions on pages/sites.

Getting your base and event tracking implemented correctly on your pages/sites is vital to having successful ads. The data you track feeds user learnings to your ad account/campaigns.

Again, making sure the base code and events are implemented/firing properly on your site is a MUST before launching ads. Not having tracking right is like throwing money into a fire if ads are live.  

Example:

• Add To Cart event fires when users add product to cart

• Purchase event fires when users make a purchase

This may sound repetitive/basic but this is a common issue. Don’t be lazy, ALWAYS test your tracking to make sure everything is firing correctly, even if you use a partner integration.

Partner integrations found on website platforms like Shopify and Wordpress are great plug-and-play solutions for tracking. This makes implementation easier but doesn’t mean it’s perfect, check that shit.

Note: The Apple IOS updates have made user tracking and data collection harder than ever. Apple is pulling some class-A bullshit and making it much harder to track and retarget users. Because of this, importing 1st-party data (email, phone, name, etc.) will be important to retrieve data lost due to the IOS updates. This can be done via manual list imports, 1st party platform integrations (ex: CRM or email marketing platform synced to FB), Facebook conversions API (CAPI).

Conversions API - SOURCE

Final Thoughts: Summary

In short, all ad platforms are similar but different.

Structure - Ad platforms are built to meet your advertising objectives and goals (ex: more purchases, leads, traffic). The ad account structures, conversions, and tracking found across all ad platforms have similarities rooted in general marketing principles.

General campaign structure = Settings > Targeting >> Creative/Copy

Campaigns > Ad Sets >> Ads (Facebook)

Campaigns > Ad Groups >> Ads/Keywords (Google/Pinterest)

Campaigns > Site/Publisher >> Ads (Taboola/Outbrain)

Conversions - Aka actions tracked on your site and used to feed learnings back to your ad account. Conversions can come in many forms (add to cart, purchase, lead, etc.)

Tracking - To track these conversions you need a pixel/tag implemented on your site. Implementing this correctly is vital to seeing success.

Don’t be lazy and double-check that conversions are firing correctly (purchase fires when a purchase is made, add to cart fires when someone adds something to cart). If tracking is implemented wrong you will lose money.