1. You’re Targeting Everyone — and Reaching No One
The Mistake: Broad ad targeting with no clear audience segmentation.
The Fix: Define buyer personas. Use interest-based, behavioral, or lookalike audiences. Layer ad targeting with exclusions to refine your reach and improve performance.
2. You’re Obsessed with ROAS — But Ignoring CAC and LTV
The Mistake: Chasing Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) without context.
The Fix: Track Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) alongside Lifetime Value (LTV). Use these metrics to assess the true value of your campaigns and build long-term, full-funnel strategies.
3. Your Creative Is Static and Stale
The Mistake: Running the same ad creative for weeks (or months).
The Fix: Develop a creative testing engine. Rotate visuals, video ads, and copy regularly. A/B test hooks, formats, and CTAs to avoid ad fatigue and maximize performance.
4. You’re Sending Traffic to a Homepage
The Mistake: Sending paid traffic to generic or non-optimized landing pages.
The Fix: Create dedicated, mobile-optimized landing pages with clear CTAs that match your ad messaging. This simple shift improves conversion rates significantly.
5. You’re Measuring the Wrong Metrics
The Mistake: Focusing on vanity metrics like clicks and impressions.
The Fix: Prioritize metrics that reflect actual business outcomes: purchases, qualified leads, email sign-ups, and revenue. Let performance marketing drive decisions, not fluff.
6. Your Funnel Is Broken (or Nonexistent)
The Mistake: Expecting cold traffic to convert right away.
The Fix: Build a paid media funnel: awareness, consideration, conversion, retention. Pair ads with email marketing, on-site content, and remarketing to guide users through the journey.
7. You’re Not Running Retargeting Campaigns
The Mistake: Ignoring the 95% of visitors who don’t convert on the first visit.
The Fix: Use pixel data to build segmented retargeting audiences. Tailor your messaging based on user behavior and funnel stage to bring users back and drive conversions.
8. Your Budget Isn’t Aligned with Goals
The Mistake: Underfunding campaigns or spreading your budget too thin.
The Fix: Align ad spend with funnel stages and campaign goals. Invest more in high-performing channels, and set minimum budgets to exit learning phases on platforms like Meta and Google Ads. See how we helped Domaine Serene with their Paid Media Strategy.
9. You’re Not Testing Offers or Messaging
The Mistake: Relying on one ad offer or message for every audience.
The Fix: Test different offers — from percentage discounts to free shipping or value-adds. Experiment with multiple ad copy variations to find what resonates best.
10. You’re Running Paid Media in a Vacuum
The Mistake: Treating ads as a standalone channel.
The Fix: Integrate your paid strategy with brand design, SEO, email marketing, and organic content. The best Facebook, Google, and TikTok ads convert because the ecosystem supports them.
