Paid Ads Course

Lesson 1 • Platform Categories and Use Cases

Surveys search, social, display, video, and retail media channels. Helps students match platform strengths to business objectives from the start.

Lesson 2 • Auction Mechanics and Ad Ranking

Explains how real-time auctions determine which ads appear and at what cost. Connects auction logic to bidding strategy decisions made later.

Lesson 3 • Core Paid Ads Terminology

Defines the universal metrics and concepts used across all platforms. Provides the shared vocabulary needed to interpret data and communicate results.

Lesson 4 • How Paid Ads Ecosystems Work

Maps the relationships between advertisers, platforms, and users. Establishes the structural logic that governs every subsequent topic in the course.

Lesson 1 • Understanding Your Target Customer

Builds audience profiles from behavioural, demographic, and psychographic data. Grounds all targeting decisions in evidence rather than assumptions.

Lesson 2 • Custom and Lookalike Audiences

Teaches how to build audiences from first-party data and expand them algorithmically. Unlocks the highest-performing targeting methods available on most platforms.

Lesson 3 • Keyword Research for Search Ads

Covers intent-based keyword discovery and organisation for search campaigns. Directly enables the search campaign build covered in the next chapter.

Lesson 4 • Retargeting Strategy and Segmentation

Structures retargeting audiences by funnel stage and engagement depth. Connects audience segmentation to message personalisation and bid adjustments.

Lesson 1 • Campaign Objective and Budget Setup

Covers objective selection, budget types, and scheduling options at campaign level. Objective choice directly controls how platforms optimise ad delivery.

Lesson 2 • Building Social and Display Campaigns

Covers ad set configuration for social platforms and display networks. Applies audience targeting skills from Chapter 2 to real campaign builds.

Lesson 3 • Ad Account Architecture Principles

Establishes the hierarchy of account, campaign, ad set, and ad levels. Correct structure prevents budget conflicts and enables clean performance analysis.

Lesson 4 • Tracking Setup and Pixel Implementation

Ensures conversion tracking is in place before any campaign goes live. Accurate tracking is the prerequisite for all optimisation work in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Principles of High-Converting Ad Copy

Teaches the psychological and structural principles behind persuasive ad text. These principles apply to every format and platform covered in the chapter.

Lesson 2 • Writing Search Ad Copy

Applies copy principles to the character-constrained format of search ads. Covers headline pinning, description strategy, and dynamic insertion techniques.

Lesson 3 • Video Ad Scripting and Structure

Teaches the structure of effective video ads from hook to CTA. Video is the dominant format across social and display, making this skill essential.

Lesson 4 • Social Ad Creative Formats

Covers static image, carousel, video, and story formats for social platforms. Format selection directly affects reach, engagement, and conversion rates.

Lesson 1 • Profitability Analysis and Budget Decisions

Connects ad spend to business profitability metrics beyond platform ROAS. Enables data-driven budget decisions grounded in actual margin and LTV.

Lesson 2 • Smart Bidding Strategies in Depth

Covers target CPA, target ROAS, maximise conversions, and maximise conversion value. Each strategy requires specific data thresholds and setup conditions.

Lesson 3 • Manual vs. Automated Bidding

Compares manual CPC control with algorithm-driven smart bidding strategies. Understanding the trade-offs determines when to trust automation vs. override it.

Lesson 4 • Budget Allocation Across Campaigns

Teaches how to distribute budget across campaigns, channels, and funnel stages. Proper allocation prevents overspending on low-value traffic and underfunding winners.

Lesson 1 • Conversion Tracking Architecture

Covers the full stack of tags, pixels, and events that capture conversion data. Accurate architecture is the foundation of every attribution and optimisation decision.

Lesson 2 • Reporting and Communicating Results

Teaches how to build reports that connect ad performance to business outcomes. Clear reporting builds stakeholder trust and supports budget decisions.

Lesson 3 • Attribution Models Explained

Compares last-click, first-click, linear, time-decay, and data-driven attribution. Model choice determines which channels receive credit and how budgets are allocated.

Lesson 4 • Multi-Touch Attribution in Practice

Applies multi-touch models to real account data to reveal cross-channel contribution. Exposes the hidden value of upper-funnel channels often cut by last-click analysis.

Lesson 1 • Ongoing Optimisation Routines

Establishes daily, weekly, and monthly optimisation workflows. Consistent routines prevent performance decay and surface opportunities before they are missed.

Lesson 2 • Creative Testing and Iteration

Applies testing methodology specifically to ad creative at scale. Systematic creative testing is the highest-leverage optimisation activity for most accounts.

Lesson 3 • Reading and Interpreting Campaign Data

Teaches how to extract actionable insights from platform dashboards and reports. Data literacy is the prerequisite for every optimisation decision in this chapter.

Lesson 4 • Diagnosing Underperforming Campaigns

Provides a structured framework for identifying the root cause of poor results. Separates tracking issues, audience problems, creative fatigue, and bid errors.

Lesson 1 • Scaling Campaigns Profitably

Covers horizontal and vertical scaling methods that grow volume without destroying efficiency. Scaling without a framework causes CPA spikes and wasted spend.

Lesson 2 • Competitive Intelligence and Positioning

Uses competitive data to sharpen targeting, messaging, and bidding decisions. Competitive awareness prevents market share loss and reveals growth opportunities.

Lesson 3 • Full-Funnel Campaign Architecture

Designs integrated campaign systems that move audiences from awareness to purchase. Connects all channel and audience skills from previous chapters into one strategy.

Lesson 4 • Multi-Channel Media Planning

Teaches how to allocate spend across channels based on audience behaviour and funnel role. Media mix decisions determine the ceiling of overall programme performance.