Performance Marketing

Paid campaigns that focus on cost per lead and what actually brings in business. Google Ads, Meta, and LinkedIn managed to make your budget go further.

What Performance Marketing Covers

Performance marketing is paid advertising where you can track what worked. Google Ads, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), LinkedIn campaigns. The goal is simple: spend money on ads, get leads or sales back, and know if it was worth it.

This is not organic SEO or brand awareness work. Paid ads mean you control when to start, where the budget goes, and when to stop if results aren't there. Most SMBs I work with are already spending on ads but don't know which campaigns are profitable or how to scale the ones that are.

Why SMBs Need Help With Paid Ads

You're spending on Google Ads or Facebook ads, but the numbers don't add up. Cost per lead is climbing, or you're getting clicks with no conversions. Maybe you paused campaigns because tracking broke, or the landing page wasn't ready, and now you don't know where to restart.

Common issues I see: ads pointing to the wrong page, broken conversion tracking, bid strategies set to auto without guardrails, no way to tell which keywords or audiences actually bring in customers. Or the ads are working, but you're unsure how much more budget to add before returns drop off.

Where Paid Campaigns Usually Break

You can't tell which campaigns are profitable. Clicks look good, but leads don't close
Tracking is broken or wasn't set up right. Google Ads says 50 conversions, your CRM shows 12
Landing pages aren't built for paid traffic. High bounce rate, unclear next step
Budget keeps going up, but cost per lead keeps rising. No one knows when to pause
Campaigns were set up years ago by someone who left. Now they run on autopilot with no oversight

How I Work on Paid Campaigns

Three phases: audit what's running, fix what's broken and launch tests, then scale what's profitable and cut what isn't. Most engagements start with an audit because you need to know where money is going before spending more.

Phase 1: Audit & Baseline

Review your current ad accounts, tracking setup, and landing pages. This includes Google Ads account structure, Meta campaigns (if running), conversion tracking in GA4 or your CRM, and whether landing pages match ad intent.

You'll get a written report showing what's working, what's wasting budget, and what needs to be fixed before scaling. Typical duration is one to two weeks.

Phase 2: Fix, Launch & Test

Based on the audit, I fix tracking, rebuild broken campaigns, or launch new tests if nothing is running. This might mean new ad copy and landing pages, adjusting bid strategies, setting up proper conversion goals, or testing different audiences and keywords.

The goal here is stable data. You need two to four weeks of clean numbers before you know what to scale.

Phase 3: Scale What Works, Pause What Doesn't

Once you have campaigns that are profitable, the focus shifts to scaling budget on winners and cutting spend on losers. That means weekly check-ins on cost per lead, adjusting bids, expanding to similar audiences or keywords, and pausing underperformers before they burn budget.

Some clients stay at this phase for 6 to 12 months with ongoing management. Others hand off after the system is dialed in and their team can run it.

Where This Fits in Practice

A regional logistics company was spending on Google Ads with no clear sense of what was working. Their sales team said leads from ads were low quality, but the Google Ads dashboard showed conversions. The audit revealed that form submissions were being counted as conversions, but half were spam or tire-kickers.

I rebuilt conversion tracking to only count qualified leads verified by the sales team. Then I paused broad match keywords that were burning budget on irrelevant searches. Cost per qualified lead dropped, and the sales team started asking for more ad budget because the leads actually closed.

A professional services firm wanted to test LinkedIn ads for B2B lead gen but had no landing pages ready. I worked with their team to build a simple lead magnet page, set up conversion tracking in their CRM, and launched a small test campaign. After four weeks, I had enough data to know which job titles and industries were converting. Budget scaled from there, and the firm now runs LinkedIn ads in-house with quarterly check-ins from me.

Next Step

If you're spending on ads but don't know what's profitable, or if you want to scale but aren't sure where to add budget, start with a free assessment. I'll review your current campaigns, tracking setup, and landing pages, then outline what to fix and what to test next. Get Free Assessment.

What's included

Ad account and tracking review
Landing page audit
Written report with priorities

Success looks like: You know exactly what's broken and what to fix first.

Campaign setup or rebuild
Tracking fixes
New ad copy and landing pages
Initial tests running

Success looks like: You have clean cost-per-lead data for two to four weeks.

Weekly spend adjustments
Bid and audience changes
Pause recommendations for underperformers
Monthly reporting

Success looks like: Cost per lead stays flat or drops as spend increases.

Campaign documentation
How to read reports
When to adjust bids
Escalation guidelines

Success looks like: Your team can manage day-to-day without ongoing consultant fees.

Other Core Services

Digital Strategy & Fractional CMO

Fractional CMO work for SMBs without a full-time marketing leader. Strategy, priorities, roadmap, and someone guiding your team. You work with me directly.

Search & AI Visibility

Technical SEO and AI answer visibility for SMBs. Fix what blocks rankings, get found in Google search and AI answers. You get Search Console data you can act on.

CRO & Experimentation

On-site tests to fix where people drop off. I audit your funnel, run experiments on landing pages and forms, and hand off a system your team can keep using.

Content, Social & Creator Systems

Editorial systems for SMBs posting inconsistently. Plan topics, build calendars, repurpose one piece into multiple formats. Content that ranks in search and feeds sales conversations.

Lifecycle Marketing & Automation

Nurture and retention via email and CRM automation. Onboarding sequences, win-back flows, and segmentation that keeps customers engaged and lifts lifetime value.

Analytics, Attribution & First-Party Data

Tracking and reporting you can trust. GA4, GTM, and your CRM wired together so you know which channels drive leads and revenue, not just clicks.

Local Search, GBP & Reputation

Google Business Profile optimization, map pack visibility, citations, and review systems for businesses that serve a local area. Get found when nearby customers search.

Design & User Experience

Clean interfaces and landing pages that convert. UX audits, wireframes, and designs buyers can use without instructions and developers can build without guessing.

Web Development, Martech & Integrations

Site builds, CRM integrations, and the glue between your marketing tools. Custom development in Laravel or WordPress, API wiring, and tracking that doesn't break campaigns.

Questions about Performance Marketing

What's the difference between PPC and performance marketing?

PPC (pay-per-click) usually means Google Ads search campaigns where you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Performance marketing is broader: any paid channel where you can measure results, including Google Ads, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), LinkedIn, display ads, and retargeting. The focus is on tracking what works and scaling it.

How much budget do I need to make paid ads work?

Depends on your industry and cost per lead. Most SMBs I work with start testing at $2,000 to $5,000 per month total across platforms. That's enough to gather data and see what converts. If cost per lead is high (B2B, professional services), you might need more runway. If you're spending less than $1,000 per month, results will be too slow to optimize.

Do I need a full-time person to manage ads, or can you do it?

For most SMBs, I manage campaigns during the audit and scale phases (3 to 6 months), then hand off to an in-house person or agency once the system is working. If you don't have someone internal, I can stay on for ongoing management at a reduced monthly rate, or recommend someone junior who can handle day-to-day under my quarterly oversight.

What if my landing pages aren't ready?

Then I fix that first. Paid ads only work if the landing page matches what the ad promised and has a clear next step. I can recommend landing page fixes or build simple ones if needed, but you can't scale ads profitably without a page that converts. If your site isn't ready, I pause ad work until it is.

How do you measure if ads are working?

Cost per lead is the main number. Say you're spending a few thousand a month and getting 50 leads. That's your cost per lead. Then your sales team tells me how many of those leads turned into customers. If you close 1 in 5 and your average sale covers the full cost of acquiring 5 leads with margin left over, the math works. If your margin is thin or close rate is lower, it doesn't. I track this weekly and adjust.

Drop Me A Message

Let’s start building the high-performance growth engine your brand deserves.

Ready to transform your digital presence into a high-performance engine? Whether you have a specific project in mind or need a comprehensive strategic consultation, I am here to bridge the gap between your current standing and your ultimate market goals. Reach out today to discuss how my specialized infrastructure and AI-driven strategies can scale your business. Fill out the form, and let’s start turning your vision into a measurable reality.