Insights

Notes on making paid growth actually profitable.

Straight, practical writing on measurement, media, creative and the numbers that decide whether ad spend makes money. No fluff, no invented stats.

Platform news · 6 min read

Local Services Ads are moving into Google Ads as Performance Max. What your account needs to do.

US first from August 2026, LSAs become a Performance Max pay-per-lead campaign. Your reporting history does not migrate, manual bidding goes away, and budgets change shape. What changes and what to do before your account moves.

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Platform news · 6 min read

Google Ads is auto-upgrading campaigns to AI Max in September. What your account needs to do.

Not the campaigns most coverage says. The September upgrade hits campaign-level broad match and automatically created assets. DSA moved to February 2027. What actually changes and four things to do now.

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Platform news · 6 min read

Google Ads is changing Target CPA and Target ROAS bidding on August 17. What your account needs to do.

Budget-limited campaigns that have been quietly beating their targets will start delivering closer to the number you actually set. What changes, why Google made the call, and four things to check before the date.

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Platform news · 5 min read

Google Ads now requires a passkey for sensitive actions. What your account needs to do.

From July 15, 2026, you need a passkey to change billing, add users or link accounts. What the requirement means for agencies and shared logins, the setup delay that can lock you out, and four things to do this week.

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Platform news · 5 min read

Google Ads put a 6-month limit on appeals. What your account needs to do.

From July 21, 2026, with no notice, you can no longer appeal a policy decision older than six months from inside your account. What changed, why it bites inherited accounts hardest, and four things to do this week.

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Platform news · 5 min read

Google Ads AI content labels are rolling out. What your account needs to do.

Through July 2026, Google is switching on AI content labels. If you use any AI tool outside Google for creative, the disclosure is now your job. What changes, where the label shows, and four things to do this week.

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Platform news · 5 min read

Meta is removing the off-platform opt-out. Your retargeting is about to change.

From July 2026, previously invisible visitors become matchable again. What actually changes in your account, the measurement trap inside the good news, and four things to do this week.

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Hiring · 7 min read

In-house vs agency for paid media

An honest look at cost, speed, expertise, control and risk, when each option actually wins, and why the best answer is often neither one on its own.

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Hiring · 7 min read

What does a performance marketing agency cost in 2026?

The honest ranges, the three ways agencies charge, what should be included, and why the fee is almost never the number that matters.

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Hiring · 8 min read

How to choose a performance marketing agency

Ten questions that separate real operators from account babysitters, the red flags worth walking away from, and the green flags worth paying for.

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Measurement · 6 min read

Your ROAS looks fine. So why isn't the business making money?

Platform ROAS is the most quoted and least honest metric in performance marketing. Here are the three numbers that actually tell you if your ad spend is profitable.

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Measurement · 5 min read

Your Meta pixel is lying to you. Here's what server-side tracking fixes.

iOS, ad blockers and cookie limits quietly eat 20 to 40% of your conversion signal. Here is what server-side tracking and the Conversions API actually fix, without the jargon.

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Creative · 5 min read

You don't have a targeting problem. You have a creative problem.

Advantage+ and broad targeting do the audience work now. What starves an account is fresh creative. Here is a simple system for how much you need and how to test it.

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