Chapter 2

Who is the ad platform really optimizing for?

Trình quảng cáo đang làm giàu cho ai?

The chapter's question

How far apart are the numbers in the ad dashboard and in the accounts?

Big idea

The ad platform optimises for its own metric, and that metric is not your profit.

In this chapter

  1. Part 2.1

    Three Metrics You Act On

    Of twenty metrics, which three lead to a decision?

  2. Part 2.2

    Cancellations and Returns

    Does the revenue the ad platform reports already deduct these two costs?

  3. Part 2.3

    Cohorts, Not Averages

    What extra does looking at weekly cohorts show me?

  4. Part 2.4

    When Two Sources Disagree

    Which source do I trust, and why?

The reading for this chapter is inside Conan School

This chapter has 4 readings, with case stories and exercises. Chapter 1 of The Ad Budget is free to read right here.

Read in Conan School

Chapters of The Ad Budget

  1. 1.Is the approved budget what I should spend?
  2. 2.Who is the ad platform really optimizing for?
  3. 3.Am I scaling on data, or on excitement?
  4. 4.Does targeting matter more than what the ad says?
  5. 5.Are my customers mine, or rented by the month?