Notes on Paid Media

Fully automated campaigns: where AI ends and human judgement begins

Automated campaigns decide bids, audiences and ads with little intervention. That saves time, but it does not replace what only a person can do: set the…

First-party signals: the new fuel for bidding algorithms

Bidding algorithms learn from the signals they receive. As third-party data loses weight, first-party signals (purchases, enquiries, customer lists…

Campaigns without keywords: how intent is replacing match types

Platforms have shifted focus from exact keywords to intent inferred from pages, signals and context. That widens reach but removes control. Advertisers…

AI agents in account management: what they can do already and what they should never decide alone

AI agents can already analyse accounts, propose changes and carry out repetitive tasks. The value lies in freeing time for decisions, not in handing the…

Prompts as briefs: how to instruct platform AI without losing brand control

Platforms increasingly accept natural-language instructions: business descriptions, tone of voice, exclusions, goals. A good prompt works as a short…

Brand and term exclusions in the AI era: what you can still control

With campaigns that expand search on their own, exclusions have become the main protection mechanism. Knowing what exclusion lists still control, what they…

Budgets that reallocate themselves: risks and rules for letting AI move money

Some platforms already move budget between campaigns or channels according to predicted performance. It can be efficient, but it can also concentrate spend…

Value-based bidding: when to move from conversions to revenue and margin

Bidding on conversions treats all sales as equal. Bidding on value teaches the algorithm to look for people who spend more or leave more margin. The switch…

Audience signals as hints, not rules: reading targeting in automated campaigns

In automated campaigns, audience signals (lists, interests, visitors) work as a starting point for the algorithm, not as a boundary. Understanding that…

Platform lift tests: what they measure and how to doubt them methodically

Platforms offer lift tests to measure how many conversions would not have happened without the ads. They are useful, but the vendor is measuring its own…