Notes on Paid Media

New and returning customers: separating acquisition from retention in e-commerce

A new customer and a returning customer are not worth the same to an acquisition campaign. Mixing them inflates results and hides the true cost of winning…

Subscriptions and repeat purchase: bidding on lifetime value

Repeat-purchase products and subscriptions are worth more than the first purchase shows. Bidding on customer lifetime value lets you pay more for people…

Abandoned-cart campaigns: beyond basic remarketing

The abandoned basket is one of e-commerce’s biggest losses, but basic remarketing ("come back and finish your purchase") is no longer enough. Messages…

Promotions and strike-through prices: communicating discounts without teaching customers to wait

Strike-through prices and promotions attract clicks but, used to excess, teach customers to wait for the discount and make the normal price look inflated…

Marketplaces and your own shop: sharing budget without cannibalising

Selling on marketplaces gives quick reach but surrenders part of the customer relationship and margin. Your own shop gives control and data but requires…

Retail media for small brands: where to start and how to measure

Retail media (advertising inside online shops and retailers) is growing because it sits close to purchase and uses real sales data. For small brands there…

Stock and ads: linking inventory to campaigns so you do not pay for sold-out items

Advertising a sold-out product wastes money and frustrates the customer. Linking inventory to campaigns automatically avoids paying for clicks with no…

Delivery, returns and trust: what to show in ads and feeds

Anyone buying online asks: when will it arrive, how much does it cost and can I return it? A clear answer to these questions, in the ad and the feed…

On-site search and ads: using customers own terms as a source

On-site search is a goldmine of information: it shows, in customers’ own words, what they look for and cannot find. Using those terms as a source for ads…

Product pages that convert paid traffic: the elements that matter

Paying for traffic and sending it to a weak product page is burning money. Pages that convert paid traffic share common elements: a promise coherent with…