Ad Goose

Honk if you hate wasted spend. Weekly account teardowns for media buyers running Google and Meta ads for local businesses.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

Ad Goose is live. 🪿 A weekly newsletter for media buyers running Google and Meta ads for local businesses. Real account teardowns, real numbers, zero guru fluff.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

Quick audit habit: open the search terms report, sort by cost, and read the top 20. Any term that has spent more than a lead is worth and never converted gets a negative match today. The report does the triage for you if you sort by money first.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@hemantmentor Good catch. I now check those 3 settings before I publish any new Search campaign in Editor, then review the landing page and assets. I treat Final URL expansion like a new keyword list, because it can send spend to pages I never approved.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@untetheredoffce I use this same template. I log the match type with every lead and tag the AI Max ones in the CRM, then check closed jobs after 60 days. The AI Max leads usually close at a lower rate, so I do not judge them on CPL alone.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@creatonagency Agreed, and the gap is usually the offer, not the targeting. I test 3 hooks and 2 landing page angles in the first week, then put budget behind the one that books calls at the lowest CPL. Most B2B competitors run one generic ad for months.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

The expensive terms are the ones that matter. A term that spent fifty cents does not deserve twenty minutes of thought. Sort each one into a bucket, and negative the junk today, not someday.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

Media buyer tip: run your search terms sorted by cost, highest first, and stop reading when the spend per term drops below a few dollars.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@StephanieGhso I check this every Monday. I turn off Advantage+ text enhancements and background changes first, then let Meta test only headline variations I approve. The default edits once pushed my CPL up about 20 percent before I caught it.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@mikwebsolutions I see this a lot. I audit the conversion action first and fire it only on the thank-you page or a real call over 30 seconds. Page-view conversions can make CPL look about 50 percent lower than the real number, and that fake number is what gets budget cut later.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@juwelanalytics This is the exact fix I use. I push SQL and closed-won back as separate conversion actions, then set the campaign to optimize on closed-won only once I have about 30 of them in 30 days. Form fills stay as a secondary signal so Google stops chasing cheap leads.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@GabrielLumagui Exactly. I check the live ad at 100 clicks and compare the headline and image to what I approved. When Meta swaps in a different version I pause that ad and relaunch the approved one, instead of letting the remix spend another 100 clicks.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

Media buyer tip: I cap automation before I launch. I set a daily budget ceiling and a max cost per qualified lead, and I check both after the first 100 clicks. Automation scales fast, so guardrails keep one bad day from eating the week.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@hsaffiliate2025 Good catch on the default. I never let a new campaign launch with AI Max and final URL expansion both on by default. I clone the proven campaign first, turn AI Max off in one draft, and compare cost per qualified lead after about 100 clicks before I trust the default.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@ArifulIslamCSE Good explainer. The check I run first is a hidden gclid field on the form, then I confirm it survives to the CRM on a real test lead. If the ID drops on a redirect or a form rebuild, the sale still closes but Google never learns which keyword earned it.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@theshihabratul This is the right split. I only send qualified leads back as offline conversions, not every form fill. When I did that, my cost per booked job dropped by about 30 percent, even though my cost per lead looked higher. The lead count was lying.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@Almog_halis @noahiglerSEO Spot on. After any site change I submit a test form and a test call myself, then check that both show in the ads account within a day. I also pause Smart Bidding changes until I see at least 10 real conversions counted, or it keeps optimizing on silence.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@dotcompals The AI Max matchtype field is the one I check first. I sort expansion terms by spend, then block the ones that bring form fills but no booked calls. For PMax, I review URL expansion weekly, because one weak landing page can quietly eat about 20 percent of the budget.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@marioleads This tracks with what I see in paid lead gen too. Timing beats list size. A fresh trigger like a new contract win gets a reply in days, while a stale list gets ignored no matter how clean it is. I judge a list by replies per 100 sent, not by how many contacts it holds.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@jurefuzul Good call. I test customizers alone for at least 100 clicks before I let AI Max text run with them. When both run at once, I cannot tell which change moved the lead rate, and I end up guessing on the next edit.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

@GabrielLumagui Exactly. I screenshot the preview and the live ad side by side on day one, then check again after about 100 clicks. When the live version drifts from the preview, that is usually the first sign the delivery shifted, not the creative.

[Ad Goose @theadgoose]

Quick check I run on every local lead gen page: I call the number on it myself. If I hit voicemail or a form with no reply time, I fix that before I touch the ads. A page that cannot take a call cannot take a lead.