ad-campaign-analyzer

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# Ad Campaign Analyzer

Take raw campaign performance data and turn it into clear decisions. This skill doesn't just summarize metrics — it diagnoses problems, identifies winners, checks statistical significance, and tells you exactly what to cut, scale, and test next. Then it goes further: it compares channels on equal terms, finds where you're over-spending vs under-spending relative to results, and produces a concrete budget reallocation plan.

**Core principle:** Most startup founders check their ad dashboard, see a ROAS number, and either panic or celebrate. This skill gives you the nuanced analysis a paid media specialist would: what's actually significant, what's noise, and where your next dollar should go. It also solves the allocation problem — most startups either spread budget too thin across channels (no channel gets enough to learn) or dump everything into one channel (missing cheaper opportunities elsewhere).

## When to Use

- "Analyze my Google Ads performance"
- "Which ads should I kill?"
- "Is this campaign working?"
- "Where am I wasting ad spend?"
- "Optimize my Meta Ads"
- "How should I split my ad budget?"
- "Should I spend more on Google or Meta?"
- "Reallocate my ad spend across channels"
- "Where am I getting the best return?"
- "I have $X/month for ads — how should I distribute it?"

## Phase 0: Intake

1. **Campaign data** — One of:
   - CSV export from Google Ads / Meta Ads Manager / LinkedIn Campaign Manager
   - Pasted performance table
   - Screenshots of dashboard (we'll extract the data)
2. **Platform(s)** — Google / Meta / LinkedIn / All
3. **Time period** — What date range does this cover?
4. **Monthly budget** — Total ad spend in this period
5. **Primary goal** — What conversion are you optimizing for? (Demos / Trials / Purchases / Leads)
6. **Target metrics** — Do you have target CPA or ROAS? (If not, we'll benchmark)
7. **Any known changes?** — Did you change creative, budget, or targeting during this period?
8. **Channels currently running** — Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Twitter/X Ads, TikTok Ads, other
9. **Funnel data** (if available):
   - Lead → MQL rate
   - MQL → SQL rate
   - SQL → Close rate
   - Average deal size
10. **Channels you're considering but haven't tried** — Want to test new channels?
11. **Constraints** — Minimum spend on any channel? Platform you must stay on?

## Phase 1: Data Ingestion & Normalization

### Accepted Data Formats

| Source | Key Columns Expected |
|--------|---------------------|
| **Google Ads** | Campaign, Ad Group, Keyword, Impressions, Clicks, CTR, CPC, Conversions, Conv Rate, Cost, Conv Value |
| **Meta Ads** | Campaign, Ad Set, Ad, Impressions, Reach, Clicks, CTR, CPC, Conversions, Cost Per Result, Amount Spent, ROAS |
| **LinkedIn Ads** | Campaign, Impressions, Clicks, CTR, CPC, Conversions, Cost, Leads |

Normalize all data into a standard analysis format:

| Dimension | Impressions | Clicks | CTR | CPC | Conversions | Conv Rate | CPA | Spend | Revenue/Value |
|-----------|------------|--------|-----|-----|-------------|----------|-----|-------|--------------|

### Multi-Channel Normalization

When data spans multiple channels, also produce a channel-level rollup:

| Channel | Monthly Spend | Impressions | Clicks | CTR | CPC | Conversions | Conv Rate | CPA | ROAS | CAC* |
|---------|-------------|------------|--------|-----|-----|-------------|----------|-----|------|------|
| Google Search | $[X] | [N] | [N] | [X%] | $[X] | [N] | [X%] | $[X] | [X] | $[X] |
| Google Display | ... | | | | | | | | | |
| Meta (FB/IG) | ... | | | | | | | | | |
| LinkedIn | ... | | | | | | | | | |
| [Other] | ... | | | | | | | | | |
| **Total** | $[X] | | | | | [N] | | $[X] avg | [X] avg | $[X] avg |

*CAC = Full customer acquisition cost if funnel data provided (CPA × close-rate adjustment)

### Funnel-Adjusted CAC (If Funnel Data Available)

```
Channel CAC = CPA ÷ (MQL rate × SQL rate × Close rate)
```

This reveals which channels produce leads that actually close, not just convert.

## Phase 2: Performance Diagnostics

### 2A: Campaign-Level Health Check

For each campaign:

| Metric | Value | Benchmark | Status |
|--------|-------|-----------|--------|
| CTR | [X%] | [Industry avg] | [Good/Okay/Poor] |
| CPC | $[X] | [Category avg] | [Good/Okay/Poor] |
| Conv Rate | [X%] | [Benchmark] | [Good/Okay/Poor] |
| CPA | $[X] | [Target or benchmark] | [Good/Okay/Poor] |
| ROAS | [X] | [Target or benchmark] | [Good/Okay/Poor] |
| Impression Share | [X%] | [>60% ideal] | [Good/Okay/Poor] |

### 2B: Budget Waste Detection

Identify spend that produced no or negative return:

| Waste Type | Signal | Action |
|-----------|--------|--------|
| **Zero-conversion keywords/ads** | Spend > $[X] with 0 conversions | Pause or add negatives |
| **High CPA outliers** | CPA > 3x target | Pause or restructure |
| **Low CTR ads** | CTR < 50% of campaign average | Replace creative |
| **Broad match bleed** | Search terms report showing irrelevant clicks | Add negative keywords |
| **Audience overlap** | Same users hit by multiple campaigns | Exclude audiences |
| **Dayparting waste** | Conversions cluster at certain hours; spend is 24/7 | Set ad schedule |

### 2C: Winner Identification

Find what's actually working:

| Winner Type | Signal | Action |
|------------|--------|--------|
| **Top-performing keywords** | Lowest CPA, highest conv rate | Increase bid, add variants |
| **Winning ads** | Highest CTR + conv rate combo | Scale spend, clone for other groups |
| **Best audiences** | Lowest CPA segment | Increase budget allocation |
| **Best times** | Peak conversion hours/days | Concentrate budget |

### 2D: Statistical Significance Check

From JiayiV/question_mixing, MIT.

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