Ads

Paid Acquisition & Ad Copy

Paid acquisition amplifies what's already working. If your landing page doesn't convert organic traffic, ads won't fix it. This skill helps you run profitable Google Ads on a small budget — from campaign setup to weekly optimization.

Core Principles

• Paid acquisition amplifies what's already working. If your landing page doesn't convert organic traffic, ads won't fix it.
• Start with the highest-intent keywords. People searching for "[Competitor] alternative" are closer to buying than people searching for "what is [category]."
• Small budgets demand focus. $10-20/day on 5-10 exact-match keywords beats $100/day spread across 500 broad-match keywords.
• Test the message, not the channel. If Google Ads doesn't work at $10/day, the problem is usually your ad copy or landing page, not the channel.
• CAC must be less than 1/3 of LTV from day one. If the math doesn't work at small scale, it won't work at large scale.
• Every dollar should be traceable to a conversion. If you can't track it, don't spend it.

Prerequisites (Before Spending a Dollar)

• [ ] Landing page converts organic visitors at 2%+ (signup rate)
• [ ] Analytics tracking working (can attribute signups to source)
• [ ] Payment flow works (can track ad spend → signup → payment)
• [ ] You know your activation rate (what % of signups become real users)
• [ ] You have a rough LTV estimate (even if based on pricing × estimated retention)

If any of these are missing, fix them first. Ads on a broken funnel is burning money.

Google Ads for SaaS

Campaign Structure for Solo Founders

Start with ONE campaign, 2-3 ad groups:

Campaign: [Product Name] — Search
  Budget: $10-20/day
  Bidding: Maximize conversions (once you have 15+ conversions)
           OR Manual CPC to start (set bids at $2-5 range)
  Network: Search only (NOT Display, NOT Search Partners)
  Location: Countries where your ICP lives

  Ad Group 1: Competitor Keywords (highest intent)
    Keywords:
      [competitor name] alternative
      [competitor name] vs
      [competitor name] pricing
      switch from [competitor name]
      [competitor name] review

  Ad Group 2: Problem Keywords (high intent)
    Keywords:
      [specific problem] tool
      [specific problem] software
      how to [solve specific problem]
      best [category] for [audience]
      [category] for small teams

  Ad Group 3: Solution Keywords (medium intent)
    Keywords:
      [category] software
      [category] platform
      [category] app
      online [category] tool

Keyword Strategy

Match types (start narrow, expand later):

• Exact match [keyword]: Start here. Only shows for this exact search.
• Phrase match "keyword": Add after exact match proves profitable.
• Broad match: Avoid until you have significant conversion data and use Smart Bidding.

Negative keywords (add immediately):

free
open source
tutorial
how to build
DIY
jobs
hiring
salary
reddit
github
course
template (unless you sell templates)

Finding keywords:

• Google's autocomplete: Type your problem and see what Google suggests.
• "People also ask": Search your main keyword and mine the related questions.
• Competitor's meta keywords (view source on their pages).
• Google Keyword Planner (free with a Google Ads account).
• Your own customer conversations — what words do they use to describe the problem?

Ad Copy That Converts

Google Search Ad structure:

Headline 1 (30 chars): [Primary benefit or problem]
Headline 2 (30 chars): [Differentiator or social proof]
Headline 3 (30 chars): [CTA with specificity]
Description 1 (90 chars): [Expand on benefit, address objection]
Description 2 (90 chars): [Proof point + CTA]

Templates by ad group:

Competitor keywords:

H1: Tired of [Competitor]?
H2: [Product] — Built for [ICP]
H3: Try Free — No Credit Card
D1: [Specific advantage over competitor]. Switch in minutes, not days.
D2: Join [X] teams who switched from [Competitor]. Start free today.

Problem keywords:

H1: [Problem] Solved in Minutes
H2: [Product] for [Audience]
H3: Start Free — Setup in 5 Min
D1: Stop [painful manual process]. [Product] [specific outcome] automatically.
D2: [Social proof]. Free plan available. No credit card required.

Solution keywords:

H1: [Category] Built for [ICP]
H2: Simple, Fast, Affordable
H3: Free Plan Available
D1: [Product] helps [audience] [achieve outcome]. [Key differentiator].
D2: Trusted by [X] teams. Start free in under 2 minutes.

Ad copy rules:

• Include the keyword in at least one headline (improves Quality Score).
• Always mention "free" if you have a free tier or trial.
• Numbers beat adjectives: "Setup in 5 minutes" beats "Quick setup."
• Address one objection in the description: price, complexity, or switching cost.
• Write 3-4 ad variants per ad group. Let Google optimize for performance.

Landing Pages for Ads

Do NOT send ad traffic to your homepage. Create dedicated landing pages:

URL structure:
  yoursite.com/vs/[competitor]     → for competitor keywords
  yoursite.com/use-case/[problem]  → for problem keywords
  yoursite.com/for/[audience]      → for audience keywords

Each landing page should:

• Match the ad's headline (message match = higher conversion).
• Address the specific search intent (not generic product pitch).
• Have a single CTA (signup or trial start).
• Load in 3% |

| CPC (avg) | | | 30% | | Signups → Paid | | | >5% | | CAC (paying) | | | $5 for SMB SaaS): → Keywords too competitive. Go more longtail or niche.

Clicks but no signups: → Landing page problem. Check message match, page speed, form friction.

Signups but no activation: → Product/onboarding problem, not an ads problem. Pause ads and fix.

CAC > 1/3 LTV: → Unprofitable. Improve conversion rate, test new keywords, or pause.

Everything working: → Increase budget by 20-30% per week. Don't double overnight.

### Scaling Rules

1. Don't increase budget by more than 30% per week.
2. Add new keywords only after existing ones are profitable.
3. Expand to phrase match only after exact match has 30+ conversions.
4. Consider Meta/LinkedIn Ads only after Google Search is profitable.
5. Never spend more than you can afford to lose for 3 months with zero return.

## CAC Tracking

Simple CAC calculation: CAC = Total ad spend in period ÷ Paying customers acquired from ads in period

Blended CAC (all channels): Blended CAC = Total marketing spend ÷ Total new paying customers

Sustainability check: LTV:CAC ratio = LTV ÷ CAC Target: 3:1 or better

Payback period = CAC ÷ Monthly revenue per customer Target: 1/3 of LTV | Pause and fix conversion rate before spending more |

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Related Skills

• landing-page — Build dedicated landing pages for each ad group
• conversion — Optimize the signup flow that ads drive traffic to
• analytics — Track ad spend → signup → payment attribution
• copywriting — Write stronger ad headlines and descriptions
• seo — Build organic traffic so you're not paying for every click

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: whawkinsiv
• Source: whawkinsiv/solo-founder-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.