# Ads optimization

## What it does

Ads optimization looks at every connected ad channel together and ranks what to change, measured in the client's own target (cost per lead, cost per SQL, ROAS or pipeline). It learns from each change: what helped on this account and what didn't. Approved Google Ads changes are applied through Nexus when live apply is turned on for your account; otherwise you apply them by hand from the plan. LinkedIn and Meta get exact instructions for a person to apply.

## Set it up

1. ✋ Tell Nexus what the ads are for. Say it in your own words; each sentence updates one part and keeps the rest:
   - **"Target cost per SQL is 900."**
   - **"Cap the monthly ad budget at 40k."**
   - **"LinkedIn must stay at least 30% of ad spend."**
   - **"Be conservative with ad changes."**
2. For B2B: **"Optimize their ads for pipeline, not leads."** then link HubSpot deals to campaigns: **"Link HubSpot deals to their ad campaigns using utm_campaign."** Nexus reports how many deals it could match. If too few match, it won't use the join, and the analysis falls back to platform conversions.

Until a target is set, optimization grades against platform conversions only, with no budget ceiling.

## Check and curate

- **"What are their ads optimizing for?"** shows the target, limits and risk setting.
- **"Which ad channels can Nexus change directly?"** shows each channel's data and what Nexus can do there.
- **"Is our ad spend within the budget limits?"** checks current spend against the limits.

## Use it

- **"Analyze ads performance."** or **"Why did their ad performance change?"** A ranked plan across campaigns and channels. It changes nothing. Thin data shows as "watch", not as an action.
- **"How should we split next month's ad budget?"** Compares what the next dollar returns on each channel. It needs several periods of history and says so when there isn't enough.
- ✋ After applying LinkedIn or Meta instructions by hand, say what you did: **"We applied the LinkedIn instructions: we narrowed the targeting."** Nexus records the starting numbers and grades the change later.

## Maintain

- Experiments are graded automatically once their measurement window ends. **"Settle the ads experiments now."** grades the ones that are due today.
- By default Nexus only recommends. To let one kind of change run without a confirm: **"Allow negative keywords to run without a confirm."** It still only runs once that change has proven itself on this account, with no failures.

## Troubleshooting

- **The plan is mostly "watch".** There isn't enough settled data yet. Conversions take time to arrive, so recent days count less.
- **Budget split says not enough data.** Each channel needs several periods of history. Run the analysis each month and it builds up.
- **Optimization ignores pipeline.** The HubSpot join matched too few deals. The usual cause is campaign names in UTMs that don't match the ad platform.

## Prompts

- "Target cost per SQL is 900."
- "Cap the monthly ad budget at 40k."
- "LinkedIn must stay at least 30% of ad spend."
- "Be conservative with ad changes."
- "Optimize their ads for pipeline, not leads."
- "Link HubSpot deals to their ad campaigns using utm_campaign."
- "What are their ads optimizing for?"
- "Which ad channels can Nexus change directly?"
- "Is our ad spend within the budget limits?"
- "Analyze ads performance."
- "Why did their ad performance change?"
- "How should we split next month's ad budget?"
- "We applied the LinkedIn instructions: we narrowed the targeting."
- "Settle the ads experiments now."
- "Allow negative keywords to run without a confirm."