Paid Media Strategy: What’s Working in Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and TikTok in 2025

No. Start with 1-2 platforms where your audience is most active, and become expert there before  expanding. The 40-35-25 budget allocation rule is a good framework: 40% Google Ads (if you're  targeting high-intent buyers), 35% Meta (awareness and retargeting), 25% TikTok or LinkedIn  (depending on your audience). For B2B companies, prioritize Google and LinkedIn. For B2C e commerce, prioritize Meta and Google. For reaching Gen Z, prioritize TikTok. 

Google Ads: Minimum $1,000/month for meaningful optimization and data. Below $500/month, you  won't have enough conversion data for smart bidding to work effectively. 

Meta: Minimum $300-500/month to get meaningful data. Meta's algorithm needs spending to  optimize. 

LinkedIn: Minimum $500-1,000/month due to higher costs. Below this, you won't generate enough  leads for reliable data. 

TikTok: Minimum $200-300/month to test. TikTok is cheaper, so smaller budgets can still work.

Performance Max (PMax): AI-driven campaigns running across all Google networks (Search, Display,  YouTube, Gmail, Maps). You provide assets and audience signals; Google's algorithm handles  optimization. Best for: Scale, simplicity, and when you have strong product feeds. Requires less  hands-on management but less transparency into which keywords or placements are driving results. 

Traditional Campaigns: You manually manage keywords, targeting, and bidding strategies. Best for:  Precise control, testing specific hypotheses, and when you want to understand exactly which  keywords drive conversions. Requires more management but provides more insights. 

Best practice: Use Performance Max for scaling once you've proven your business model with  traditional campaigns. 

In 2025, broad targeting paired with audience signals beats narrow targeting. Here's why: Meta's  algorithm is so sophisticated that it can find high-intent users within broad audiences. Narrow  targeting actually limits the algorithm's ability to explore and find similar high-value users. 

Best practice: Start broad (ages 25-55, all genders, all interests interested in your category). Let  Meta's algorithm test different segments. After 2-3 weeks, review performance and refine if needed. 

Spend 20% of your budget on testing new creatives, audiences, and messaging. For example, if you  have a $5,000/month budget, spend $4,000 on proven high-performers and $1,000 on testing. This  balance ensures you're not cannibalizing performance while generating insights for future scaling. 

Minimum data for reliable testing:

• Google Ads: 30-50 conversions per variation 
• Meta: 50-100 conversions per variation 

• LinkedIn: 20-30 conversions per variation

Best practice: Test and refresh creative every 2-4 weeks. Ad fatigue is real—as users see the same ad  repeatedly, CTR and conversion rates decline. 

Warning signs of ad fatigue: 

• CTR dropping below your historical average 
• Conversion rate declining week over week 
• CPM or CPC increasing significantly 

When you see these signals, pause underperforming creatives and launch new variations.

1. Headline: Clear, benefit-driven, and matching your ad messaging 
2. Subheading: Addresses a specific pain point or objection 
3. Hero Image/Video: High-quality visual of your product or solution 
4. Social Proof: Testimonials, case studies, customer logos, or review ratings 5. Key Benefits: 3-5 bullet points highlighting what users get 
5. CTA Button: Bold, clear, and repeated at least twice on the page 
6. Form: Minimal fields (email and name only, if possible) 
7. Trust Signals: Security badges, money-back guarantee, or privacy statement 9. Page Speed: Load in under 3 seconds 

Pro tip: Use tools like Unbounce or Leadpages to quickly build high-converting landing pages without  coding. 

Foundational metrics: 

• CPM (Cost Per Mille / thousand impressions) 
• CPC (Cost Per Click) 
• CTR (Click-Through Rate) 
• CPA (Cost Per Acquisition/Action) 
• Conversion Rate (% of users converting) 
• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) 
• CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

Advanced metrics: 

• Conversion value per click 
• Attribution-weighted conversions 
• Assisted conversions (touchpoints before final conversion) 
• Lifetime value (LTV) of acquired customers 
• LTV:CAC ratio (should be 3:1 or higher) 

Set up a centralized dashboard showing all platforms' metrics to spot trends quickly.

Customer Match: Upload your existing customer list (emails, phone numbers, CRM data) to Google  or Meta. The platform matches these against user accounts and targets them. Best for: Re engagement, win-back campaigns, and delivering premium offers to best customers. 

Lookalike Audiences: Meta or Google analyzes your best customers and finds other users with similar  characteristics and behaviors. Best for: Scaling acquisition by finding new high-value prospects who  share traits with your best customers. 

Pro strategy: Build a lookalike audience from your highest-LTV customers (not all customers). This  ensures you're finding prospects similar to your most profitable segments. 

Build organic presence first, then amplify with paid ads (Spark Ads). Strategies: 

1. Study trending sounds and hashtags. Use TikTok Creative Center to identify what's trending  in your niche. 
2. Post consistently: 3-5 videos per week. The algorithm favors consistent creators. 
3. Post at peak times: Your audience is most active between 6-10 PM and 12-1 PM. Check your  TikTok analytics to see when YOUR audience is active.
4. Hook viewers in the first 3 seconds: This is non-negotiable on TikTok. 
5. Use trending sounds: Audio is crucial. Videos using trending sounds get 10x more reach than  silent or non-trending audio. 
6. Engage authentically: Respond to comments, follow creators in your niche, participate in  trending challenges. The algorithm rewards engagement. 
7. Post natively: Don't post Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts to TikTok directly. Create native  TikTok content. 

Build a retargeting funnel: 

1. All Website Visitors: Target everyone who visited your site in the past 30 days with top-of funnel brand awareness ads. 
2. Product Page Viewers: Target users who visited specific product pages but didn't purchase  with product-specific ads and testimonials. 
3. Cart Abandoners: Target users who added items to their cart but didn't complete purchase  with a time-sensitive discount and reminder. 
4. Past Customers: Target previous purchasers with upsell offers, loyalty rewards, or new  product launches. 

Budget allocation for retargeting: 

• 40% All Website Visitors 
• 30% Specific product page visitors 
• 20% Cart abandoners 
• 10% Past customers 

This pyramid approach ensures you're reaching the most qualified prospects first. 

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): 

ROAS = Revenue generated ÷ Ad spend 

Example: If you spent $1,000 on ads and generated $5,000 in revenue, ROAS = 5:1. For most  profitable campaigns, aim for 3:1 to 4:1 ROAS. 

ROI (Return on Investment): 

ROI = (Revenue - Cost of goods sold - Ad spend) ÷ Ad spend × 100 

Example: $5,000 revenue - $2,000 COGS - $1,000 ad spend = $2,000 profit. ROI = 2,000 ÷ 1,000 =  200%. 

Important caveat: These metrics only work if you're tracking ALL revenue attributed to ads correctly.  Use proper UTM tracking, conversion pixels, and attribution models to ensure accuracy.

No single model is "best"—different models answer different questions: 

Last-Click Attribution: "What touchpoint immediately drove the conversion?" Best for: Understanding  immediate sales drivers. 

First-Click Attribution: "What touchpoint started the customer journey?" Best for: Understanding  which campaigns build awareness. 

Linear Attribution: "Every touchpoint contributed equally." Best for: General reporting when you  want balanced credit distribution. 

Time Decay: "Touchpoints closer to conversion matter more." Best for: Understanding which  touchpoints matter most. 

Data-Driven (Machine Learning): Platform algorithms assign credit based on actual user behavior  patterns. Best for: Accuracy and informed budget allocation. 

Pro recommendation: Use Data-Driven attribution when available (Google Analytics 4, Salesforce) for  the most accurate insights.

Key metrics to monitor: 

• CTR: Should be 0.4-0.8% for LinkedIn (higher than Meta due to professional context) • CPC: Should be $5-15 depending on targeting specificity 
• Lead quality: Percentage of leads actually fitting your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) • Show rate: What % of your target audience saw your ads? 

Diagnostic questions: 

1. Are leads actually qualified? (Ask your sales team) 
2. Is the CPA sustainable? (Divide lead cost by average customer value) 
3. Are you targeting the right job titles and companies? 
4. Is your creative relevant to the audience? 

If leads are low-quality, narrow your targeting (job titles, company size, seniority). If CPCs are high,  test different creatives and audiences. 

When you have limited budget, prioritize ruthlessly: 

1. Pick ONE platform where your audience is most active. Becoming excellent on one platform  beats being mediocre on four. 
2. Run TOFU (top-of-funnel) content cheaply using organic posts and boosting them. This builds  audience while keeping costs low. 
3. Focus your paid spend on BOFU (bottom-of-funnel). Target warm audiences (website visitors,  email subscribers, engaged fans). These convert at 10x the rate of cold traffic.
4. Use Customer Match with your best customer emails to find lookalikes. This is cheaper than  cold prospecting. 
5. Test before scaling. Spend $50-100 testing an audience or creative before committing larger  budgets. 

Multiple levers control CPA = Ad Spend ÷ Conversions: 

Reduce Ad Spend (Lower the numerator): 

• Improve targeting to reach only high-intent users 
• Pause underperforming audiences and ads 
• Test cheaper placements (e.g., TikTok vs. Google) 

Increase Conversions (Increase the denominator): 

• Improve landing page conversion rate (page speed, clear CTA, social proof) • Reduce friction in checkout/signup 
• Improve offer or messaging resonance 
• Retarget warm audiences (higher conversion rates) 

Recommended focus: For most businesses, improving landing page conversion rate and retargeting  yield the fastest CPA improvements. 

Use automated ads (Performance Max, Advantage+, Dynamic Product Ads) when: • You have 30+ days of historical data and 50+ conversions 

• You can provide clean product feeds (for e-commerce) 
• You want to scale quickly without micromanagement 
• Your conversion tracking is accurate 

Use manually managed ads when: 

• You're testing a new offer or audience 
• You want granular control and transparency 
• You're in a niche market with small audiences 
• You need to understand exactly which keywords/placements drive results 

Best hybrid approach: Use both. Run automated campaigns for scale and proven segments. Run  manual campaigns for testing and hypothesis validation. 

If you could only change ONE thing, change your landing page.

Most marketers assume underperformance means the ad isn't good. But often, it's the landing page  killing conversions. Quick wins: 

1. Improve page speed. Even 1 second faster = 5-10% more conversions. 
2. Add social proof above the fold. Testimonials, customer logos, or reviews immediately. 
3. Simplify the form. Ask for email only, if possible. Every form field reduces conversions 10- 15%. 
4. Make your CTA crystal clear. Bold button, action-driven text ("Get Started Now" beats  "Submit"). 
5. Test the offer. Try a stronger discount, different guarantee, or different value prop. If landing page improvements plateau, then revisit targeting, creative, and audience.

1. Cross-check with Google Analytics 4: Launch a campaign and compare conversions reported  in Google Ads with GA4. Numbers should be within 5-10% (they rarely match exactly due to  timing differences). 
2. Test with small spend: Run a small $5-10 test campaign and complete a few test conversions  yourself. Verify they're tracked in Google Ads. 
3. Check UTM parameters: Ensure all campaign, source, and medium parameters are properly  tagged and showing in GA4. 
4. Monitor conversion lag: Google Ads reports conversions within 7 days by default, but some  conversions take longer. Enable "View-through conversions" to capture full attribution. 
5. Review Conversion Tracking Status: In Google Ads, go to Tools & Settings > Conversions and  check the status of each conversion action. Green checkmarks = working; yellow warnings =  potential issues.