Ads for Breakfast

34 posts

Essays & how-to

Google Ads structure, conversion tracking, CRO. Opinionated, with the numbers attached. Read once, then argue with me by email.

Essays & how-to

34 posts · 25 with a figure
44% have a tappable phone link Essay 27 Sept 2026 German business websites 2026: 50,000 companies checked A random sample of 50,000 German business homepages, checked for the basics: does it open without a warning, can a visitor reach you, is the legal notice linked at all. 27 Sept 2026 · 9 min 9 min 8.8% track before consent Essay 27 Sept 2026 Tracking before consent: 50,000 German business sites checked Almost one in eleven reachable business sites in my sample measures visitors before anyone touches the cookie banner. Here's what's actually going on, and how to check your own site. 27 Sept 2026 · 9 min 9 min 18.7% still load via Google Essay 22 Sept 2026 Google Fonts and GDPR: 50,000 German Sites Checked In my random sample, nearly one in five reachable German business sites still load their fonts from Google. I checked 50,000 sampled addresses to find out. 22 Sept 2026 · 8 min 8 min Essay 7 Sept 2026 Google Ads for gyms: measure members, not clicks Most gyms measure clicks or a submitted form. Neither tells you who actually signed a contract. Here's the setup that does. 7 Sept 2026 · 10 min 10 min 4 consent signals to wire Essay 6 Sept 2026 Contao Consent Tool: Consent Mode v2, GTM and Google Ads A Contao consent tool installs in an hour. Whether it feeds your Google Ads account or quietly starves it comes down to what happens after. 6 Sept 2026 · 8 min 8 min 0 suggestions that cut spend Essay 4 Sept 2026 Google Ads Recommendations: Don't Accept Them Every card in the Recommendations tab wants the same thing: more money flowing through your account. Here's what each type actually does. 4 Sept 2026 · 7 min 7 min Essay 30 Aug 2026 Google Ads cost figures: a sources check Four sites, four click-price figures for the same country, and not one traceable dataset behind any of them. Here's what I found when I actually checked. 30 Aug 2026 · 9 min 9 min 6 steps, in order Essay 30 Aug 2026 Improve your Google ranking without an agency The six steps I've actually seen move a ranking, and the four things everyone recommends that I wouldn't put on a checklist. 30 Aug 2026 · 11 min 11 min 9 steps the diagnosis, in order Essay 29 Aug 2026 Why Google Ads barely delivers qualified B2B leads Your campaigns get plenty of clicks and hardly any qualified inquiries. The cause usually sits one layer below the ad, in what your account is told counts as a win. 29 Aug 2026 · 10 min 10 min 13x cheapest to priciest click Essay 29 Aug 2026 Google Ads CPC Benchmarks 2026: Real Data From 19 Accounts Real cost-weighted click prices from 19 accounts I manage across the German-speaking market, spanning a thirteenfold range across 17 industries. 29 Aug 2026 · 7 min 7 min 48% of fixes were cut-off lines Essay 29 Aug 2026 Google Ads RSA errors: 238 fixes, 13 categories I counted every correction my own launch tool has logged since May. The top defect isn't a typo, and it isn't what I expected either. 29 Aug 2026 · 8 min 8 min Essay 22 Aug 2026 Google Ads rep calls you: real advice or a sales pitch? The call is real, but the person on the line is paid on commission, not on your profit. Here's how to tell the two apart. 22 Aug 2026 · 7 min 7 min 2018 the year of the rename Essay 14 Aug 2026 AdWords is now Google Ads: what actually changed The 2018 name change wasn't cosmetic. It confirmed a shift that had already happened, and a lot of accounts still run on the old logic. 14 Aug 2026 · 7 min 7 min Essay 11 Aug 2026 Google Tag Manager in WordPress: 3 setup methods compared GTM4WP, Site Kit or a hand-edited theme file. What each one actually gets you, and the consent step no plugin guide mentions. 11 Aug 2026 · 7 min 7 min Essay 7 Aug 2026 How to spot a senior social ads freelancer Tracking depth, cross-channel thinking, and real numbers, including the bad campaign: three checks a marketplace rating never shows you. 7 Aug 2026 · 7 min 7 min Essay 1 Aug 2026 Google Ads Editor: safe bulk changes on live accounts The editor wins when you're building, not when you're analysing. Four rules I never skip on a live account. 1 Aug 2026 · 7 min 7 min Essay 29 Jul 2026 SEA vs. SEO: when Google Ads is actually worth it SEO is time, SEA is now. The real decision isn't which channel is better, it's which one you need right now. 29 Jul 2026 · 7 min 7 min 20% lower CPCs Essay 20 Jul 2026 CSS partners for Google Shopping: 20% off your CPCs Same ad, same position, roughly 20% less per click. Where that margin comes from, and how you move off the default. 20 Jul 2026 · 7 min 7 min 3.33 break-even ROAS, 30% margin Essay 20 Jul 2026 How to calculate ROAS: the formula, break-even and why POAS matters The same ROAS of 4 is profit for one shop and a loss for the next. Work out your break-even before you set a target. 20 Jul 2026 · 8 min 8 min 1 in 10 accounts Essay 17 Jul 2026 Performance Max: when it works — and when it doesn't Set-and-forget works in about one account in ten. What the tenth has that the other nine don't: a shopping feed. 17 Jul 2026 · 7 min 7 min 4 consent signals Essay 16 Jul 2026 Consent Mode v2 setup: mandatory for your Google Ads data Four signals decide whether Google sees your conversions at all. The CMPs I actually use, and the test step everyone skips. 16 Jul 2026 · 7 min 7 min <30 min per new ad network Essay 15 Jul 2026 Setting up the LinkedIn Insight Tag via GTM — step by step Partner ID in, All Pages on — then hang the conversions off the triggers your Google Ads tags already fire on. 15 Jul 2026 · 7 min 7 min 100% of setups need a page ping Essay 14 Jul 2026 Enhanced conversions: a setup guide for Google Ads and GTM Hashed form data buys back conversions your tracking loses — but only if the page itself still fires the first ping. 14 Jul 2026 · 7 min 7 min 1 UET tag per account Essay 12 Jul 2026 Bing conversion tracking: the UET tag, step by step Same tags, same triggers, a worse interface. One UET tag per account, then a goal for every conversion you already track. 12 Jul 2026 · 7 min 7 min Essay 11 Jul 2026 GA4 remarketing for Google Ads: wiring your audiences up properly Build the non-converter lists in GA4, staggered by recency — then the Data Manager link, without which none of them arrive. 11 Jul 2026 · 7 min 7 min <1 hour to a working pixel Essay 10 Jul 2026 Meta Pixel setup: step by step with GTM and the Conversions API The pixel takes under an hour. The Conversions API is the part that decides your data quality — three routes, in order. 10 Jul 2026 · 7 min 7 min €1,000 monthly ad budget, minimum Essay 9 Jul 2026 Server-side tracking with GTM: what it does and when it pays Adblockers and Safari quietly delete your conversions. What a tagging server fixes, and the budget where it starts to pay. 9 Jul 2026 · 7 min 7 min Essay 8 Jul 2026 Google Tag Manager for Google Ads: what your container needs Three blocks belong in every container; three more depend on your budget and market. What each one actually does. 8 Jul 2026 · 7 min 7 min 90 days click-conversion window Essay 3 Jul 2026 Offline conversion import: optimise lead gen for real revenue Google only knows the click, never the close. Feed the CRM value back and bidding stops chasing form spam. 3 Jul 2026 · 8 min 8 min 5x ROAS, a loss at 20% margin Essay 24 Jun 2026 E-commerce profit tracking: optimise for profit, not revenue 5x ROAS can still lose money on every unit. Send back contribution margin instead of revenue and the bidding follows. 24 Jun 2026 · 8 min 8 min €80/day for 2 conversions a day Essay 18 Jun 2026 What does Google Ads really cost — and what daily budget do you need? The click price answers nothing. CPC divided by your conversion rate gives the CPA, and the daily budget follows. 18 Jun 2026 · 7 min 7 min 65% optimisation score Essay 15 Jun 2026 The 5 lies Google Ads tells you — what I only saw as an ex-Googler Optimisation score, auto-apply, the free strategy call. Five defaults that grow Google's revenue, not yours. 15 Jun 2026 · 9 min 9 min €5,000 job, counted as one click Essay 10 Jun 2026 Call tracking: do you know which call really came from Google? The phone lead is the most valuable one and the most invisible. How dynamic numbers close the gap. 10 Jun 2026 · 8 min 8 min 15 min to an answer Essay 9 Jun 2026 Conversion tracking health check: 15 minutes to know if Google Ads measures properly Eight checks you can run yourself, no developer. The honest one: yesterday's real enquiries against what Google reports. 9 Jun 2026 · 9 min 9 min