CSS partners for Google Shopping: 20% off your CPCs
A CSS partner cuts your Google Shopping CPCs by around 20% at the same ad position. How the mechanism works, why I use Product Hero, and how you switch.
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33 posts on Google Ads, tracking and the economics of running paid traffic. Newest first.
2026
How to calculate ROAS: the formula, break-even and why POAS matters
ROAS is one line of maths — it only becomes profit with POAS. Work out your break-even ROAS from your margin, then feed profit instead of revenue back to Google and Meta.
Performance Max: when it works — and when it doesn't
Performance Max promises results on autopilot. In practice that means little control and little data. When PMax genuinely works, and when you should stay away from it.
Consent Mode v2 setup: mandatory for your Google Ads data
Consent Mode v2 in three steps: pick a CMP, wire it into Google Tag Manager, test the consent status — so your Google Ads data doesn't quietly disappear.
Setting up the LinkedIn Insight Tag via GTM — step by step
How to set up the LinkedIn Insight Tag through Google Tag Manager: drop in your partner ID, then hang conversions off the triggers you already have — no developer needed.
Enhanced conversions: a setup guide for Google Ads and GTM
Setting up enhanced conversions in Google Ads and GTM: step by step, with SHA-256 hashing, the GDPR grey zone, and the website ping without which none of it works.
Bing conversion tracking: the UET tag, step by step
Set up Bing conversion tracking with the UET tag: the GTM build step by step, conversion goals in Microsoft Advertising, and how to reuse the Google setup you already have.
GA4 remarketing for Google Ads: wiring your audiences up properly
Build GA4 audiences from non-converters across 7- to 90-day windows, link Google Ads through Data Manager, and get every list to actually arrive in the ad account.
Meta Pixel setup: step by step with GTM and the Conversions API
How to set up the Meta Pixel through Google Tag Manager with the community template — plus the Conversions API, so adblockers and iOS stop eating your data.
Server-side tracking with GTM: what it does and when it pays
Server-side tracking with GTM explained: better data quality despite adblockers and ITP, Stape vs Taggrs vs your own server — and the budget at which the effort starts to pay off.
Google Tag Manager for Google Ads: what your container needs
What Google Tag Manager is, why it replaces code changes, and the six building blocks your container needs when you run Google Ads — Consent Mode v2 included.
Performance marketing pricing: the billing models in practice
Fixed fee plus a percentage, pay per lead, or 'no leads, no invoice': which performance marketing billing models hold up in practice — and why trust decides all of it.
Offline conversion import: optimise lead gen for real revenue
Offline conversion import feeds the real deal value from your CRM back into Google Ads, so Smart Bidding optimises for leads that actually close instead of for form spam.
Google Ads freelancer instead of an agency: 7 reasons to switch
When moving from a Google Ads agency to a specialist freelancer pays off — seven honest reasons, how to spot the right moment, and how to run the handover cleanly.
What a Google Ads freelancer costs — and when it pays off
What a Google Ads freelancer costs next to an agency: the three pricing models, what you're actually paying for, and why a specialist pays off once the ad budget gets serious.
E-commerce profit tracking: optimise for profit, not revenue
Profit tracking in e-commerce: why you steer on POAS instead of ROAS, how to feed contribution margin per product back as the conversion value, and which tools genuinely do it.
Finding a Google Ads freelancer in DACH: the 5 criteria that matter
How to find the right Google Ads freelancer for the German-speaking market — five criteria that separate a senior specialist from an expensive generalist, and why remote is no downside.
What does Google Ads really cost — and what daily budget do you need?
The click price isn't the answer, your CPA is. How to work out your real daily budget from CPC, conversion rate and the number of results you actually want.
The 5 lies Google Ads tells you — what I only saw as an ex-Googler
Google Ads is built so that you make the mistakes that make Google money. As a former Google consultant, here are the 5 most common traps — and how to walk around them.
Call tracking: do you know which call really came from Google?
For local businesses the most valuable lead arrives by phone — and usually stays invisible. Why hand-typed numbers kill your best Google Ads budget, and how call tracking fixes it.
Conversion tracking health check: 15 minutes to know if Google Ads measures properly
A step-by-step check you can run yourself on your Google Ads conversion tracking — to find out whether it really works, or whether you've been optimising blind for months.
2025
Million Dollar Clicks: digital ads that deliver — my Nomad Fest talk
My talk at Nomad World Fest 2025 on building ad campaigns that produce measurable results — from strategy through tracking to scaling.
GTM tracking live setup: Google Tag Manager and GA4, step by step
A live session with Chris Cerra — building a full tracking setup with Google Tag Manager and GA4 from scratch, including enhanced conversions, events and the dataLayer.
Million Dollar Clicks — the ads mastermind on Nomad Cruise NC15
My ads mastermind workshop on Nomad Cruise NC15: what over €1m of managed ad budget really teaches you about profitable Google Ads. Full recording.
Why ugly ads outperform expensive productions
My talk from Nomad Cruise 15: why 'ugly' ads routinely pull more conversions than expensively produced advertising — and how to put that to work in your own account.
GTM template: funnel step tracking in GA4 — free download
A free Google Tag Manager container for funnel tracking in GA4. Six funnel steps as custom events — import it, drop in your IDs, start measuring drop-off.
GTM template: Consent Mode v2 for Webflow with Finsweet
A free GTM container that wires Google Consent Mode v2 to Finsweet's cookie banner in Webflow — GDPR-compliant tracking that doesn't throw your conversion data away.
GTM template: Perspective funnel tracking with Google Ads & GA4
A free GTM container for Perspective.co funnel tracking. Google Ads conversion, enhanced conversions and a GA4 event — pre-wired, import and go.
GTM template: lead-gen container with enhanced conversions
A free Google Tag Manager container for lead-gen sites: phone clicks, email clicks, form submissions and enhanced conversions, all pre-configured.
GTM template: track Calendly bookings as GA4 events
A free GTM container that turns every Calendly booking into a GA4 event — DataLayer listener, custom HTML tag, and the one condition that keeps your conversion count honest.
GTM template: WordPress e-commerce tracking with GTM4WP & GA4
A free GTM container for WordPress e-commerce tracking via the GTM4WP plugin. One GA4 event tag and 18 dataLayer variables — already configured.
GTM template: Shopify conversion tracking with Google Ads
A free GTM container for Shopify stores: Google Ads conversion tracking, enhanced conversions and remarketing, wired up the way it should be.
2024
GDPR and conversion tracking: why the panic is overdone — Camp Nerd 2024
My talk at Camp Nerd 2024: why GDPR panic does companies more damage than the regulation itself — and how clean, compliant tracking still works.