The Ad Spend

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Notes on running an account that remembers

Field notes and research on paid media, memory, and the difference between a number and a decision.

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Guides & ResearchJuly 9, 2026

How to Track Ad Spend Without Logging Into Google Ads

Founders shouldn't need a Google Ads login to know what they spent. How to get ad spend delivered to Slack weekly — and what actually matters in it.

5 min read
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Guides & ResearchJuly 9, 2026

Meta Automated Rules Notifications vs. Slack Alerts

What Meta automated rules notifications can do — conditions, actions, channels — where static thresholds fail, and how learned-baseline alerts compare.

5 min read
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Guides & ResearchJuly 8, 2026

How to Send Looker Studio Reports to Slack (Pro vs. Free)

Looker Studio only delivers reports to Slack on the $9/user Pro tier. Here are the free workarounds people use — and a simpler path for ad spend data.

5 min read
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Guides & ResearchJuly 8, 2026

AI Memory for Marketing: Why Your AI Forgets Your Ad Account

AI assistants re-read your ad account from scratch every session. Why stateless AI fails marketers, and why memory plus permanent change records is the fix.

6 min read
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Guides & ResearchJuly 8, 2026

Marketing Governance in 2026: Building an Audit Trail Leadership Trusts

Enterprises adopted AI in advertising faster than they built the guardrails. The bill is arriving as wasted spend and incidents — and audit-ready records are the answer.

1 min read
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Guides & ResearchJuly 7, 2026

7 Best Optmyzr Alternatives in 2026 (By Use Case)

Optmyzr is the PPC power tool, but it isn't right for everyone. Seven honest alternatives segmented by need: management, monitoring, automation, reporting.

7 min read
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Guides & ResearchJuly 7, 2026

Shape.io Alternatives 2026: Budget Pacing After NinjaCat

Shape.io's standalone budget pacer is gone — folded into NinjaCat. What Shape users actually need in 2026, and five real options for pacing and alerts.

7 min read
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Guides & ResearchJuly 6, 2026

6 Best Adalysis Alternatives for PPC Teams (2026)

Adalysis is excellent for Google and Microsoft Ads audits — but search-only. Here are six alternatives for cross-platform monitoring, testing, and more.

7 min read
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Guides & ResearchJuly 6, 2026

Who Changed What? The Case for an Ad-Account Audit Trail

When multiple people and agencies touch an account, an unlogged change is a landmine. Mature disciplines solved this years ago. Paid media is finally catching up.

2 min read
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Guides & ResearchJuly 6, 2026

Google Ads Slack Alerts Without Scripts (2026 Guide)

Get Google Ads Slack alerts without scripts: what the official webhook example does, where DIY scripts break, and the no-code path that takes minutes.

6 min read
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Guides & ResearchJuly 5, 2026

Google Ads Overspent Your Daily Budget? Overdelivery in 2026

Google Ads can spend up to 2x your daily budget on any day, but never more than 30.4x per month. The exact rules, a worked example, and how to catch spikes.

7 min read
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Guides & ResearchJuly 5, 2026

Ad Budget Pacing Template: Formulas, Example, Free Method

The core budget pacing formulas — spend vs. expected, run-rate projection, safe daily spend — with a worked Google, Meta, and LinkedIn example table.

5 min read

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