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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.

124 posts in Reference

A smiling man taking a phone call at his desk in front of venetian blinds

ReferenceJuly 22, 2026

Click ID

Click ID explained — the ad-click identifier (GCLID, fbclid, and others) that must be captured early to attribute later offline outcomes.

2 min read

Three colleagues gathered around a monitor in a dark office, one seated and typing

ReferenceJuly 22, 2026

Tag Diagnostics

Tag diagnostics explained — the platform tools and QA steps that show whether events were received, matched, or rejected, beyond 'the tag fired.'

2 min read

A man at a desk holding a pen, seen across the shoulder of a colleague reading a document

ReferenceJuly 22, 2026

Primary vs. Secondary Conversion

Primary vs. secondary conversions explained — which events bidding optimizes toward versus which stay as reporting-only diagnostics.

2 min read

A man seated on the floor sorting through scattered printed reports

ReferenceJuly 22, 2026

Offline Conversion

Offline conversion explained — crediting in-store, phone, and CRM outcomes back to ads, which fails most often before the lead ever reaches the CRM.

3 min read

A woman in glasses reacting with disbelief while holding a phone handset

ReferenceJuly 22, 2026

Enhanced Conversions

Enhanced conversions explained — Google Ads matching that uses consented, hashed first-party data, and why it is not the same as enhanced match.

2 min read

A man in shirt and tie taking a confident phone call in front of sticky-noted glass

ReferenceJuly 19, 2026

LinkedIn Ads in EMEA: What the 2026 Data Actually Supports

There is no primary EMEA LinkedIn benchmark dataset in 2026. Here is the best caveated synthesis (Pettauer, Feb 2026): European SaaS CPCs €4–5 vs $8–12 in North America, CTR below the global 0.44–0.65% range, and why the old '$120 EMEA CPL' is 2021 data.

3 min read

A woman adjusting her glasses while crawling across a floor of scattered papers

ReferenceJuly 19, 2026

Google Ads Benchmarks for HVAC 2026

2026 HVAC Google Ads cost per lead: $104 blended, $149 non-branded search, $72 Performance Max (SearchLight, Jan 2026, 816 contractors). Category-level CPC $8.33 (LocaliQ).

3 min read

A person lying across a paper-strewn floor reaching for a phone cord

ReferenceJuly 19, 2026

Google Ads Benchmarks for Plumbing 2026

2026 plumbing Google Ads cost per lead: $183 avg non-branded (median $168), $82 Performance Max, median cost per paying customer $333 (SearchLight, Q1 2026, 524 contractors).

3 min read

A man hunched over a corded phone taking a hushed call in a dark office

ReferenceJuly 4, 2026

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

GEO is optimizing content to be surfaced and cited inside AI-generated answers. AI-referred traffic converts about 4.4x organic (Semrush).

3 min read

Polished black shoes and dark trousers mid-step on an oxblood-red carpet

ReferenceJuly 4, 2026

AI Max for Search

AI Max for Search is Google's opt-in upgrade to Search campaigns — query expansion, auto-created assets, and broad-match improvements. It exited beta April 15, 2026.

2 min read

Overhead view of a desk phone off the hook among scattered papers and a pen on a dark desk

ReferenceJuly 4, 2026

Smart Bidding Exploration

Smart Bidding Exploration lets Google pursue relevant queries beyond a campaign's historical conversion patterns to find incremental conversions. It reached all feed-less PMax campaigns globally around June 15, 2026.

2 min read

A man on a late-night phone call at a desk with a coffee cup and a beige desk phone

ReferenceJuly 4, 2026

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

AEO is structuring content to be the direct answer engines return. 68.01% of US searches ended without a click in early 2026 (SparkToro/Similarweb).

2 min read

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