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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124 posts in Reference

A man carrying a stack of green ledger folders under one arm
ReferenceJuly 22, 2026

Conversion Value

Conversion value explained — the monetary value attached to a conversion for value-based bidding, and why arbitrary values mislead the algorithm.

2 min read
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ReferenceJuly 22, 2026

Website Pixel

Website pixel explained — the browser tag that observes page context and events, and what it can and cannot prove on its own.

2 min read
A young man in shirt and tie seated calmly in front of stacked boxes and reeded glass
ReferenceJuly 22, 2026

Custom Conversion

Custom conversion explained — a rule that classifies received activity into a conversion definition for reporting and, where supported, optimization.

2 min read
A woman in a dark vest touching her ear and glancing sideways
ReferenceJuly 22, 2026

Custom Event

Custom event explained — a non-standard event name for a genuinely distinct action, and where platforms limit what it can optimize.

2 min read
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ReferenceJuly 22, 2026

Conversion Event

Conversion event explained — the specific action an ad platform records as a tracked outcome, and how it differs from a page view.

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
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
An analyst in a grey jacket staring past a monitor in a dark office at night
ReferenceJuly 4, 2026

Share of Model

Share of Model is the AI-era share of voice: how often a brand appears in, or is recommended by, the outputs of AI models.

2 min read
A corded desk phone with a sticky note resting on an oxblood-red carpet
ReferenceJuly 4, 2026

AI Mode Ads

AI Mode ads are Google's formats inside AI Mode — Conversational Discovery ads and Highlighted Answers — introduced at Google Marketing Live on May 20, 2026 (US testing).

2 min read

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