What I Learned From My Paid Ads Campaign
Discover how I used Meta Ads, Google Ads, and UX insights to drive qualified traffic, grow my newsletter, and improve future marketing campaigns.
Paid advertising can be powerful — but only if you know how to track, measure, and adapt.
On July 6th, 2025, I launched two campaigns:
- Meta Ads — to promote my eBay case study article.
- Google Ads — to drive leads and sign-ups for my free newsletter.
My goal wasn't instant sales. Instead, I wanted to drive targeted traffic to my site and encourage newsletter sign-ups, where I run A/B email tests to sharpen my marketing skills.
How I Prepared My Paid Ads Campaign
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Before launch, I:
- Defined my audiences — hobbyists, collectors, motorsport fans for the article; eBay sellers & small business owners for the service ad.
- Set budgets — £4.30/day for the article (ad credits), £12.80/day for the service (paid budget).
- Crafted creatives — clean product shots for the article, service-focused imagery for the offer.
- Optimised landing pages — Hotjar heatmaps & session recordings helped refine layout and reposition my call-to-action (CTA).
- Improved Google Ads targeting — Focused on UK cities & niche terms like "selling a model car collection."
Results & Insights
Article Campaign (Meta Ads)
- Spend: £127.50 ad credit
- Impressions: 15,220
- Clicks: 446
- Result: Boosted article views to 1,318
Leads Campaign (Google Ads)
- Spend: £256.91
- Impressions: 121,242
- Clicks: 1,544
- Result: Higher click quality & stronger buying intent
UX Impact
Hotjar revealed many visitors scrolled past my original CTA.
By moving it higher & making it more distinct, newsletter sign-ups improved.
Key Takeaways
- Data-driven UX changes matter — Optimising user flow directly improved conversion.
- Content vs. Offer — Awareness ads = cheaper clicks; direct offers = higher intent.
- Keyword exclusions save budget — Removing irrelevant search terms cut wasted spend.
- Run ads directly — Avoid extra fees from third-party ad managers like Wix Ads.
- Email list growth compounds — Every sign-up means future test opportunities & leads.
Final Thoughts
This campaign proved that ads, UX optimisation, and targeting refinements work best together.
By combining Meta Ads, Google Ads, and Hotjar insights, I turned paid traffic into lasting audience growth — and learned how to make my next campaign even stronger.
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