July 22, 2025
If you don’t know what to track, your ads aren’t working, even if they feel like they are, or your media buyer tells you they are. What you measure, you can manage, and your ad data is no exception.
Greta loves data because data doesn’t lie. But it only works if you’re looking at the right numbers, and there are so many to choose from. Your media buyer is often focused on just a few, so it’s hard to know whether the picture you’re being shown is reality. In this episode of Bringing Simplicity Unfiltered, Greta and Judy show you how to track and optimize your lead magnet ads, even if you’re not a numbers person.
Here are the acronyms you’ll hear media buyers (and Greta) use:
Notice the order. It follows the full customer journey, and so does your funnel: How do we get them to want to see more? How do we get their information? How do we get them to buy?
A huge newsletter list is great, but if nobody’s buying, your lead magnet didn’t do its job. We talk to people all the time who’ve been told by their media buyer that their ads are working because CPC, and maybe even CPL, is low. But if you have a low CPC and a low CPL and you aren’t making sales, your ads are failing.
Cheap clicks aren’t always good. Sometimes more expensive clicks are better if those people buy, because it means the right people are clicking. And if you see a low CPC but a high CPL, there’s something on the back end, like your landing page, that needs to be tweaked.
Before we run any new ads for clients, we run a sprint test with at least 12 different hooks to see which ones work for that audience. Our own recent sprint test was text only, and 8 of 12 hooks worked, thanks to our GPT and SEO process.
Even so, some of our favorites didn’t perform. What you think will hit doesn’t always, or Meta just doesn’t like certain words. Instead of spending 14 days figuring that out, a sprint test can tell you which hooks work in less than 48 hours. Then you know it’s not the hook that needs changing, it’s the creative.
How do you know when to update your ad creative (your graphics, visuals, and videos)? We typically start with a minimum of eight different ad creatives and let them play out for a couple of weeks.
One client who had been in business for over five years started seeing her cost per lead creep up. A media buyer might immediately blame the landing page or the offer. We started with the ad creatives, because they hadn’t been changed in a while. We created a few new ones and her cost per lead dropped by more than half, from $8 to under $4.
Simply changing colors, images, or formats can move your numbers.
Judy shared a story Alex Hormozi has told about his huge book launch. He was spending heavily on ads with hundreds of thousands of people registered, and yet people he ran into on a walk had no idea it was happening. When you start seeing yourself everywhere, you’re just getting started. Rotate your creatives so you stay relevant and top of mind. For new ideas, check the Meta Ad Library and your competitors’ ads.
We’re always looking for micro shifts in every number, driving CPC and CPL lower. Every positive shift means more customers and more profit. Here’s where to look.
Especially when we take over an account from another media buyer, we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. We start with creative.
Organic landing pages are full of information, lots about you, and lots of pictures. Those “feel-good” pages don’t work for ads. Your ad landing page needs a catchy heading, a clear message about what the lead magnet will do for them, three bullet points, and a button.
Don’t immediately assume you attracted the wrong people. You may not have given them a clear way to buy. We’ve analyzed many funnels where the first offer, or even an invitation to book a call, doesn’t appear until email six. That cuts your legs out from under you. Talk about the sale as it relates to the lead magnet from the start.
If this feels like a lot, it’s because it’s not how most of us were taught. We’re taught to write long sales pages, so we assume ads need the same. Judy compares it to a first date. You wouldn’t ask about kids, marriage, and their 401(k) right away. Your ad and opt-in page are the opening line, the appetizer. Image, headline, three bullet points, a button. Done.
CPC is what you pay for each click, CPL is what you pay for each lead (contact info), and cost per sale is what you pay in ads for each purchase. Track all three to see the full customer journey.
No. If cheap clicks don’t turn into leads and sales, your ads are failing. More expensive clicks can be better if those people buy.
When your cost per lead starts creeping up on a campaign that hasn’t changed in a while, test new creatives first. Changing colors, images, or formats can significantly lower CPL.
A quick test of many hooks at once (we use at least 12) to find which messages resonate with your audience, often within about 48 hours, before building full campaigns.
If you want an ad strategist looking at the full journey from click to sale, see our ads services or reach out to us.
Want more? Watch every episode of Bringing Simplicity Unfiltered on our YouTube channel.
© 2026 Bringing Simplicity LLC. All rights reserved. Terms & Conditions | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy
Bringing Simplicity is a full-service marketing and Meta Ads agency helping established online businesses scale proven offers through paid advertising, stronger systems, and smarter strategy.
