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How I drive growth

Paid acquisition: optimize for pipeline, not the metrics that are easy to buy

Most paid programs optimize the wrong number. Clicks and even MQLs are cheap to buy; pipeline and lead quality are not. I run SEM and paid social backward from closed-won revenue, so spend follows the deals, not the impressions.

Best for

Teams spending without clear ROI

Where it fits

SEM and paid social, end to end

Proof

12x ROAS on paid search

What most teams get wrong

Paid is the easiest channel to fool yourself with. You can always buy more clicks, more impressions, even more form fills, and the dashboard lights up green. So teams optimize toward whatever is cheap and abundant, hand the algorithm a low-intent conversion to chase, and it dutifully finds the cheapest low-intent leads on the internet.

Then sales says the leads are junk, and they're right. The fix is to run paid backward from closed-won: target intent, feed real lead quality back into bidding, and judge every campaign on pipeline. Clicks are the input you pay for, not the result you're buying.

How I think about it

01

Optimize for closed-won, not clicks

The metric you bid toward is the metric you get more of. Point it at qualified pipeline, or the algorithm optimizes you straight into junk leads.

02

Lead quality is the real cost

Anyone can buy cheap MQLs. A low cost per lead that sales can't close is the most expensive number on the dashboard.

03

Intent over reach

High-intent and competitor terms beat broad placements. I would rather own the searches that signal a buying decision than rent a million impressions.

04

Paid rides on the measurement spine

Without multi-touch attribution and clean lead scoring, paid is flying blind. The measurement layer is what makes optimization real instead of guesswork.

How I actually do it

  • Run SEM and paid social end to end, structured around high-intent and competitor targeting instead of broad automatic placements.
  • Rebuild the landing pages behind the ads so the click actually converts, then keep testing them.
  • Feed lead scoring and closed-won data back into bidding, so the program optimizes toward pipeline, not cheap form fills.
  • Scale spend as the ROI proves out, holding cost per qualified lead in check instead of letting it balloon with budget.
Proof, not theory
Delightree

12x ROAS while scaling spend

I ran paid search end to end, rebuilt the landing pages behind it, and scaled spend after the Series A while holding cost per lead flat. Targeting and measurement did the work, so more budget meant more pipeline, not more waste.

12xROAS on paid search Flat CPLwhile scaling spend after the raise 1.6xlanding-page conversion Intentbased targeting over broad reach
Read the demand engine case study

Questions I get asked

Pipeline and closed-won revenue, then the cost and lead quality to get there. Clicks and even MQLs are cheap to buy and easy to inflate. The only numbers worth bidding toward are the ones sales can actually close.

They do different jobs. Search captures existing demand from people already looking, so it usually has the highest intent and clearest ROI. Paid social creates demand and builds awareness in your category. Most programs need both, measured separately, not one budget judged by one number.

Almost always a targeting and measurement problem. You are optimizing to a cheap conversion, like a form fill, instead of to qualified pipeline, so the algorithm finds you the cheapest low-intent leads. Fix the targeting toward high-intent and competitor terms, feed lead quality back into bidding, and judge the program on closed-won.

Enough to gather signal on your real conversion events without burning the budget before you learn anything. I would rather start narrow on the highest-intent terms, prove ROI, and scale from there than spread a small budget thin across everything at once.

Related capabilities

Marketing ops, attribution & CRO Demand generation & growth

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