Framework 03 · Paid Acquisition

Paid media and PPC

Highly targeted Google Ads, LinkedIn, and paid social campaigns engineered to capture active market demand at viable CAC.

Work with us → Send a structured brief See the scope
How this creates commercial value

Designed for pipeline clarity, not channel theatre.

This engagement is useful when leadership needs to know which part of the marketing system is constraining qualified opportunities: intent capture, spend efficiency, conversion, attribution, or sales handoff quality.

Diagnosis firstWe identify the constraint before recommending channel activity.
Nutcracker deliveryCommercial work can move from strategy into agency execution without losing context.
Revenue languageOutputs are framed for pipeline, sales quality, CAC discipline, and leadership decisions.
Signals you'll recognise

If two or more of these are true, this engagement is probably the right shape.

  • 01Rising cost-per-click (CPC) and customer acquisition cost (CAC) without pipeline growth
  • 02Google Ads spend wasted on broad, irrelevant search queries
  • 03LinkedIn campaigns driving impressions and clicks but zero qualified sales demos
  • 04Disconnect between ad messaging, landing page experience, and conversion offers
The scope

What you get.

Deliverables

  1. Paid search & social account restructuring (Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads)
  2. Precision audience targeting matrices & ICP list segmentation
  3. Creative ad copywriting, messaging variants & landing page alignment
  4. Full conversion tracking QA, negative keyword hygiene & spend pacing governance

How we work

  1. Phase 1 — Account & Spend Efficiency Diagnostic Audit
  2. Phase 2 — Audience Segmentation & Commercial Intent Architecture
  3. Phase 3 — Creative Messaging Deployment & Campaign Launch
  4. Phase 4 — Pacing Control, CAC Optimisation & Pipeline Scaling
Probably not for you if

Honest deselection criteria.

  • Brands unwilling to allocate dedicated media budgets sufficient for algorithmic learning
  • Companies lacking clear ICP definitions or verified product-market fit
  • Teams seeking unverified attribution shortcuts rather than commercial pipeline rigour
  • Businesses with sub-£10k ACV operating purely low-touch self-serve funnels

In B2B marketing, paid media should be an engine of predictable revenue growth, not a budget sinkhole. Too many organisations burn capital on broad match search terms and generic social impressions that generate platform clicks without producing qualified sales pipeline. To succeed in competitive markets, paid media requires relentless commercial targeting and messaging precision.

The operator’s paid media architecture: capturing high-intent demand

My approach to paid media prioritises commercial intent and pipeline velocity over vanity clicks and algorithmic optimisation. As Digital Marketing Lead at Nutcracker Agency, I structure B2B advertising around rigorous audience segmentation, high-intent search query isolation, and closed-loop revenue accountability.

1. Google Ads intent isolation and negative sculpting

When buyers have an active, funded requirement, they search for solutions. We isolate high-intent commercial keywords from informational research queries using negative query architecture and tightly themed ad groups. By routing specific search intents to dedicated high-converting conversion paths, we improve quality scores, reduce cost-per-click, and maximise demo conversions.

2. LinkedIn account-based advertising (ABM) and committee penetration

For complex B2B offerings where buying committees involve multiple decision-makers, LinkedIn provides unmatched firmographic precision. We build account-based targeting models combining job seniority, industry verticals, company size, and curated account lists. Our creative messaging addresses executive pain points directly, building authority with decision-makers before outbound sales outreach begins.

3. Cross-channel CAC governance and data discipline

B2B paid media must operate as a disciplined capital deployment vehicle. We replace platform-reported vanity metrics with strict commercial CAC governance calibrated against enterprise unit economics:

  • Operational CAC payback benchmarks: We govern media spend against explicit payback horizons: sub-12-month CAC payback for high-margin B2B SaaS, and sub-6-month payback for professional services and consulting practices.
  • 100% brand search isolation: Paid brand defence campaigns are strictly isolated into dedicated budgets and reporting views. This prevents high-converting branded search from artificially inflating blended ROAS and disguising prospecting inefficiencies in non-brand campaigns.
  • Offline conversion feedback loops (CAPI): Pushing verified CRM opportunity milestones and closed-won contract values back into Google Ads and LinkedIn Conversions API. This trains bidding algorithms on actual pipeline revenue rather than low-intent form-fills.
  • Matched-market incrementality validation: Periodically running controlled geo-holdout tests and spend-pause validation to prove causal pipeline lift over baseline organic conversion, providing the empirical proof CFOs require.

Related strategy essays and playbooks

For deeper dives into paid acquisition and multi-channel strategy, explore these briefings:

Execution and agency delivery

When companies require hands-on campaign execution, bespoke creative production, and daily spend management, this operating framework is deployed at scale through my team at Nutcracker Agency.

Next step · Nutcracker Agency

Describe the business problem.

Send the commercial objective through Nutcracker so the right strategy, creative, digital, content, social, or lead-generation support can be matched to the brief.

Work with us → Send a structured brief Browse all services Read related playbooks