We turn down work sometimes. Usually it is because a business is not ready for paid traffic yet — and running ads would waste their budget and damage their confidence in a channel that would otherwise work well for them.
Here is how we think about readiness.
The Amplifier Problem
Paid ads amplify what is already working. If your offer is unclear, ads bring confused visitors who do not convert. If your landing page is slow, ads bring visitors who bounce. If you do not know your numbers, ads spend your budget with no way to evaluate if it is working.
More traffic is not the solution to any of these problems. It makes them more expensive.
The Readiness Checklist
Your offer is specific
“We help businesses grow” is not an offer. “We run Facebook Ads for e-commerce stores doing €10k to €100k per month” is an offer. Specificity repels the wrong people and attracts the right ones at higher conversion rates.
You know your numbers
Before running ads, you should know your average customer lifetime value, your maximum acceptable cost per lead, and your current conversion rate from lead to client. Without these numbers, you cannot evaluate whether a campaign is working.
You have a way to capture leads
An ad without a destination is money on fire. You need a landing page that matches the ad’s message, a working contact form or booking system, and someone who responds to enquiries within 24 hours.
You have social proof
Cold audiences do not trust you yet. You need at minimum three written testimonials, a case study with real numbers, or a meaningful review count on Google or Trustpilot.
Your site loads in under 3 seconds on mobile
Check with Google PageSpeed Insights. If you are scoring below 50 on mobile, fix that before running ads. Slow sites increase your cost per click and reduce conversion rates.
When You Are Ready
If you can answer yes to all five points, you are ready for paid traffic. At that point:
- Start with the channel your customers actually use
- Begin with a small budget to validate before scaling
- Give it 90 days — meaningful data takes time
- Track conversions, not just clicks
Paid ads work. They work best when everything behind them is solid.
Not sure if you are ready? Book a free discovery call. We will give you an honest answer.