Passed on 22 May, 2025
2. Paid ads and your brand
Defining exactly what you want to get out of your paid advertising will help you create campaigns that are focused on your different goals. This lesson will show you how to guide customers from awareness to conversion using focused, goal-driven advertising campaigns.
✅ Learning objectivesBy the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:Identify clear advertising goals for a business.Align your ads with each stage of the sales funnel.Explore AI tools that can help you plan effective ad strategies.
Learning objectives
By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
Identify clear advertising goals for a business.
Align your ads with each stage of the sales funnel.
Explore AI tools that can help you plan effective ad strategies.
Defining your goals
Before you start, it’s important to understand what paid advertising does well and decide what your goals are. This can not only help you set the right expectations, but it can also help you focus and get the biggest benefit for your business or brand.
What do you want to achieve?
Decide what makes sense for your business and build your campaigns around those goals. Check out the examples below for inspiration and make some notes of your own ideas.
Get your business or brand name out to people who might be interested, like with social media ads.
Tell potential customers about new sales on products they’ve considered before.
Use retargeting to bring customers back again and again.
Do you have multiple goals?
If you have lots of goals, a single ad or a single campaign can’t do it all.Don’t worry. If you’ve clearly laid out what you want to achieve up front, you can then build out different campaigns targeting different people with different goals for all the right reasons.
Don’t worry. If you’ve clearly laid out what you want to achieve up front, you can then build out different campaigns targeting different people with different goals for all the right reasons.
Don’t worry. If you’ve clearly laid out what you want to achieve up front, you can then build out different campaigns targeting different people with different goals for all the right reasons.
Breaking down your goals
A simple way to break down what you want to achieve with paid advertising is to think about the different steps of the customer journey as a funnel.
The sales funnel
Think of a funnel – wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. The top represents all potential customers, and as they move through the stages, only some will make it to the bottom as paying customers.It’s helpful to understand the entire funnel to know where you should focus your efforts for your customers and potential customers.
It’s helpful to understand the entire funnel to know where you should focus your efforts for your customers and potential customers.
It’s helpful to understand the entire funnel to know where you should focus your efforts for your customers and potential customers.
Awareness
If your goal is building awareness, use ads that make a strong first impression. Focus on what makes your brand stand out. Folks who find your ads aren’t actively searching for you when your ads appear, so make sure they’re engaging.
Interest
The next stage is about shaping opinions and ensuring people remember you. Use ads that highlight your brand’s advantages and benefits. Narrow your audience to those who’ve visited your site or shown interest in your products or services.
Consideration
At this stage, focus on people considering your brand’s solution. Highlight what makes your product or service stand out, like testimonials. Target those who’ve shown interest, such as site visitors or social media followers, to refine your message and drive engagement.
Conversion
The final step is the purchase or action. Use ads with special offers, like discounts, free trials, or exclusive access, targeted at people who’ve shown interest but haven’t yet completed the desired action, such as signing up or making a booking.
Using AI to plan your ad strategy
AI can help make it easier to define advertising goals, map them to the sales funnel, craft tailored messages, and target the right audience.
How AI can help
Here are a few examples of how AI can be used to streamline the process.
Goal setting
Use data analytics tools like Google Analytics which has AI-powered features that can suggest advertising goals based on general trends and customer insights.
Aligning your goals
Let’s put what you’ve learned into practice. Go through the checklist below to create a plan that aligns your advertising goals with each stage of the customer journey.
✅ ActivityCheck the items off as you go.Identify one goal and match it to the funnel stage.Craft a message suited to the funnel stage.Choose the best ad format for your message.Plan how to target your audience based on the selected funnel stage (e.g., site visitors or followers).
Activity
Identify one goal and match it to the funnel stage.
Craft a message suited to the funnel stage.
Choose the best ad format for your message.
Plan how to target your audience based on the selected funnel stage (e.g., site visitors or followers).
Download PDF
Download PDF
Check your knowledge
It’s time for you to find out what you’ve learned. Check out the use case below and see if you can suggest the right solution.You must complete the knowledge check to move to the next lesson.
You must complete the knowledge check to move to the next lesson.
You must complete the knowledge check to move to the next lesson.
Question 1 of 1
Colin wants to build awareness of his movie review podcast. Which type of advert would be most effective in reaching a broad audience?
A highly targeted text-based ad
A visually engaging ad showcasing his popular episodes
An ad that only targets returning visitors
A testimonial-based ad
Submit
Submit
Yes.Great choice! A visually engaging ad that highlights popular episodes is ideal for building awareness and attracting new listeners.
Lesson complete
Great job!You’ve learned how to define your goals and align your ads with each stage of the sales funnel. This will help you build stronger, more effective campaigns.Next up, we’ll explore how Search Engine Marketing (SEM) can drive even more traffic and growth for your brand.
You’ve learned how to define your goals and align your ads with each stage of the sales funnel. This will help you build stronger, more effective campaigns.Next up, we’ll explore how Search Engine Marketing (SEM) can drive even more traffic and growth for your brand.
Next up, we’ll explore how Search Engine Marketing (SEM) can drive even more traffic and growth for your brand.
Next up, we’ll explore how Search Engine Marketing (SEM) can drive even more traffic and growth for your brand.