From the audit desk
Practical thinking on paid media audits, agency reporting, and budget efficiency, from 10 years at Starcom and Criteo.
The Google Ads audit checklist: 15 checks with thresholds
Most checklists tell you what to look at but not what number makes it a problem. These fifteen each carry a threshold, and the report where you can verify it yourself.
Is your agency marking up your media? Four ways to check
Markup is not the same as arbitrage, and one of them is disclosed. What the ISBA and ANA transparency studies found, and four checks you can run this week.
What a paid media audit should cost, and what you get at each price
Audit pricing runs from free to five figures for work that sounds identical. Here is what each band actually buys, and the five tests for any proposal.
Why MENA brands over-invest in retargeting, and how to fix it
Retargeting looks good on paper. Low CPA, high ROAS, strong reported returns. But in most accounts, it is the biggest source of invisible waste.
How to read your agency's monthly report, and what they're not showing you
Most agency reports are built to look good, not to be useful. Here's what to ask for instead, and the red flags to watch for.
5 numbers that reveal budget waste in any ad account
You don't need a full audit to spot serious problems. These five metrics, available in any account, tell you most of what you need to know.