Paid Media, Advertising, and Campaign Management
This domain tests campaign planning, buying models, and optimization. Know media types-search, display, social, video, programmatic-and buying models: CPM (per thousand impressions), CPC (per click), CPA (per acquisition), and CPV (per view). Match the model to the objective: awareness favors CPM/reach; performance favors CPA/CPC.
Understand targeting (contextual, audience, retargeting), frequency capping, and the funnel role of each tactic. Know programmatic basics: real-time bidding, DSPs (demand-side platforms), and ad exchanges. Grasp creative testing (A/B), landing page alignment, and the importance of message-match from ad to page.
Traps: judging an awareness campaign by CPA, or a conversion campaign by impressions. Confusing frequency (times shown per person) with reach (unique people). Assuming more impressions always help-frequency too high causes fatigue and waste. Another trap: ignoring attribution windows, so conversions get credited to the wrong touchpoint. Also watch for answers that change multiple variables at once in a test, making results unreadable.
Worked rule of thumb: Align the KPI to the campaign objective before evaluating performance. In an A/B test, change one element at a time and ensure enough sample size and duration to reach significance. If a display campaign has strong reach but weak conversions, consider retargeting and landing-page alignment rather than simply raising budget.