Clicks are not results: my talk at Nomad World Fest 2025

Most businesses measure their advertising with the wrong numbers: clicks, impressions, CTR. All vanity metrics as long as nothing ties them to actual revenue. At Nomad World Fest 2025 I stood on stage and took exactly that apart: how do you build campaigns that bring in money, not just clicks?

The talk walks through the framework I’ve built up over years — first as a Google consultant, then in my own independent client work. It stands on three pillars.

1. Tracking is the foundation

Without clean conversion tracking, every campaign is a blind flight:

• Server-side tracking for maximum data quality
• Enhanced conversions for better attribution
• Offline conversion import for leads that only turn into customers weeks later
• Consent Mode v2 for traceable consent signals and clearly named measurement gaps

2. Campaign structure with a system behind it

Good campaigns follow a clear architecture:

• Separate search intent: informational and transactional keywords belong in different campaigns
• Distribute budget by value: more budget where the customer value is higher
• Maintain negative keywords: the most underrated lever in the whole account
• Test ad copy: systematic A/B testing instead of gut feel

3. Scaling without losing efficiency

The hard part: spending more budget without the CPA exploding.

• Incrementality testing: actually knowing whether the ad caused the purchase
• Portfolio bidding: treating campaigns as one system, not as isolated line items
• Creative diversification: more formats, more audiences, same efficiency

What you take away

• Measure what counts: revenue, profit, customer lifetime value — not clicks.
• Data before budget: tracking comes before scaling.
• Simplicity wins: the best accounts run few, cleanly structured campaigns.
• Test your assumptions: they’re the enemy of profitable advertising.

The talk was part of Nomad World Fest, where digital nomads, founders and remote workers come together — and it was aimed at solopreneurs and small teams who want maximum impact on a limited budget.

If you want to set your own ads system up properly, write to me and tell me what you’re running. I’ll tell you honestly what I’d fix first.