nn.partners

Feeling Stuck Scaling Your Ads? Here’s How to Restart Growth in 3 Steps

Picture of Written by
Written by

Nik Vdovenko

Table of Contents

Every business faces it at some point—growth stalls, performance plateaus, and your tried-and-true strategies stop delivering. Frustrating, isn’t it?

When this happens, many business owners and marketers make the same mistake: they overhaul everything. But in reality, you don’t need to start from scratch. Often, the problem isn’t your entire strategy—it’s one or two critical missteps that throw everything off balance.

The good news? Restarting growth doesn’t require a complete rebuild. It starts with fixing three key areas that can unlock performance: conversion tracking, account structure, and communication strategy.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through these three actionable steps to get your campaigns back on track. With a few tweaks, you can stop wasting time and money, refocus your efforts, and see the growth you’ve been missing. Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Fix Your Conversion Tracking

What is Conversion Tracking?

Conversion tracking is a way to see if your ads are working.

It tells you when someone takes an important action after clicking your ad—like buying a product, signing up for a newsletter, or calling your business. Think of it as a scoreboard for your marketing efforts. Without it, you won’t know if your ads are winning or losing.

How Does It Work?

Conversion tracking works by using a tracking tag or pixel, which is a small piece of code provided by ad platforms like Google or Meta. This code is added to your website to communicate with the ad platform. When someone takes an action—like making a purchase or filling out a form—the tag sends a message back to the ad platform: “Hey, this ad led to a sale!”

Now Imagine trying to win a race with a blindfold on.

That’s what running ads without proper conversion tracking is like.

Why It Matters:

When your tracking is broken or incomplete, you’re flying blind. Google or Meta doesn’t know what to focus on, so they optimize for random things like clicks or views instead of actual sales or leads. This wastes your money and misses opportunities to grow.

Here’s how poor tracking can hurt your business:

  • Bad Data = Bad Decisions: Without accurate data, you might spend more money on ads that don’t work or stop campaigns that are actually driving sales.
  • Lost Revenue: If you’re tracking the wrong actions, you won’t know what’s bringing in money, so you’ll waste your ad budget.
  • Confused Algorithms: Platforms like Google and Meta rely on tracking data to figure out who is most likely to buy. If your tracking is wrong, their systems can’t help you.

The Solution:

Fixing your tracking means every ad dollar works harder, and every campaign delivers data you can trust.

What does proper conversion tracking look like?

  • Aligned Metrics: The numbers in your Ads Manager match your CRM or sales system. If Ads Manager says you made 10 sales, your bank account should show the same.
  • Optimized Results: Your ads focus on what matters—like sales, not just clicks.
  • Actionable Insights: You can see which ads, audiences, or campaigns are driving growth.

What to do:

  • Ensure your tracking tools (e.g., GA4, CallRail) capture the right conversions that align with your business goals.
  • Check that conversions in Ads Manager match those in your CRM or bank account. If they don’t, you’re not seeing the full picture.

Bottom Line:

Fixing your conversion tracking isn’t just about seeing numbers; it’s about making every dollar you spend on ads count. With proper tracking, you’re not guessing—you’re making smart decisions that lead to growth. Without it, you’re gambling with your budget.

📋 Not sure where to start? Use our GA4 Setup Checklist or Full Tracking Guide to ensure your tracking is accurate, actionable, and built for growth.

Step 2: Audit and Optimize Your Account Structure

What is Account Structure?

Account structure is the way you organize your campaigns, ad sets, and ads within an ad platform like Google or Meta. It determines how your ads are targeted, what audiences they reach, and how your budget is distributed. Think of it as a roadmap that tells the platform where to send your ads and what goals to prioritize.

Why Is It Important?

Ad platforms rely on their bidding algorithms to show your ads to the right people at the right time. These algorithms need clean and consistent data to perform well. If your account structure is messy—like having duplicate keywords, unclear goals, or multiple campaigns targeting the same audience—it creates confusion. The algorithm doesn’t know what to optimize for, and your ads become less effective.

How Does It Work?

Your account structure starts with a campaign, which is like the overarching goal of your ads (e.g., driving sales or leads). Within each campaign are ad sets (for Meta) or ad groups (for Google), which define how and where your ads are shown. Finally, the ads themselves are the creative content that delivers your message.

A good account structure ensures that:

  1. Each campaign has a clear and relevant objective.
  2. Each ad group or ad set targets a specific audience or keyword.
  3. There is no overlap, so you’re not competing with yourself.

Example of a Bad Structure:

  • Multiple campaigns using the same keyword (e.g., “hvac licensing course”). This causes your ads to compete against each other, driving up costs unnecessarily.
  • Different ad sets targeting the same audience with similar ads, which confuses the algorithm and reduces efficiency.

Example of a Good Structure:

One campaign for branded searches, one for product searches, and one for solution searches. Each focuses on a unique goal, audience, or intent, ensuring clarity, ease of analyzing, and maximum impact.

The simpler and more unified your account structure, the easier it is for the algorithm to learn, optimize, and deliver consistent, scalable results.

Step 3: Rethink Your Communication Strategy

What is a Communication Strategy?

A communication strategy is how you tell people about your product or service in a way that grabs their attention, makes them care, and gets them to take action. It’s the messaging, tone, and visuals in your ads that explain why someone should choose you.

Why Is It Important?

Even the best ad structure and perfect tracking won’t work if your message doesn’t connect with your audience.

Think of it this way: if your ad doesn’t make people stop, understand, and feel something, they’ll scroll right past it. A strong communication strategy bridges the gap between what you offer and what your audience wants, turning interest into action.

How Does It Work?

Your communication strategy should meet your audience where they are. People at different stages of the buying journey need different messages to move them forward:

  1. Someone who’s never heard of your product needs to know what it is and why it matters.
  2. Someone comparing options needs to know why you’re the best choice.
  3. Someone ready to buy needs a clear reason to act now.

A good communication strategy ensures that:

  • Your message is tailored to what your audience cares about at that moment.
  • You focus on the outcomes your product delivers, not just its features.
  • Your ads are clear, specific, and aligned with the action you want the audience to take.

Example of a Weak Strategy:

  • Saying, “We offer online courses,” tells the audience what you do but doesn’t explain why it’s valuable to them.
  • Using vague language like “innovative solutions” or “next-gen learning” leaves people guessing.

Example of a Strong Strategy:

  • Saying, “Pass your licensing exam in 60 days—guaranteed or your money back,” speaks directly to what your audience wants and why they should choose you.

Your communication strategy is the “why” behind every ad you create. When you get it right, your ads don’t just talk—they convert.

Conclusion: Build for Growth by Mastering the Fundamentals

When growth stalls, the solution isn’t to overhaul everything or throw more money at ads—it’s about focusing on the fundamentals that drive results. By addressing the three critical areas of conversion tracking, account structure, and communication strategy, you create a foundation for sustainable, scalable growth.

  • Fix Your Conversion Tracking: Accurate tracking ensures you know what’s working, what’s not, and where to focus your efforts. It allows ad platforms to optimize for meaningful outcomes, turning guesswork into informed decisions.
  • Audit and Optimize Your Account Structure: A clean, well-organized account eliminates inefficiencies, helps algorithms perform better, and provides clear insights for scaling. The simpler and more unified your structure, the easier it is to grow.
  • Rethink Your Communication Strategy: Your message is what connects your product with your audience’s needs. Tailoring your ads to focus on outcomes and meet your audience at their stage of awareness ensures you’re not just seen, but heard.

These three pillars work together to amplify your efforts. When your tracking is precise, your campaigns are structured for success, and your messaging resonates, you create a system that doesn’t just grow—it thrives.

Take the First Step:

Evaluate your current setup. Are your tracking, account structure, and messaging aligned with your goals? If not, start making changes today.

Growth is just a few strategic changes away.

Nik Vdovenko founder at nn.partners

Nik Vdovenko

Hi, I’m Nik Vdovenko—founder and CEO at nn.partners. I’m on a mission to match great businesses with great marketing and analytics. I work with an awesome, globally-distributed team from my base in Portugal, and together, we focus on making sure every dollar you spend on Google, Meta, and Microsoft ads drives more sales and profit for your business. Follow me for industry insights, practical guides, and proven strategies to help you grow your business, save time, and get a lasting competitive edge in the digital marketplace.

You might be interested

why do most ad campaigns fail

Why do most ad campaigns fail? 

It’s easy to get lost in jargon, guru advice, and endless platform updates. Too often, when campaigns underperform, people point fingers at “the algorithm.” But