‍The Optimization Timeline

Successful campaigns follow a predictable optimization curve. This playbook breaks down exactly what to do—and what not to do—at each stage to maximize performance and minimize wasted spend.

Why This Timeline?

The algorithm needs data before it can optimize. Rushing optimization decisions in Week 1 leads to false conclusions. Waiting too long to optimize in Weeks 2-4 wastes budget. This timeline balances patience with action.

Before You Start: Pre-Launch Requirements

These must be in place before launching any campaign:

• Pixel or S2S tracking installed and verified
• Test conversion successfully received in dashboard
• 3-5 creative variations uploaded (GIF format, 4 sizes)
• Target audiences selected
• GEOs defined
• Daily budget set to support 2-3+ conversions per day minimum
• Attribution window configured

The first week is about data collection, not optimization. The algorithm needs time to explore your audiences, test your creatives, and identify early signals. Your job is to verify tracking and resist the urge to make changes.

What the Algorithm is Doing

• Exploring broadly across all selected audiences
• Testing all creative variations to gather CTR data
• Distributing impressions across GEOs to find early patterns
• Collecting conversion signals to build optimization models
• Identifying placement quality across the network

What You Should Be Doing

Day 1-2: Attribution Verification

• Confirm pixel is firing on all landing page loads
• Verify conversion events are triggering correctly
• Check that click_id is being captured (if using S2S)
• Match dashboard conversions against your internal data
• Fix any tracking gaps immediately—bad data ruins optimization

Day 3-5: Monitoring (Not Optimizing)

• Check that impressions are being delivered
• Confirm clicks are being recorded
• Verify conversions are flowing into the dashboard
• Note early creative performance trends (but don't act yet)
• Document any anomalies for later analysis

Day 6-7: Week 1 Review

• Total conversions: Are you hitting volume targets?
• CPA trend: What's the current cost-per-acquisition?
• Creative spread: Are impressions distributed across all variations?
• GEO distribution: Is traffic flowing to all target regions?

DO NOT Do This in Week 1

Pause creatives based on 1-2 days of data. Kill audiences that haven't converted yet. Reduce budget because early CPAs seem high. Make major targeting changes. The algorithm is still learning—premature decisions will hurt final performance.

Week 1 Metrics to Track

Week 1 Checklist

• Tracking verified: conversions match internal data
• Impressions delivering daily
• All creatives receiving impressions
• Conversions recorded (even if CPA is high)
• No major tracking gaps or errors
• Notes documented for Week 2 optimization

Week 1 Success Criteria

If you have 15-30+ conversions by end of Week 1 and tracking is verified, you're ready to optimize. If conversion volume is lower, consider increasing budget or optimizing for a higher-volume event before proceeding.

With Week 1 data in hand, it's time to optimize. The algorithm has identified early patterns—now you accelerate winners and eliminate losers to drive down CPA and scale profitably.

Week 2: First Optimization Pass

Audience Optimization

Review audience performance with at least 7 days of data:

Creative Optimization

Identify winning and losing creatives:

• Top 1-2 creatives by conversion rate: Scale impressions
• Middle performers: Maintain, test variations
• Bottom performers (zero or very low conversions): Pause
• Plan new creatives based on what's working

GEO Optimization

Shift budget toward best-performing regions:

• Top GEOs by CPA: Increase budget caps
• Underperforming GEOs: Reduce or pause
• Test expansion to similar markets if top GEOs are saturated

Optimization Rule

Only make changes based on statistically significant data. A creative with 2 conversions vs 3 conversions isn't meaningfully different. Wait until you have 15-20+ conversions per variable before making confident decisions.

Week 3: Creative Refresh & A/B Testing

By Week 3, top creatives start to fatigue. Proactive refresh prevents performance decline.

Signs of Creative Fatigue:

• CTR declining day-over-day
• CPA increasing despite stable traffic quality
• Frequency metrics rising (same users seeing ads repeatedly)

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Creative Refresh Strategy:

1. Analyze your top performer: What's working? (Hook? Offer? Visual style?)
2. Create 2-3 variations that preserve winning elements but change secondary elements
3. Test new hooks or angles that haven't been tried
4. Upload new creatives alongside existing winners
5. Don't pause winning creatives until new ones prove themselves

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What to Test in New Creatives:

Week 4: Scale & Stabilize

Week 4 is about scaling what works and stabilizing performance for the long term.

Scaling Actions:

• Increase daily budget on campaigns hitting target CPA
• Expand to additional GEOs similar to top performers
• Add new audience segments related to winners
• Increase creative rotation with proven variations

Stabilization Actions:

• Set up automated rules for budget pacing (if available)
• Document winning combinations (audience + creative + GEO)
• Establish baseline metrics for ongoing monitoring
• Plan Week 5 retargeting launch

Weeks 2-4 Optimization Checklist

Week 2:

• Audiences reviewed and reallocated
• Bottom-performing creatives paused
• Budget shifted to top GEOs
• CPA trending downward from Week 1

Week 3:

• New creatives uploaded (2-3 variations)
• A/B tests running on hooks, offers, or visuals
• Fatigue monitored on top performers
• Conversion volume maintained or increased

Week 4:

• Budget scaled on profitable campaigns
• Winning combinations documented
• Performance stabilized at target CPA
• Retargeting audiences building (ready for Week 5)

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By Week 5, you've accumulated significant audience data: visitors who clicked but didn't convert, users who started registration but didn't complete, visitors who engaged but dropped off. Retargeting recovers these high-intent users at lower CPA than cold traffic.

Why Retargeting Works

Timing Note

Launching retargeting in Week 5 (not Week 1) is intentional. You need 4 weeks of traffic to build meaningful retargeting pools. Launching retargeting too early means targeting tiny audiences with insufficient data.

Retargeting Audience Segments

Segment 1: All Site Visitors (Lowest Intent)

• Everyone who visited your landing page
• Largest pool, lowest conversion rate
• Use for broad awareness and re-engagement

Segment 2: Engaged Visitors (Medium Intent)

• Visitors who spent 30+ seconds or viewed multiple pages
• Showed genuine interest, didn't convert
• Use for offer reminders and urgency messaging

Segment 3: Cart/Form Abandoners (High Intent)

• Users who started a conversion action but didn't complete
• Highest intent, smallest pool
• Use for direct conversion messaging ("Complete your registration")

Retargeting Creative Strategy

Retargeting creatives should differ from prospecting creatives—these users already know your offer.

Retargeting Message Examples:

• "Still thinking about it? Your bonus is waiting."
• "You're almost there—complete your registration."
• "Don't miss out—offer expires soon."
• "Come back and claim your [specific offer]."

Retargeting Setup Checklist

• Pixel installed with PageView event on all pages
• Audience segments created (All Visitors, Engaged, Abandoners)
• Segment size meets minimum threshold (1,000+ users recommended)
• Retargeting-specific creatives developed
• Frequency caps set (avoid overexposure)
• Separate campaign created for retargeting
• Exclusions configured (exclude converted users)

Retargeting Success Metric

Retargeting campaigns should deliver CPA 30-50% lower than prospecting campaigns. If your retargeting CPA is similar to or higher than prospecting, review your segments and creative messaging—something isn't aligned.

Ongoing Optimization: Week 6+

After Week 5, campaigns enter a maintenance and scaling phase. The heavy lifting is done—now it's about sustaining performance and incremental improvement.

Weekly Maintenance Routine

Every Monday: Performance Review

• Review previous week's CPA vs target
• Check creative performance for fatigue signals
• Verify tracking is still functioning correctly
• Note any anomalies or significant changes

Every Wednesday: Optimization Pass

• Pause any creatives showing clear fatigue
• Adjust GEO allocations based on performance
• Upload new creatives if testing
• Review retargeting segment performance

Every Friday: Planning

• Plan next week's creative tests
• Identify scaling opportunities
• Document learnings from the week

When to Refresh Strategy

Quick Reference: Phase-by-Phase Summary

Next Steps

This playbook turns campaign management from guesswork into process. Follow the timeline, trust the phases, and let data drive decisions.

Ready to launch?

6. Complete the pre-launch checklist
7. Launch your campaign
8. Execute Week 1 validation protocol
9. Follow Weeks 2-4 optimization sequence
10. Activate retargeting in Week 5
11. Maintain and scale ongoing

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Need Help With Optimization?

Our team can review your campaigns and identify optimization opportunities.

Contact us at blockchain-ads.com

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