The Thrive Performance Marketing Blog
Learn about all things performance marketing and paid digital with the Thrive blog.What makes a good marketing audit?
TL;DR A proper audit has two components: performance marketing (finding wasted spend and scaling opportunities) and analytics foundation (ensuring your tracking setup is accurate). Focus on immediate wins like pausing zero-conversion keywords, implementing server-side tracking, and setting up automated alerts. Expect 5-15% variance between platforms—anything higher signals broken tracking. Document everything, audit quarterly, and prioritize fixes by ROI impact.
4 minute read
Beyond attribution: understanding the incremental impact of your marketing
Originally published September 2023, updated July 2025 for relevancy TL;DR The world of marketing measurement is complex and traditional attribution methods often fail to share the whole story. We believe that incrementality is a more reliable determiner of revenue outcomes than many attribution models. Incrementality is all about measuring the real impact of our ads – the stuff that wouldn't have happened without them. We measure incrementality in two ways: experiments and testing media mix modeling To get started, we suggest running small experiments and begin building an understanding of how different media channels contribute to top-line revenue.
9 minute read
What is AI doing to SEO and paid media performance?
TL;DR: AI is changing SEO and PPC, not killing them. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Intelligence Optimization (GIO) are key. SEO and PPC teams must work together. Use PPC insights to inform SEO (landing pages, schema, mobile design, keywords, negatives, site structure, content). Unified strategies reduce waste and improve results.
7 minute read
Ad targeting: is it really that precise?
Ad targeting is one of the biggest selling points of digital marketing, but how accurate is it really? In this episode, we challenge the assumption that ad targeting is as precise as marketers believe. We discuss the pitfalls of audience segmentation, the over-reliance on machine learning, and the growing importance of creative in a world where targeting is becoming less effective.
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Answering your biggest performance marketing questions
Performance marketing is constantly evolving, and we know you have questions. In this special Q&A episode, we took your questions about performance marketing, from AI’s impact to reporting best practices and answered them in this wide-spanning conversation.
3 minute readMarketing for early stage start-ups
Founders series: lessons in resilience and marketing for early-stage startups What happens when a seasoned marketer and investor reflects on lessons learned from building businesses and working in venture capital? In this special founder’s series episode of The Hypothesis with Thrive’s founder, Jonathan Becker, Kirby Winfield of Ascend shares candid insights into his entrepreneurial journey, the challenges of early-stage startups, and the importance of balancing grit with experimentation. We also dive into the nuances of effective marketing and how infrastructure plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of technology.
2 minute readIs your landing page hurting ad performance?
Marketers talk a lot about ads, but what about landing pages, where you get the real action you’re looking for from a consumer? In this episode, we dive into the nuances of landing pages—what they are, what they should do, and how to avoid common pitfalls. We also discuss whether content should be gated, the balance of personalization, and why every marketer should prioritize clarity above all else.
2 minute readAttribution is overrated
Attribution: why it matters and where marketers go wrong Attribution is overrated — or at least, that was our hypothesis going into episode 14 of The Hypothesis. In this episode, we dive into the complexities of attribution in marketing. What does it really mean? How can marketers assign value to their activities amidst flawed data and imperfect systems? Join us as we break down the concepts, discuss common pitfalls, and explore better approaches to measuring marketing effectiveness.
2 minute readIf Meta ads don’t work for you, it’s your fault
In this episode, we dive into the common mistakes marketers make when running Meta ads and how to correct them. From creative testing to campaign objective misalignment, we discuss the nuances of effective ad strategy on Meta’s platform. Tune in to learn about the best practices for ad measurement, the strategic use of various ad formats, and optimizing for both e-commerce and B2B audiences. More of a skimmer? Keep reading for our top takeaways.
3 minute read