Ad Performance Report

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Create a weekly or monthly ad performance report
• Analyze ROAS, CPA, and other key advertising metrics
• Deliver creative performance insights and optimization recommendations
• Build a reusable reporting template for ongoing campaigns

DO NOT use this skill for organic social media analytics, SEO reports, or general business dashboards. This is specifically for paid advertising performance reporting.

Core Principle

EVERY METRIC IN THE REPORT MUST LEAD TO AN ACTION — IF A NUMBER DOES NOT INFORM A DECISION, REMOVE IT.

Phase 1: Report Setup

Required Inputs

GATE: Do not proceed without spend and conversion/revenue data.

Phase 2: Metrics Analysis

Calculate and present core metrics with context.

Metric Calculations

## Core Metrics

| Metric | This Period | Last Period | Change |
|--------|------------|-------------|--------|
| Total Spend | $X | $X | +/-X% |
| Revenue | $X | $X | +/-X% |
| ROAS | X.Xx | X.Xx | +/-X% |
| CPA/CPL | $X | $X | +/-X% |
| Impressions | X | X | +/-X% |
| Clicks | X | X | +/-X% |
| CTR | X.X% | X.X% | +/-X% |
| CPC | $X.XX | $X.XX | +/-X% |
| Conversions | X | X | +/-X% |
| Conversion Rate | X.X% | X.X% | +/-X% |

Platform Breakdown

If running on multiple platforms, break metrics down per platform:

## Platform Performance

| Platform | Spend | Revenue | ROAS | CPA | CTR |
|----------|-------|---------|------|-----|-----|
| Meta | $X | $X | X.Xx | $X | X.X% |
| Google | $X | $X | X.Xx | $X | X.X% |

Benchmarks

Compare against industry benchmarks and the account's historical averages. Flag any metric that is significantly above or below benchmark.

Phase 3: Insights and Recommendations

Creative Performance

## Top Performing Creatives

1. [Creative name/ID] — ROAS: X.Xx, Spend: $X, CPA: $X
   Why it works: [Analysis of hook, format, messaging]

2. [Creative name/ID] — ROAS: X.Xx, Spend: $X, CPA: $X
   Why it works: [Analysis]

## Underperforming Creatives

1. [Creative name/ID] — ROAS: X.Xx, Spend: $X, CPA: $X
   Recommendation: [Pause / revise hook / change audience]

Optimization Recommendations

Provide 3-5 specific, prioritized actions:

## Recommended Actions

1. **[Action]** — [Rationale] — Expected impact: [High/Med/Low]
2. **[Action]** — [Rationale] — Expected impact: [High/Med/Low]
3. **[Action]** — [Rationale] — Expected impact: [High/Med/Low]

Phase 4: Executive Summary

Write a 3-5 sentence summary for stakeholders who will not read the full report.

## Executive Summary

[1-2 sentences on overall performance vs. goal]
[1 sentence on the biggest win]
[1 sentence on the biggest concern or opportunity]
[1 sentence on next steps]

Report Delivery Format

report/
└── ad-performance-[YYYY-MM].md

Include: Executive summary, core metrics table, platform breakdown, creative analysis, recommendations, and raw data appendix.

Example: Monthly Meta + Google Report

Executive Summary: "Total ad spend of $8,400 generated $29,400 in revenue for a blended ROAS of 3.5x — up from 2.8x last month. The top-performing Meta creative (UGC testimonial video) drove 42% of all conversions at a $12 CPA. Google Search CPA increased 18% due to rising keyword competition — recommend expanding to branded terms and adding negative keywords. Priority for next month: scale the UGC creative format on Meta and audit Google keyword match types."

Anti-Patterns

• Data dumps without insight — a table of numbers is not a report. Every metric needs context and a recommendation.
• Reporting on vanity metrics — impressions and reach without tying to revenue are noise. Lead with ROAS or CPA.
• Missing comparison context — raw numbers mean nothing without period-over-period or benchmark comparison.
• Burying the recommendations — lead with what to do, then support with data. Stakeholders read the top, not the bottom.
• Reporting too infrequently — monthly is minimum. Weekly for campaigns spending $5K+/month.

Recovery

• Incomplete data: Note which metrics are missing and why. Provide analysis on available data with caveats.
• ROAS below 1.0: Flag immediately. Recommend pausing underperformers, reallocating budget, or revising creative before next spend cycle.
• No conversion tracking: Cannot produce a meaningful report. Help the user set up conversion tracking as a prerequisite.
• First month of ads (no comparison data): Use industry benchmarks as the comparison baseline. Flag that historical context will improve future reports.