Running paid search and paid social campaigns: Structure, bidding, creative and reporting

A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 12 details that are specific to your organisation.

Length
45 min
Lessons
6 lessons
Frequency
At onboarding for media buying roles
Last reviewed
21 Oct 2026
Creative, copy and the grey areas
What would you do?

A colleague wants the headline "Guaranteed results in 30 days" on an ad for a course

Try it: this is one of 17 interactive activities in the course.

What's included

Three pieces that work together

Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.

Self-paced course

Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.

  • 6 lessons, about 45 minutes
  • Process, sorting activity, scenario, timeline and quizzes

Live session deck

An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.

  • 11 slides
  • Quiz, poll, ranking, scale slides
  • A closing slide for your contacts

Two surveys

Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.

  • Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
  • 30-day check-in
  • Anonymous by default
  • Results feed your next refresher

Learning objectives

At the end of this course, learners can

Each objective and the lesson that covers it.

IDObjectiveSourceWhere it's covered
TO 277.0Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessment-Whole course
SO 277.1Explain in plain words how search and social auctions decide which ads are shownBest practice; ad platform help documentation [unverified]Whole course
SO 277.2Structure an account around goals, themes and audiences, and say when to consolidateBest practiceWhole course
SO 277.3Choose bidding and budget settings that fit the goal and the available dataBest practiceWhole course
SO 277.4Align ad copy, creative and landing page to the same promiseBest practiceWhole course
SO 277.5Read a report, diagnose a weak campaign and choose one change at a timeBest practiceWhole course
SO 277.6Check ads against the platform's advertising policies and the organisation's claims rules before launch + your infoPlatform advertising policies; local advertising rulesWhole course

Your part: what a template can't do for you

  • Your workplace details: fill in the 12 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
  • Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.

Course outline

6 lessons, about 45 minutes

Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.

ContentInteractiveVideoYou customise
1

The campaign with clicks and no sales

3 pages

9 min
Before you beginNoteList
Four hundred clicks, no leadsTextImage
Where it went wrongTimelineQuiz
2

How the auctions work, in brief

3 pages

9 min
Who is shownTabs
Key termsFlashcards
CheckMatching quiz
3

Structure, bidding and budget: a decision path

3 pages

8 min
Decide in orderProcessYour info
Fragmented or focused?Sorting activity
CheckChecklistMulti-select quiz
4

Creative, copy and the grey areas

3 pages

8 min
Make the promise consistentAccordion
The bold claimScenarioYour info
Sort itSorting activityMatching quiz
5

Reading reports, diagnosing and applying

3 pages

8 min
A triage routineProcess
Cost per result risesScenario
Report itProcessYour infoYour infoQuiz
6

Final assessment and completion

1 page

3 min
PracticeQuizKey factNoteButtonYour info

Live deck and surveys

11 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop

Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.

ContentTitle, agenda, "no platform login needed
PollWhich do we run most?
ContentWhat a good ad does, in one line (speaker notes: ask the room aloud, then name the promise the ad makes)
Content · customiseAd promise, keyword intent and landing page in one line; {{CLAIMS_REVIEW_ROUTE}}
QuizHigh clicks, almost no conversions. First check? Raise the budget · Match of ad, keyword intent and landing page ✔ · Change the colour · Add more keywords
QuizMany tiny social ad sets with few results each. Best move? Split them more · Consolidate them so each can learn ✔ · Pause the best one · Change them daily
ContentThe triage routine in five steps
RankingWhere do we waste the most spend?
ScaleHow confident are you diagnosing a weak campaign?
Open-ended / Q&AA campaign of ours we could not explain
Content · customiseClosing {{HELP_CONTACT}}, {{SURVEY_2_URL}}, {{COURSE_URL}}
Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min
  1. Overall rating 5 stars
  2. Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
  3. What was most useful? multi-select
  4. Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
  5. Which platforms do you manage? multiple choice
  6. How confident are you building, bidding and reporting? 1-5 scale
  7. How often do you review account performance? multiple choice
  8. I feel able to pause an ad I think is misleading. 1-5 scale
  9. One thing we should change or add open text
  10. Would you recommend this course? NPS
30-day check-in
  1. Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
  2. How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
  3. Do you know where to find the paid media checklist and claims review route? yes / no / not sure
  4. A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
  5. Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking

Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.

Make it yours

12 fields to fill in, and you're ready

Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.

  • Policy link{{POLICY_LINK}}
  • Help contact{{HELP_CONTACT}}
  • Escalation route{{ESCALATION_ROUTE}}
  • Who checks ad claims and permissions before launch{{CLAIMS_REVIEW_ROUTE}}
  • How often accounts are reviewed{{REVIEW_CADENCE}}
  • Where campaign results are shared{{REPORTING_ROUTE}}
Show all 12 fields
  • Next course link{{NEXT_COURSE_LINK}}
  • LMS or record system{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}}
  • Survey 1 URL{{SURVEY_1_URL}}
  • Survey 2 URL{{SURVEY_2_URL}}
  • Course URL{{COURSE_URL}}
  • Live session URL{{LIVE_SESSION_URL}}

FAQ

Common questions

Can I run running paid search and paid social campaigns: Structure, bidding, creative and reporting training online?

Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.

How often is this training needed?

At onboarding for media buying roles, before a new account or budget cycle, and when platforms change their buying options.

Who needs this training?

Performance marketers, media buyers and agency staff, with a junior variant for new trainees running their first accounts; run by L&D with performance marketing, agency operations and analytics.

What records should I keep?

Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.

Can I edit the content?

Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.

Ready to run it?

Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.