Why January Is the Perfect Time to Audit Your Ad Campaigns

by Art Lindop

Friday, January 3, 2025

January marks the start of a new year, offering brands the chance to step back and assess their marketing performance. After the chaos of the holiday season, there’s no better time to perform a thorough audit of your ad campaigns. This isn’t just about spotting inefficiencies; it’s about setting your advertising up for scalable success in 2025.

At Alphageek, we view January as a critical month to take stock, adjust strategies, and identify opportunities to improve ROI. Here’s why—and how—you should conduct a January ad campaign audit.

1. Reflect on Holiday Campaigns: What Worked and What Didn’t?

The holiday season often represents the busiest and most lucrative period for many brands, but it’s also a time when inefficiencies and oversights can sneak in. Start your audit by reviewing the performance of your holiday campaigns.

Key Areas to Analyse:

Performance Metrics: Evaluate ROAS, CTR, and CPA to identify winning ads and underperformers. Ensure that your key bottom-line profitable ROAS is clearly established and forms the benchmark for evaluating campaign success.
Creative Effectiveness: Which visuals and messaging resonated most with your audience? Were certain formats (e.g., video vs. static) more effective? Alphageek tip: Platforms like Meta thrive on video content, whereas Google often rewards clear, static visuals for Shopping campaigns.
Budget Allocation: Assess whether your spend was optimised across channels. Did some platforms outperform others in terms of cost-effectiveness? Alphageek tip: Brands seeing consistent wins often allocate 5-8% of revenue towards overall marketing spend, with flexibility to stretch to 10% for aggressive growth periods.

Trends to Watch: AI-driven features within platforms, such as Meta’s Advantage+ and Google’s Performance Max, are becoming increasingly effective. Leveraging these tools can significantly enhance your campaign efficiency. For a deeper dive into mastering these advanced tools, check out our blog: Geek Speak Ep. 4: The Algorithm Decoded – How to Master Meta’s Advantage+ and Google’s Performance Max.

Pro Tip: Look at blended metrics across Meta and Google to get a full-funnel view of how your holiday campaigns performed. This will help you understand how different platforms supported conversions.

2. Identify Gaps in Your Funnel

An ad campaign is only as strong as the funnel it supports. January is the perfect time to identify where your funnel might be leaking customers.

Questions to Ask:

Top of Funnel: Did your awareness campaigns generate enough reach and engagement? Were your CTRs strong, or do your creatives need improvement? Alphageek tip: For Meta, broad targeting combined with fresh, attention-grabbing video content is key to top-of-funnel success.
Middle of Funnel: Were your retargeting efforts effective? Are potential customers dropping off before they make a purchase? Alphageek tip: Dynamic ads and sequential storytelling campaigns help keep users engaged and moving toward conversion.
Bottom of Funnel: How did your conversion-focused campaigns perform? Were there barriers (e.g., pricing, checkout experience) preventing conversions? Alphageek tip: Knowing your key profitable ROAS target helps you make agile decisions on scaling or cutting campaigns.

Brands that succeed are setting up systems to phase in new content regularly and establish feedback loops. This ensures what’s working gets amplified quickly. To see how combining Meta and Google funnels can create full-funnel success, read our blog: Geek Speak Ep. 3: Combining Meta and Google Ads for Full-Funnel Success.

3. Update Your Targeting Strategy

The digital advertising landscape is evolving rapidly, and audience behaviours shift with it. Use January to revisit your targeting parameters and ensure they’re aligned with current trends.

Steps to Optimise Targeting:

Broaden Audiences: Platforms like Meta and Google are prioritising predictive modelling over restrictive targeting. Consider loosening your audience definitions to let the algorithms find high-potential users.
Leverage First-Party Data: With third-party cookies being phased out, first-party data (e.g., email lists, customer behaviour) is more valuable than ever. Use it to build custom audiences. Alphageek tip: Brands leveraging first-party data effectively see higher ROAS and better audience retention.
Explore New Segments: Test targeting new demographics or interest groups. January’s themes of self-improvement and fresh starts can open doors to audiences you haven’t engaged with before.

Trends to Watch: Predictive targeting powered by AI continues to evolve. These tools can map billions of data points daily to identify ideal audiences and optimise ad delivery automatically. To ensure you’re maximising these capabilities, plan budgets strategically and monitor results in real time.

4. Reassess Your Creative Pipeline

Successful ad campaigns rely on a steady flow of fresh, engaging creatives. January is the perfect time to take stock of your creative library and plan for the year ahead.

Creative Audit Checklist:

Review Top Performers: Identify which assets drove the most engagement and conversions during Q4. Repurpose these for evergreen campaigns.
Plan Seasonal Content: Think ahead to upcoming events like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and spring sales. Start creating themed assets now.
Build a Creative Pipeline: Ensure you have processes in place to refresh creatives regularly. Agile creative testing can reveal new winning ads and boost campaign longevity. Alphageek tip: Establish a content feedback loop. Regularly analyse performance metrics to identify high-performing creatives and scale them quickly.

Pro Tip: Collaborate with influencers or user-generated content creators to diversify your asset library and tap into authentic storytelling. Platform-specific content is essential—what works on Meta might not resonate on Google. For inspiration on building seasonal strategies, read Geek Speak Ep. 6: Holiday Advertising Hacks – How to Build Profitable Meta and Google Funnels for Key Seasons.

5. Evaluate Campaign Structure and Budget Allocation

An efficient campaign structure is the backbone of effective advertising. January is the ideal time to assess whether your campaigns are set up for success.

Questions to Consider:

Are Your Campaigns Too Segmented? Over-segmentation can dilute performance data and hinder the efficiency of AI-led tools like Meta Advantage+ and Google Performance Max. Simplify where possible.
Are Budgets Properly Distributed? Review whether your budget allocation aligns with your performance goals. High-performing campaigns should receive more investment, while underperforming ones should be reevaluated. Alphageek tip: Allocate a percentage of your revenue—3-5% for active spend—and align this with your growth targets. Ensure your budget reflects key moments like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day to maximise returns.
Are You Tracking Key Metrics? Ensure your funnel metrics, such as CTR and ROAS, align with your goals and enable actionable insights. Alphageek tip: Use real-time dashboards to monitor and adjust during critical periods.

6. Incorporate Lessons Into Your 2025 Strategy

The insights gained from your January audit should directly inform your strategy for the rest of the year. Use this time to set benchmarks and prepare for success.

Actionable Steps:

Set Realistic Targets: Use your audit findings to establish measurable goals for the year. For example, aim to improve ROAS by 10% YoY or lower CPA by 15%.
Plan Ad Spend Distribution: Forecast 5-8% of your annual revenue as marketing spend and allocate budgets strategically across key periods like Black Friday and holiday sales. Alphageek tip: Brands looking for aggressive growth often stretch this to 10%.
Develop a Testing Schedule: Create a roadmap for testing new creatives, audiences, and platforms throughout the year. Alphageek tip: Include a mix of content-driven experiments and platform-specific tests to find optimal combinations. Leverage tools like Advantage+ and Performance Max to streamline these efforts.

Final Thoughts: Make January Count

January isn’t just the start of a new year; it’s a chance to recalibrate your advertising strategy and set yourself up for long-term success. By auditing your campaigns, refining your targeting, and strengthening your creative pipeline, you can enter 2025 with confidence and a clear plan for growth.

Trends to Watch: The importance of platform-specific content, predictive AI, and dynamic creative testing will only grow in 2025. Brands that embrace these strategies early are poised to lead their industries. Additionally, building a budget that reflects both short-term and long-term goals—and understanding key profitability metrics—will be essential for sustainable success.

At Alphageek, we help brands uncover actionable insights through comprehensive audits and data-driven strategies. Ready to optimise your campaigns and unlock new opportunities in 2025?

Let’s start the year strong. Get in touch with Alphageek today.