Platapode

Blog.

Small observations nobody puts in the case study

An old cinema with red velvet seats and a shark swimming across the big screen.

Same agency, same client, same year

The film had a slow piano and won things. The banner had a red "shop now" box and ran for eleven months.

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THIS IS ANOTHER SEO PAGE

Plotti builds a landing page for a roofer. It ends up in Bali.

THIS IS AN SEO PAGE

Platapode is not a platypus that wears shoes. Plotti walks barefoot.

A closed kitchen showroom at night with a blue paddling pool in the middle of the floor.

From Kitchens to Pools

Can AI run Google Ads? A kitchen renovation campaign, built in minutes, that ends in pool installation.

People walking past shop doorways on a paved street.

Every platform claims the same sale

One Google Ads sale, reported as four organic ones, and the reports that decide where a clinic's budget goes.

An empty pastry tray and a stack of paper bags on a bakery counter.

Nobody believed the croissants had sold out

The chalkboard said sold out. At 7.49am, the queue left with warm croissants.

A small study at dusk, with a desk lamp on.

The website was lovely until the email address

The layout was lovely, the photos were good, and then one small thing in the footer made all of it stop counting.

Orange footprint stickers on an empty train platform at dusk.

The train line that doesn't exist

A landing page sent patients to a train that doesn't exist. Who wrote it mattered less than whether anyone checked it.

An empty meeting room seen through a half-open door.

The first question came on the way out

The email arrived every Tuesday for four years. Then, at the bottom of one of them, a small grey link.

A wet footpath curving around the corner of a stone building.

The queue went vague at the corner

A lender advertising home loans, car loans and personal loans kept opening new Google Ads accounts instead of fixing verification.

The missing study

Every brand lift study says the brand went up. For online education Google Ads, the number that matters is enrolments.

The client gets one email a week

The client's inbox holds a tidy Friday update. The account person's inbox holds everything that made the update tidy.

On Google Ads

An empty office floor partway through a fit-out, with a floor plan, a tape measure and a coffee cup on a trestle table by large windows.

Google Search for high-value services

Why Google Search suits businesses where one customer is worth a lot, and how to judge a campaign when a sale takes months.

A ring of keys with a blank paper tag on a wooden desk, beside a closed manila folder.

Who owns your Google Ads account?

How to check yours in about five minutes, and what to ask for if it isn’t.

A shop shelf with a row of plain ceramic mugs in soft neutral colours, with blank price tags on the shelf edge.

What a good Google Shopping campaign looks like

Six things good Shopping campaigns have in common, most of them starting with the product feed.

A quiet row of suburban shops under a footpath awning, with gum trees and parked cars along the street.

When Google Search Partners are worth it

What Google Search Partners are, and when the extra reach is worth having.

The front table of a small bookshop with stacks of plain books and one left open, and a sunny street with gum trees outside.

What a good Demand Gen campaign looks like

What a well-run Demand Gen campaign has in common, and why the audiences matter most.

A phone lying face down on a marble café table beside a finished cup of coffee, with a quiet street outside the window.

What a good Google App campaign looks like

What a well-run App campaign has in common, with the focus on users who keep using the app.

The front counter of a garage door repair business with a bell and a stack of blank forms, and a roller door open to a tidy workshop.

What a good Google Ads landing page looks like

What the page after a Google Ads click needs to do for the person who clicked.

A handwritten numbered list on lined paper, most items ticked, with a pen beside it on a wooden desk.

What a Google Ads account review looks for

The parts of a Google Ads account a review looks at, and why each one matters.

An open shop door on a wet street, with the lights on and nobody inside.

Why Google Search ads get clicks but no enquiries

The common reasons a Google Search campaign gets clicks but few enquiries.

A small stockroom with wooden shelves full of plain cardboard boxes and an empty trolley in front.

Why Performance Max reports more than you sold

The common reasons a Performance Max campaign reports more sales or enquiries than a business sees, and where the gap usually sits.

A living room in the evening, with a television playing to an empty couch and a cup of tea on the table.

What YouTube ad views don't tell you

Where YouTube ads show, and what happens after someone watches.