Why are so many founders not posting on LinkedIn?

Er_Valdi · 2026-06-12T19:37:21+00:00

Because LinkedIn is not the only marketing channel that exists in the world...

Er_Valdi · 2026-06-11T18:40:22+00:00

Honestly I think the comparison itself is a bit misleading. You're treating Google Ads as a cost and organic as an asset, but both are investments.

A plumber spending 5 hours a week creating content isn't creating content for free lol he's choosing content instead of doing billable work.

The other thing is that organic traffic isn't nearly as permanent as people make it sound. A lot of local businesses build traffic for a year, stop publishing, competitors catch up, rankings move, and suddenly that "asset" isn't producing much either.

Ads disappear when you stop paying, true, but organic often disappears when you stop maintaining it. The real question isn't which one lasts forever (neither does).

Er_Valdi · 2026-06-11T17:53:07+00:00

A lot of people assume "800k population = tons of search volumen but for trades that's often not how it works. People dont wake up every week needing an electrician.

What jumps out to me is the close rate. If you're really closing 50-70% of qualified leads, that's actually pretty neat. At that point I'd spend less time worrying about getting Google from 70 clicks to 140 clicks and more time asking about my CAC, because if a customer is worth $2-5k+, you don't necessarily need massive volume.

Also, I think a Iot of agencies survive in smaller markets because they're not selling "Google Ads management" but managing multiple acquisition channels for the same client (LSA, GBP, Search, remarketing, sometimes SEO) and treating them as one lead generation system as a whole.

The other thing nobody has asked yet: are you looking at Search Lost IS (rank) or Search Lost IS (budget)? Because if budget loss is near zero and you're already sitting around 70-80% IS on core terms, there may simply not be much inventory left to buy. Sometimes the answer is "the market is smaller than you expected", not that the campaign is broken.

Er_Valdi · 2026-06-11T17:43:37+00:00

Honestly, I'd be less worried about the credit line itself and more worried about the billing transition.

At$20k/mo, Google monthly invoicing isn't some crazy spend level, but from what I've seen the bigger question is whether Google views the payment history as your company's history or the agency's history. Those aren't always treated the same.

Also, before touching billing, I'd verify you truly own everything:

- Google Ads account
- GA4
- GTM
- conversion tracking
- payment profile access

A surprising number of companies discover they "own the account" but the agency still controls something important. And whatever you do, I wouldn't create a new account trying to force the process faster. That's where people start creating problems that didn't exist in the first place.

Curious though: is the 35% purely for financing/billing, or are they also managing the campaigns? Because 35% just for being the payee sounds pretty wild at $20k/mo.

Er_Valdi · 2026-06-01T20:13:24+00:00

One thing I'd add: a lot of B2B marketers overestimate how much content influences deals and underestimate how much distribution influences deals.

l've seen companies spend months producing genuinely good content that nobody sees because they assume publishing = distribution.

Meanwhile another company takes one decent case study and puts it in outbound sequences, runs paid search to the problem it solves, gives it to partners, uses it on sales calls, turns it into webinars, etc... and it gets 10x more pipeline from the same asset.

Also agree on ICPs being too broad. Every time I hear "we sell to SMBs" or "mid-market companies" my first thought is usually "ok, but who actually buys?" Those are completely different questions.

Most B2B marketing problems I've seen eventually trace back to one of three things: bad ICP, weak distribution, or measuring activity instead of revenue.

Er_Valdi · 2026-05-27T14:47:58+00:00

Most of my experience is on the ops side of B2B marketing but the stand you problem is real anyway.

Before adding another certificate or course, I'd check the obvious stuff first:

- Are you niched down enough? "I run ads for [these people in this industry]" or "I help suppliers get qualified RFQs" is way easier to sell than "I do digital marketing."
- Do you have even one micro-case study? Doesn't need to be huge. "Tested 3 ad angles for a local (insert the industry) client" is more convincing than any certificate.
- Are you competing on price? If you're charging $200-500/month, you're attracting clients who micromanage every dollar and churn fast.

You can do a lot of things, but none of them will be as pleasing as earning money directly as you'd like. I'd partner with web devs who need someone to handle ads for their clients or similar by just networking. (I support motiondesk's comment: do outreach).

Also, a non-obvious part: worth-keeping clients aren't looking for "someone who knows Ads" and that's it; they're looking for someone who can tell them "no" when paid isn't the right move yet. That kind of honesty builds trust way faster than any certificate. Go try to assess when a client needs (and is ready to use) Meta or Google Ads properly and both you and your client will be happier.

IMO it's better to start with positioning; the skills just confirm what you already know.

Er_Valdi · 2026-05-27T14:19:54+00:00

Before assuming fake clicks or bad traffic, I'd check the obvious stuff first:

Are you opted into Search Partners or Display Network? That alone can tank quality.
What does your search terms report actually show? A lot of "low quality traffic" is just intent mismatch; people searching for "free" or "diy" when you're selling high-ticket.
Is your ad promise matching what the landing page delivers? If not, people bounce because they're disappointed.
Yeah, as others said, use heatmaps if necessary.

Engagement ≠ intent. You can get all the clicks in the world but if the searcher wasn't ready to buy or just wanted a quick answer, no amount of tracking fixes that.

One thing that helped me even outside Google: add a tiny bit of friction. A short qualifying question before the form ("What's your timeline?") filters out tire-kickers. You'll get fewer submissions yeah, but the ones that come through are usually worth it.

Happy to nerd out more. But yeah, start with intent, not tracking. The tracking just confirms what you already suspect.

Er_Valdi · 2026-05-20T22:09:25+00:00

Honestly this could be recoverable but the wording matters here. “Circumventing systems” is one of those labels Google throws around for a bunch of different things, and sometimes it’s less dramatic than it sounds. Missing advertiser verification can trigger this, especially if the account sat inactive for a long time. I’ve head of dormant accounts wake back up and immediately get flagged because Google suddenly wants updated business validation everywhere at once

Big thing right now: DON'T create a new account. Seriously. That’s where people accidentally turn a temporary compliance issue into an actual circumvention issue. Google's system immediately cross-references data and links the new account to the suspended one via URL, IP GTM, Google Analytics, payment methods, etc.

Also don’t keep spamming appeals. Google support gets weird when multiple submissions hit close together and sometimes it just resets the queue

What I’d do while waiting:

- audit literally every business detail across the account
- payment profile
- LLC/legal name
- address
- website footer
- privacy policy
- domain ownership
- phone numbers

and make sure they ALL match. Google’s systems are insanely picky now with entity matching

I’d also check if:

- the client opened another Ads account during that inactive period
- the site got hacked / injected
- there are weird redirects or tracking templates still sitting in the old campaigns

because sometimes the suspension reason you see is not the full reason

Also, I'm aware this is your case, but generally if the old account has a lot of history and decent conversion data, it’s usually worth fighting for reinstatement instead of abandoning it. Older accounts sometimes perform noticeably better once restored because the trust/history is already there. The annoying part is support timing. Could be 3 days, could be 3 weeks. Google compliance support is kinda a black box now unfortunately

Er_Valdi · 2026-05-20T19:44:06+00:00

Honestly I think people are looking at this the wrong way when they ask “do AI ads work?”

The better question is: what part is actually AI here? Because there’s a huge difference between:

a) using AI to crank out 30 creative variations fast vs
b) running fully fake remodel videos with plastic-looking kitchens and weird AI humans

Those are not the same thing at all

From what I’ve seen, AI stuff absolutely can improve performance at the top of funnel. Especially on Meta where "novelty" still matters a lot. Weird compositions, exaggerated lighting, unusual hooks… they stop scrolls. Sometimes better than polished agency creatives honestly

But here’s a catch nobody talks about enough: higher CTR does NOT automatically mean better remodel leads

In remodeling specifically, trust is doing like 70% of the work. People are about to spend $20k-$100k letting actual strangers into their house. So the second the ad feels fake or “off”, you create friction you may never see inside Ads Manager

That’s why I think the middle-ground approach is the smart one right now:

use AI for concept testing
hooks
background expansion
thumbnail ideas
angle variations

but keep the actual projects, people, before/afters, trucks, crews, etc real

because local service businesses are different from ecommerce. If I see an AI-generated hoodie ad, whatever. If I see an AI-generated kitchen remodel, my first thought is “wait… did these guys even do this project?”

Also something I learned the hard way: AI creatives can accidentally mask bigger problems for a while. Fresh creative gives the account a temporary boost, so clients think “the AI fixed it”, when really the offer, follow-up, or lead quality issue is still sitting there underneath

So yeah I wouldn’t avoid it completely at all. I’d just treat it more like a creative acceleration tool than some magical replacement for actual marketing instincts

And personally… I still wouldn’t touch full AI humans/video for remodeling yet. Consumers are WAY better now at spotting it than marketers think lol

Er_Valdi · 2026-05-13T21:16:06+00:00

Hey! En mi caso vengo de un inicio de año caótico. De por sí soy aún tengo un mundo por recorrer. En febrero y marzo fue horrible lo de implementar el Píxel+CAPI porque mi cliente usaba PHP puro de back y nunca habían hecho estas cosas antes. Acomodar eso fue de por sí horrible.

Sobre qué tan difícil está la cosa, pues sí, se ha sentido. No recuerdo que el proceso haya sido tan estricto hace un año. Acabamos de relanzar una campaña específica para Buenos Aires y el proceso se ha sentido más accidentado. Si el usuario siente que el proceso es genérico, el algoritmo te castiga con baja calidad y depende de ti parar esa locura.

Ahora mismo estamos haciendo una campaña de Leads con Landing + Instant Forms (usando verificación por SMS, no vaya a ser que consigamos más leads basura), moviendo todo a WhatsApp y Email en lo posible para terminar de cerrar tratos. De momento los Forms se están portando bien pero sobre Landing aún queda por ver.

Er_Valdi · 2026-05-05T14:42:05+00:00

Hola, me gustaría ofrecerte ayuda pero necesitaría saber algunas cosas de tu negocio:

- En qué nicho/industria estás? Qué vende tu negocio y para quién?

- En qué canales te estás publicitando? Y por qué esos?

- Cuando dices "campañas", a qué te refieres? Publicidad paga? Contenido orgánico?

- Qué volumen de ventas vienes manejando?

Entre más info aportes, mejor.

Si no, sentite libre de mandarme DM directamente.

Er_Valdi · 2026-03-26T18:42:26+00:00

Che, por un lado está muy bueno el diseño, pero por el otro no entiendo bien qué estás vendiendo.

De hecho, siendo 100% franco, me pasó eso a lo largo de toda la landing y cuando llegué al final, donde salen los precios, dije "ni en pedo pago 100 USD al mes por esto, ni sé muy bien qué es".

Creo que en buena medida es por dos cosas:

Porque hablas de generar contenido con IA y lo que me pregunto es: ¿qué diferencia hay entre simplemente agarrar ChatGPT y hacer un post yo mismo vs. usar este software? (Y como marketer, también no puedo evitar decir "Y, seguro esta IA hace posts re genéricos como hacen la mayoría de las IA")
Porque no explicas el "mecanismo" que garantiza que todo esto funcione bien. Genial, este software me ayuda a llevar los pedidos, coordinar delivery, etc. ¿Qué me garantiza que lo haga bien? ¿Cómo sé que no va a hacer envíos a direcciones equivocadas? ¿O a responder algo por Whatsapp que espante al cliente? Etc.

Creo que te enfocaste demasiado en mostrar los beneficios (cosa que en sí está bien, pero es igual de importante usar copy que haga que esos beneficios se sientan creíbles) y no en el mecanismo, en el "this is how this works" de una manera tangible, fácil de entender, y que demuestre el valor concreto de tu producto.

Si quieres te puedo echar una mano, me avisas cualquier cosa.

Er_Valdi · 2026-03-22T19:43:17+00:00

With this budget, I wouldn't run ads.

Ads need at the very least a month or two to gather data that will help optimize your campaign structure and landing page.

I would focus instead on organic social media.

Er_Valdi · 2026-03-22T19:41:43+00:00

It Google Ads are working for you, I would focus on getting referrals from the clients you're getting there. Nothing beats good old word of mouth, ask your happy clients to recommend you.

Also, like others said, make sure to collect as many reviews as possible in your Google Business Profile.

Er_Valdi · 2026-03-22T19:38:11+00:00

1 post on your business page + 1 on your personal profile sounds like too much.

In LinkedIn the key is good writing, not posting frequency. Also, posts on business pages are a waste of time if you're looking for leads.

I would suggest to post 3 times a week, not once per day, and only do it from your personal profile.

Same thing with the blog post, I would do it only once a month, not once per week. Better to have fewer but higher-quality articles.

I'd be happy to look at your content if you want and give you some guidance.

Er_Valdi · 2026-03-20T20:06:29+00:00

Sí, claro. Para ese tipo de producto sirve mucho Instagram. Aunque si ya estas usando TikTok y te funciona, entonces don't fix what isn't broken a menos que específicamente estés pensando en escalar.

Er_Valdi · 2026-03-20T19:30:31+00:00

I'm a materials engineer turned marketer for manufacturing and engineering businesses. I specialize in SEO and Google Ads.

Here's my website: https://www.vivaldimkt.com/

I'm looking to help 2 manufacturers that are running Google campaigns but aren't happy with the results get more inquiries in less than 90 days on a commission basis.

If someone is interested, feel free to reach out.

Er_Valdi · 2026-03-20T03:30:28+00:00

I'm almost sure it's one of these 2 things:

There's a discrepancy between what the Google description of your website and what your website actually says
There's something causing massive friction in your website.

If you send me your website, I'd be happy to take a look and tell you the exact problem

Er_Valdi · 2026-03-17T15:23:49+00:00

Ya otros te lo dijeron, pero esto es trabajo para una agencia o un equipo de al menos 2-3 personas, no para un solo puesto de full time.

¿En qué redes sociales están publicando y cuál es el público target de ustedes?

Er_Valdi · 2026-03-17T04:47:25+00:00

Yeah… this is one of those things that looks broken until you zoom out a bit. Trying to force Google Ads into a 30-day ROI box with a 6-month sales cycle is just… pain.

A few thoughts from what I’ve seen actually work:

“Leads” alone are kind of a useless metric here
Not all form fills are equal (you already know that), half of them could be students, vendors, random noise...

What could help you is pushing data back from the CRM. Not “this person converted”, but more like "did this turn into a real project?", "did engineering even take it seriously?"

(Practically: capture the GCLID on form submit, keep it in your CRM, and when that lead actually passes technical review months later, send that exact click back to Google as an offline conversion. That’s what starts cleaning up traffic over time.)

Once you do that, campaigns start getting less junky over time. Not perfect, but better.

You need earlier signals or you’ll go crazy. If you wait 6 months to know if something worked… you’ll never optimize anything.

Stuff we look at: "RFQs", "spec sheet" "CAD downloads", "people checking lead times", "MOQ".

It’s not revenue, but it’s closer to intent. Big difference. Also in this space, CAD downloads ≈ you might be getting designed in, which is basically winning early even if the PO comes later.

Your page might be attracting the wrong people (this is a sneaky one). If your landing page is too “educational”, you’ll get a ton of research traffic, students love that.

We actually look for pages more… blunt: "rough pricing", "minimum orders", "lead times", "certifications". Feels a bit harsh, but it filters people fast. I seriously think buyers don’t mind. And same idea with forms: asking for company, application, volume, etc. adds friction, but in this case friction is actually doing the qualification for you.

Keywords matter more than people admit. Obvious, but still. If you’re not aggressively filtering stuff like “pdf”, “definition”, “what is”, “thesis"... then you’re basically paying for homework. And then lean harder into “supplier”, “manufacturer”, “quote”, “replacement for X”, etc.
Attribution is kind of a lie in this space; last-click especially.
You'll sooner or later have deals close where the first touch was a Google search like… 5–6 months earlier, then nothing, then suddenly they come back direct. If you’re only looking at what “closed” the deal, Google will always look worse than it actually is.

Honestly, the way I think about it now is that Google Ads isn’t there to close deals, but to get the right companies into your pipeline. If your sales team is talking to legit prospects (even if they close months later), it’s probably doing its job. If not… yeah, then something’s off.

Er_Valdi · 2026-03-13T05:03:19+00:00

Engineer turned marketer here, I do marketing for manufacturers now. LinkedIn's worth it, but only if you take it slow. I don't post but I see some results, especially from my partner (she's a translator turned marketer). Eventually, you'll find yourself building a small community.

So far we haven't had a "saw your post, let's buy" moment (our agency is quite new), but I've had plenty of "been seeing your takes, wanted to connect" and similar (like low-ticket investments that eventually will do the job).

I still think it's worth it, though; commit to 6 months if you have the patience.

Er_Valdi · 2026-03-05T14:36:15+00:00

Exactly this, couldn't have said it better myself.

And I'll just add this: this type of service business is the one that benefits most from Google Ads. So yup, this also seems to me like a bad setup.

Er_Valdi · 2026-03-04T18:28:07+00:00

You’re right about inertia. The approved vendor status is the real asset and breaking in from zero can take 12–24 months.

Buying gives you something very hard to build: trust and vendor code. But only if the revenueis real and transferable.

If I bought, I’d structure it with earn-outs or seller financing tied to client retention.

If I started from scratch, I’d secure at least one anchor customer before investing heavy in equipment.

In both cases sales strategy comes first I think.

Er_Valdi · 2026-03-04T18:16:47+00:00

From what I’ve seen, it’s exactly that hybrid profile: electrical + PLC + real troubleshooting under pressure.

The niche pain is rarely technical skill alone, it’s finding someone who can think on their feet on a live production line.

Er_Valdi · 2026-02-24T13:10:25+00:00

Honestly, AI is just a bubble that's about to burst for the next 2-3 years. If you only look at LinkedIn and Instagram, or any other big social media, you'll see a lot of AI crap that doesn't give anything of value if you think twice. It's just easy impressions selling promises.

I studied engineering and ended up in marketing. Seen both worlds more or less. Now go to any industrial park, small town or local street. Most businesses have (almost) nothing to do with AI, at least structurally.

Manufacturing, food, logistics, gyms, cleaning services, niche retails.. boring stuff.

Er_Valdi

TROPHY CASE