During a working session with Diana Henry (Didion), it was identified that the active ad spend was running at approximately $545/month — well below the approved and intended budget of $700/month. The shortfall was traced to incorrect backend budget caps, not a deliberate reduction. With open recruitment positions actively needing support, correcting the caps and reallocating toward highest-performing channels became an immediate priority.
See also: [1] | [2] | [3]
| Channel | Configured Budget | Actual Spend |
|---|---|---|
| Google Ads (total) | $400/mo | ~$400/mo |
| Google SEM | $100/mo | constrained |
| Google Display (TOFU + retargeting) | split of above | split of above |
| Meta Ads (total) | $145/mo | ~$145/mo |
| Meta TOFU | $70/mo | $70/mo |
| Meta Retargeting | $70/mo | $70/mo |
| Total | ~$545/mo | ~$545/mo |
Diana confirmed the budget has always been $700/month and was never intentionally reduced. The backend caps simply were not set to allow full spend.
"The caps need to be adjusted on the back end so that we can actually get up to that $700." — Diana Henry
With the corrected $700/month budget, the recommended reallocation prioritizes channels that have demonstrated strong performance:
The exact final numbers were to be confirmed with the PPC specialist before sending the breakdown to Diana.
The urgency behind correcting the budget was tied directly to active hiring. Didion was in a heavy recruitment period at the time of this call. Several higher-priority roles had recently been filled, but additional open positions remained. Diana noted she needed to re-check internally on which roles still needed ad support before any LinkedIn recruitment campaign expansion was considered.
"We have a lot of open positions, so let's get our budget allocation correct to the $700, based on recommended maximum performance." — Diana Henry