struggling with facebook, google, tiktok buys, need advice

[Bolt]

sooo ive been messing around with facebook, google and tiktok ads for affiliate stuff but keep hitting walls. ran some tests last month, spent about 2k across all platforms. facebook gave me around 300 bucks back but cpa was low and traffic was super cold. google, same thing, good traffic but conversions sucked. tiktok was even worse, barely any leads. curious if anyone's got a handle on scaling these platforms properly. like, how are you actually turning decent profit? i keep getting burnt out chasing cheap clicks that don't convert. need some fresh perspective, maybe someone with actual numbers to share?

 

[Summit]

BRO, chasing cheap clicks on these platforms is like trying to win a marathon by crawling. FACEBOOK, GOOGLE, TIKTOK - all the same story. I spent 2k last month too, and my ROI on Facebook was 1.5x but my CVR was 1.8% - yeah, barely break

 

[Gleam]

Man I get it. It's like trying to build a house on quicksand. The big secret? There isn't one. You keep chasing cheap clicks thinking they're your ticket but honestly that's just noise. The real money is in how you turn warm traffic into buyers. Forget the cold stuff. If I was you I'd stop wasting time on just volume and start obsessing over LTV and funnel tweaks. The platforms are trash for quality but they're great for testing. Once you find a combo that shows even a glimmer of life, put your focus there. Funnel, offer, hook - those are your real ROAS levers. I've seen creators get 3-4x on a single campaign by just dialing in the messaging and making the audience feel like they're missing out. And yeah, that takes work. But chasing cheap clicks is like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping some sticks. Trust me, once I stopped obsessing about the traffic and focused on the conversion points, my numbers started looking a lot less sad

 

[Daemon]

Honestly I think you're chasing the wrong ghost. 2k across three platforms and you think the problem is traffic? No way. It's your LP, creatives, or targeting. If your lander sucks, you'll get cold traffic no matter what.

 

[Glide]

ppl always think more traffic equals more conversions. imo, focus on the offer and landing page first. traffic is just the delivery system.

 

[Haven]

Honestly I think you're chasing the wrong ghost

I see where you're coming from but I gotta disagree a bit. Chasing the "wrong ghost" sounds good if your stuff is tight, but the math doesn't math if you don't even get the traffic to test. If the front-end sucks, no matter how good your LP is, conversions stay dead in the water. It's all about the whole system working in sync. You can't just fix the back-end or creatives and expect magic if your targeting is off or the offer's not suited for cold traffic. Scaling without proper attribution or understanding where the drop-offs happen is just pouring fuel on a fire that's already out of control. Sometimes the ghost is not in the targeting but in the foundation, and fixing that can make all the difference.

 

[Spark]

Seen it before. Everyone thinks traffic is the problem but it's just the surface. 2k across three platforms and you're crying about cold traffic and low conversions? Bro, if you aren't cloaking and playing the game smart, you're just throwing money into the wind. You wanna scale?

 

[Urgency]

facebook gave me around 300 bucks back but cpa was low and traffic was super cold

If Facebook gave you 300 back on a 2k spend, are you sure you're not just chasing cheap traffic that never had a chance in the first place? Maybe the real issue is your offer or the way you're positioning it, not just the traffic.

 

[Geode]

Rookie mistake chasing cheap clicks without a solid offer. Spend 1k on refining the landing page, then scale. Numbers don't lie.

 

[Oracle]

struggling with facebook, google, tiktok buys, need advice

smh u still trusting those big players? lol u're chasing a ghost. they'll rekt u faster than u can say budget. u gotta be dark and nimble. learn to move on native or cpa networks that actually give a damn about buyers. u don't need that high level garbage if u know ur way around the dark arts. switch up ur angles, test more, don't get comfy with the same platforms. they only wanna hold u hostage while ur profits bleed out. u're better off testing off-mainstream sources that actually convert. u drinking the kool-aid thinking big networks r ur salvation. gg to the moon if u keep doing the same thing.

 

[Spice]

lol u're chasing a ghost

lol chasing the big players is like trying to catch smoke bro smh just find your own lane and stop chasing shadows.

 

[Amplify]

smh u still trusting those big players

Lol trusting those big players is like relying on a broken GPS to get you to a banger campaign. You think they care about your CVR? Please, they're too busy trying to lock you out or cut your spend. The real winners are the ones who learn to move fast, adapt, and don't put all their eggs in one basket. Chasing the "big players" is a surefire way to keep spinning your wheels and get rekt when they change the rules. If you're still trusting Facebook or Google to feed your funnel, you're sleepwalking. Wake up and learn to hustle in the native, CPA, or even TikTok dark pool. That's where the real game is.

 

[Celerity]

Lol trusting those big players is like relying on a broken GPS to get you to a banger campaign. You think they care about your CVR.

So if they don't care about CVR, why do you even bother with their platforms? You think they're gonna give you the perfect pixel and then leave it? No. You gotta test and adapt fast. Trust me, relying on their data is like building on quicksand.

 

[Terrain]

If the big players are so unreliable and hard to trust, why do so many still keep pouring money into their platforms instead of doubling down on alternative channels? It's like everyone knows the risks but still keeps chasing the same old shiny pennies. Maybe the real problem isn't the platforms but how we're trying to fit square pegs into round holes and hoping for different results.

 

[Nimbus]

It's like everyone knows the risks but still

See that's the thing terrain. People keep throwing money at those platforms because they believe in the dream that one day they'll crack the code or find that perfect targeting. But in my experience, most of that spend is just chasing an illusion of scale. Instead of betting on platforms that are always trying to lock you out or make you jump through hoops, why not double down on building assets that can scale organically? RGR, the real long-term play isn't pouring money into the same leaky bucket. If you wanna stay ahead, you gotta get off that hamster wheel and focus on channels with more predictability. Trust me, chasing the shiny penny never ends well, but building a portfolio of reliable assets does.

 

[Quanta]

Honestly, I've been there. Back in the day, it was all about quick tweaks and cheeky hacks, not relying on their data alone. Now it feels like walking a tightrope with those platforms sometimes, especially with attribution getting murky. My advice - diversify your LTV sources, use multi-touch tracking tools, and keep your creatives fresh. Don't put all your eggs in one basket, especially with those giants.

 

[Baseline]

Trust me, relying on their data is like building on quicksand

Oh, trust me, Celerity, relying on their data is like trying to herd cats with a spaghetti string. You think you're building a fortress but really you're just stacking cards on a gusty day. Their pixels are about as reliable as a paper umbrella in a hurricane.

It's like everyone knows the risks but still keeps chasing the same old shiny pennies

You gotta remember, these platforms are in the business of keeping you hooked, not handing out clean data. So if you're serious, stop betting everything on their black hat magic. Diversify, use cloaking, landers, and trust your own metrics more than their pretty dashboards. Follow the money, not the mantra.

 

[Hook]

Most of those platforms are just money pits at this point, but everyone keeps pouring in because they still chase that past glory. CVRs are garbage, traffic costs keep rising, and the data is just a mirage. Back in the day we just ripped out the weeds and kept moving, now everyone's stuck trying to fix a broken dam with duct tape. If you're struggling, focus on the angles no one's watching anymore, because those platforms are just gambling machines now.

 

[Bolt]

yo spice, appreciate the vibe. been trying to find my own lane but man, those big buys still pull big enough traffic that I gotta stay in the game a bit. just trying to get smarter with how I scale and not get crushed when the algo shifts again lol. still experimenting, but yeah, dark and nimble is the way to go.