Resources · Newsletter · Paid adsIssue 2: Ask what the number counted
This week we published two paid ads posts, on creative refresh and Performance Max, two AI search posts, on review sites and Wikipedia, and a go-to-market post on marketing budgets. In each one the number that gets quoted turned out to count something narrower than the question it gets used to answer.
Key takeaways
- Cassandra puts Performance Max at 4.64x incremental ROI, under Search Non-Brand's 5.21x and over Search Brand's 4.14x.
- Half the CMOs in Gartner's 2026 survey work with 6 percent of revenue or less, under the 7.8 percent average.
- Semrush's 55 percent and Profound's 7.8 percent count different things, so neither one is a target.
- Review volume tracked negative against ranking in Loudmink's study, minus 0.21 on Capterra and minus 0.16 on G2.
- The 45 percent click drop after four exposures reaches us through Admove's guide, not a public Meta post.
This week
The five pieces this week kept running into the same problem. Each number counted something narrower than the question it gets used to answer. Cassandra's 4.64x for Performance Max is median incremental ROI across 59 advertisers, and the ROAS the platform reports inside the account is a different measurement entirely. Gartner's 7.8 percent average hides its own median. Half the CMOs in that survey work with 6 percent of revenue or less, going by MarketScale's July 31 write-up, so a small group of heavy spenders carries the headline. The one we are still arguing about is the 45 percent click drop after four exposures, which reaches us through Admove's guide rather than anything Meta published.
How often should you refresh your ad creative?
Exposure count beats the calendar. Published Meta lifespans run 2 to 3 weeks, and an analysis of 1.29 billion dollars in spend puts half off by day 28.
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Should you trust Google Performance Max campaigns?
Cassandra's 2026 marketing mix study puts Performance Max at 4.64x median incremental ROI, between Search Non-Brand and Search Brand, with steadier results.
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Do G2 and Capterra reviews help you get cited by AI?
Almost every tool ChatGPT names has a G2 and Capterra profile, yet review volume tracks slightly negative against ranking and the pages earn no citations.
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Does a Wikipedia page help you get cited by AI tools?
ChatGPT cites Wikipedia often, but studies count it in different ways and disagree, and Wikipedia's own rules mean no company can buy its way onto a page.
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What percent of revenue should go to marketing?
Established companies spend near 7.7 percent of revenue on marketing in Gartner's 2026 survey, while startups budget from funding, a different measure.
Read more →About Corvan
Corvan is go-to-market services and software that get businesses more clients: go-to-market consultation, ad operations, AI search ranking, and Corvan Agents, which write in your voice. Every piece under Resources is written by the team that runs the work, with sources. Meet the team on the team page, or read what it returned for Drive Me Barcelona.
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