From click to value: the new frontier of paid traffic management

Investment in sponsored links has never been higher and more challenging.In recent years, the cost of paid media has skyrocketed, pressuring companies of all sizes to review their digital marketing strategies.According to a report by the IAB in partnership with PwC, only in the United States have digital advertising spending added US$ 258.6 billion in 2024, a growth of 14.9% compared to the previous year. The escalation in investments makes clear the need to more accurately measure the results obtained.

At the same time, changes in privacy policies, such as the end of third-party cookies and stricter laws in several countries, are transforming the way campaigns are measured.A study by Advertiser Perceptions indicates that these regulations already undermine the ability of companies to confirm whether a purchase was made by a new or recurring customer, limiting value attribution and campaign optimization.

For marketing and business strategy expert Frederico Burlamaqui, this scenario requires a change of mentality: “It is no longer enough to evaluate the success of a campaign by the volume of clicks. The true value of traffic management lies in connecting investment to strategic indicators such as CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) and LTV (Lifetime Value). These metrics reveal whether the operation is growing sustainably”.

Costs on the rise and new challenges

Continuous increase in media costs also puts pressure on planning. In some segments, cost per click has risen more than 20% in the last year.Market projections show that global growth of digital ads is expected to slow in 2025, to only 2.2%, due to economic uncertainties. “Paid media inflation forces managers to understand the complete funnel and measure not only conversion, but also the quality of the earned customer”, Burlamaqui reinforces.

Automation and the limits of AI

Automation and artificial intelligence tools (increasingly present in platforms such as Google Ads and Meta Ads ' promise to optimize bids and segmentations almost autonomously. However, experts warn of the limits of this automation. “A IA can indicate paths, but the strategic vision still needs to be human. Only the manager understands nuances such as brand positioning, campaign timing and creative adjustments that make sense for the” business, explains Burlamaqui.

Recent academic research confirms this challenge: privacy-preserving“atribution models, developed to respect the LGPD and global norms, often introduce biases and make it difficult to measure conversions in real terms.

Channel diversification as a strategy

Another central point is diversification. Betting only on Google and Meta can be risky in such a dynamic scenario. Social commerce, programmatic media and even new formats in marketplaces and digital influencers emerge as alternatives to dilute costs and reach audiences in a more segmented way. “We are living the era of performance marketing 2.0. Click is just the beginning; what really matters is turning traffic into real value for the business”, concludes Burlamaqui.