We were recently asked to take a look at a company’s ad accounts. They already suspected something was off—customer acquisition costs (CAC) were creeping higher, and no one could explain why.
We weren’t even running their campaigns yet. This was just a pre-engagement check.
But in less than a day, we found it: over $100K a year in wasted spend from one mistake—ads being served in the wrong geographies, and it had been happening for months.
That’s the kind of thing that hides in plain sight. And it’s not rare.
We see these leaks in even the most “buttoned-up” accounts—settings buried three layers deep, targeting that doesn’t match your ICP, placements that never convert, campaigns left running long after they’ve stopped pulling their weight.
Meanwhile, cost per lead (CPL) is rising, organic isn’t backfilling the gap like it used to, and leadership’s breathing down your neck to bring CAC down. Every dollar that slips through the cracks is one you can’t defend when budget season rolls around.
That’s where the real risk is—not in what you can see, but in what you can’t.
Where Ad Spend Leaks Really Come From
Running a seven-figure paid media budget is like flying a jumbo jet at full throttle. At that speed, being just a fraction of a degree off course can put you hundreds of miles from where you intended—or straight into the side of a mountain. More than one real-world crash has happened that way.
It’s the same with paid media. Everything looks fine from the cockpit—until it’s not. And by the time you see it in a report, the damage is already done.
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Budgets bleed slowly, and in places you’re not looking.
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A small drift in targeting takes you outside your ICP.
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A bidding algorithm quietly shifts spend toward “cheaper” clicks that never convert.
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Automation, once set, optimizes for platform revenue instead of your pipeline.
While you’re juggling reporting, meetings, or the next internal fire drill, the leaks in ad spend compound.
Privacy changes cripple attribution. Bots and click farms inflate lead counts with junk. Even placements that look good in a dashboard can be invisible to the people who actually buy.
Individually, these leaks may seem small. Together, they push CAC and CPL into dangerous territory—costs that can put your budget, or even your role, on the chopping block.
Spot the Signs Before the Budget Bleeds Out
In large SaaS ad budgets, leaks rarely start as a flood. They begin as hairline cracks you can barely see—until the pressure builds and the money’s gone.
You’ll often see it in:
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Campaigns that still look “profitable” on the surface but aren’t driving pipeline or closed deals
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Rising CPLs with no matching increase in lead quality or sales engagement
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Segments that once converted now chewing through budget without producing meetings
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Google campaigns showing strong click volume but low time-on-site or bounce rates that scream “bad fit”
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LinkedIn audiences bloated with job titles outside your ICP because targeting shifted unnoticed
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Retargeting spend still flowing to old, unqualified visitors
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Anomalies in conversion rates that don’t match market conditions or sales feedback
Each one is a red flag—and most CMOs don’t have the time or resources to connect all the dots before it’s too late. Step back and stack these patterns, and the picture is clear: your ad budget isn’t working as hard as you think, and the leaks are compounding.
5 Minutes Could Save You Thousands
You don’t have to chase down every odd metric, dig through dashboards, or second-guess your targeting settings. We’ve already done the hard part—identifying the patterns, pitfalls, and silent drains that keep showing up in large SaaS ad accounts.
All of it’s built into the Advertising CAC Leak Check.
In less time than it takes to refill your coffee, you’ll have a clear picture of where the trouble spots are—without opening a single ad platform. No guesswork. No wading through endless reports. Just a simple snapshot of where your ad spend is working… and where it’s quietly bleeding out.
It’s fast. It’s free. And it could be the single easiest decision you make this quarter to protect your CAC.
