ads Skill for Claude Code: Plan, Audit and Optimize Paid Ad Campaigns

Plans, audits and optimizes paid campaigns on Google, Meta, LinkedIn and other ad platforms, and drafts changes before touching a live account.

Installs: 87K; on skills.sh
Stars: 57.9K; on GitHub
Files: 17; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

ads makes your assistant act as a performance marketer with access to your ad accounts. It first asks about campaign goals, offer, audience and current state, then routes to the right playbook by intent: payback math, B2B paid strategy, Meta decisions, LinkedIn, Google Search, ABM, RSA copy, account audits and a weekly operating check.

Its rules for live accounts are explicit. It scores only what it verified, does not invent negative keywords, never sums conversions across attribution windows, and ends with facts, hypotheses and missing data. For a live account it proposes the current state, the change, the expected effect and a rollback, and applies only with your explicit approval. It bundles 16 reference files and an evals/evals.json file, and no scripts.

Good for

Founders running their first paid campaigns
B2B marketers working on LinkedIn, ABM and lead quality
Media buyers who want an audit or a weekly account check

Install ads

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the ads skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills --skill ads

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js.

From its listing on skills.sh. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

When the user wants help with paid advertising campaigns on Google Ads, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or other ad platforms. Also use when the user mentions 'PPC,' 'paid media,' 'ROAS,' 'CPA,' 'ad campaign,' 'retargeting,' 'audience targeting,' 'Google Ads,' 'Facebook ads,' 'LinkedIn ads,' 'ad budget,' 'cost per click,' 'ad spend,' 'should I run ads,' 'ABM,' 'account-based marketing,' 'B2B ads,' 'lead quality,' 'negative keywords,' 'Performance Max,' 'thought leader ads,' 'when should I kill an ad,' 'search terms report,' 'wasted spend,' or 'is this campaign working.' Use this for campaign strategy, audience targeting, bidding, and optimization. For bulk ad creative generation and iteration, see ad-creative. For landing page optimization, see cro. For outbound to target accounts, see cold-email. For pixels, CAPI, and tracking audits, see conversion-tracking. End every recommendation with facts, hypotheses, and missing data, and label unavailable inputs MISSING instead of estimating them.

Sections in SKILL.md

Before Starting
1. Campaign Goals
2. Product & Offer
3. Audience
4. Current State
Reference Routing
Platform Selection Guide
Campaign Structure Best Practices
Account Organization
Naming Conventions
Budget Allocation
Ad Copy Frameworks
Key Formulas
Audience Understanding & Targeting
Platform-by-platform: where to apply audience knowledge
Applying audience knowledge to creative

Key facts

Author: Corey Haines
Repo: coreyhaines31/marketingskills
Installs on skills.sh: 87,002 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars (whole repo): 57,855 (Nov 2, 2026)
License: MIT
Last repo commit: Oct 31, 2026
Files in the skill folder: 18 files: SKILL.md, evals/evals.json, 16 in references/
skills.sh audits: Gen Agent Trust Hub pass, Socket pass, Snyk warn
Bundled references: 16 markdown files under references/ plus evals/evals.json

What it includes

Reads your context file, then asks about goals, offer, audience and history
Before Starting
Loads one of 16 playbooks by intent, such as B2B, Meta, LinkedIn or Google Search
Reference Routing
Account organization, naming conventions and budget allocation
Campaign structure and budgets
Copy frameworks, creative best practices and a testing hierarchy
Ad copy and creative
Funnel-based retargeting, windows, exclusions and a four-part framework
Retargeting
A mandatory output format when you ask for Google responsive search ads
Google RSA Output Spec
Unknown is not failing, no invented negatives, draft first on live accounts
Audit and Recommendation Guardrails
A six-step account check with a short Friday readout
Weekly Operating Check

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

The skill can recommend and, if you connect an ad account, apply changes that spend money. Connect accounts read-only first and approve every change yourself.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It can change live ad campaigns if you connect them
SKILL.md says to draft first on live accounts and apply only with explicit approval. Read each proposed change and its rollback before you say yes. github.com
Set budget caps in the ad platform yourself
SKILL.md gives advice on budgets and scaling. Set spend limits in the platform before you let any agent act. github.com
Account access comes from tools you add
SKILL.md does not name an API key. Its Tool Integrations table points to MCP servers for Google Ads and Meta Ads, and notes the official Meta one should start read-only. github.com

Technical details

Scopes	Ad platform accounts you connect, such as Google Ads or Meta Ads

Questions

What does the ads skill do?

It plans, audits and optimizes paid advertising on Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, Twitter/X and other platforms. It loads a specific playbook for the task, such as an account audit or a Meta decision.

How do I install the ads skill?

Use the install box at the top of this page. The repo's README also offers a Claude Code plugin called marketing-skills that installs every skill in the collection, and a Codex plugin route for the same set. Pick one skill only if you want just this one. If you ask an agent session to run npx skills for you, the README says to pass -a claude-code, because the CLI may otherwise install only to .agents/skills/, which Claude Code does not read.

Do I need the product-marketing skill first?

No. The ads SKILL.md reads your product marketing context file if it exists, including its Paid Ads and Learnings sections, and asks you for anything missing.

Can it change my live ad account?

Only if you connect account access, and the SKILL.md says to apply changes only with your explicit approval. It drafts the current state, the change, the expected effect and a rollback first.

Does it need an API key?

The SKILL.md does not name one. The Tool Integrations table lists MCP servers for Google Ads and Meta Ads if you want the assistant to read your accounts. It marks the official Meta server as one to start read-only.

How is it different from ad-creative?

The ads SKILL.md hands bulk headline and creative generation to the ad-creative skill. This one covers strategy, structure, audits and optimization.

Does it work in Codex, Cursor or only Claude Code?

The README says the collection works with Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, and any agent that supports the Agent Skills spec. It does not list test results per skill.

Is the ads skill safe to install?

The skill bundles markdown references and an evals file, and no scripts. The risk is what you connect: if you give it access to an ad account, it can propose changes that spend money, and the SKILL.md says to apply them only with your explicit approval. Start read-only.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: coreyhaines31/marketingskills
Folder: skills/ads

coreyhaines31/marketingskills skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 3

ads SKILL.md · github.com
marketingskills README · github.com
ads on skills.sh · skills.sh