Introduction: The "Walls" Listing Advertisers Face and How to Overcome Them

Many listing advertisement operators are facing a common wall of stagnating results. However, the root cause lies not in individual skills, but in the outdated operational mindset itself. Increasing manual work, rising CPAs, and stagnating ad performance are manifestations of the structural problems plaguing the modern advertising market.

At the core of these issues is the "speed mismatch" between the market and humans. The market fluctuates on a millisecond basis based on countless signals such as user behavior and competitive bidding situations, while human responses are limited to daily or weekly intervals. This "speed mismatch" is a structural flaw that silently erodes advertising budgets and leads to massive opportunity losses. To solve this issue, the strategic use of "listing advertisement management tools" becomes indispensable.

However, this article is not just a list of tools. To continue achieving results in listing advertisements in the AI era, I will explain the "five golden rules" that operators must learn. By reading this, you will gain a mindset and practical approaches that transcend mere operational efficiency and significantly enhance advertising performance.

1. Golden Rule 1: Keep Up with Market Speed. From “Manual Adjustments” to “AI-Driven Automatic Optimization”

The biggest challenge in listing advertisement operations is the "speed mismatch" with the market. Advertising auctions fluctuate on a millisecond basis based on hundreds of signals such as device, region, time of day, and user behavior history. In contrast, manual bid adjustments made by humans are far too slow. Clinging to manual adjustments is like fighting a modern war with outdated weapons and is nothing more than a strategic liability.

The only logical solution to this challenge is to leverage AI-driven automatic bidding. AI analyzes vast signals in real-time that are impossible for humans to process, predicting the likelihood of conversions. Based on those predictions, it sets the optimal bid amount instantaneously.

As a specific solution, Google Ads’ “Smart Bidding” is a representative example. If you aim for even more advanced optimization, third-party optimization-specific tools like Shirofune and Optmyzr are effective. However, these AIs are not all-powerful. To maximize their strong automation capabilities, it is essential for humans to set strategic "guardrails" to prevent AI from deviating. This point will be discussed later.

Companies using Google AI Max have reported an average conversion increase of 4% while maintaining CPA (cost per acquisition) and ROAS (return on advertising spend).

Automatic optimization by AI is not an option; it is a requirement for winning the competition.

2. Golden Rule 2: Eliminate Mundane Tasks. From “Report Creation” to “Strategic Decision-Making”

By entrusting tactical-level bid adjustments to AI, marketers will face the next bottleneck: mundane and time-consuming report creation tasks. This task of collecting data from multiple advertising media manually is not only time-consuming but also highly prone to errors—making it a typical unproductive activity.

The solution to this issue lies in "report and management-specific" operational tools. These tools automatically aggregate data from various advertising media and output it in a unified dashboard or customizable report format. This allows personnel to be freed from the monotonous task of data collection.

Examples of specific tools and their strengths are as follows:

• ATOM: Features over 157 rich report templates and robust support from experienced web advertising agency professionals.

• Lisket: Specializes in automating report generation in Excel format, which is commonly used in many companies, making it extremely convenient for those who want to automate the internal reporting format as is.

• Adrepo: Specially focused on the functions that advertising agencies need, strongly supporting the automation of client reporting tasks.

By implementing these tools, marketers can concentrate on "interpreting data and strategizing the next steps," which is the most valuable aspect of strategic decision-making, rather than wasting time on data collection.

3. Golden Rule 3: Break Down Creative Walls. From “Human Insights” to “Co-Creation with Generative AI”

Where should the strategic time freed from tasks like report creation be directed? The answer is the optimization of creativity, one of the most crucial factors influencing advertising results. However, the biggest bottleneck in effective A/B testing has been "preparing a sufficient number of high-quality ad creatives."

Generative AI is what breaks down this wall. AI tools represented by ChatGPT can instantly generate countless ad copies and image concepts just by providing simple prompts. This dramatically enhances the quantity and speed of creative testing.

This concept is also integrated into platform-standard features like Google Ads’ “Responsive Search Ads,” where AI automatically learns the optimal combinations from multiple assets. Moreover, using external tools like GetGenie AI and Jasper allows for the efficient creation of persuasive ad copies that are compatible with various platforms, not just Google, but also Facebook and LinkedIn.

The key point here is not to delegate everything to AI, but to "co-create" with it. The marketer's role is to provide AI with strategic direction on "who to target and what message to convey," while leveraging the vast array of choices generated by AI to rapidly cycle through testing and learning, maximizing results.

4. Golden Rule 4: Embrace the Evolution of Roles. From “Operators” to “AI Teachers and Strategists”

As explained in Golden Rules 1-3, as tactical-level tasks are replaced by AI, the role of marketers is inevitably forced to evolve. In response to concerns about whether "jobs will be taken away by AI?" the answer is clearly “No.” It is not that jobs will disappear, but rather that their roles will evolve into something more sophisticated and strategic.

The operator in the AI era becomes not an "operator" who makes manual adjustments, but a “teacher and strategist” who correctly guides the highly capable AI assistant. Their new responsibilities are condensed into the following four areas:

• Clear Goal Setting: Set specific and measurable business goals (KPIs) for AI, such as "achieving a ROAS of 500%" or "keeping target CPA within 3,000 yen." AI will seek optimal methods to achieve the given goals.

• Providing High-Quality Input: The accuracy of AI learning significantly depends on the quality of the data provided. Offering accurate conversion tracking data, important audience information, and high-quality creatives that reflect brand image will be crucial for maximizing AI's capabilities.

• Analyzing Results and Extracting Insights: Rather than just staring at the performance data computed by AI, deep analysis of why a certain strategy worked and what characteristics the new customer group found by AI has is needed—this unique human insight is required for improving the next campaign.

• Monitoring AI and Governance: Powerful automation tools like Google AI Max come with the risk of brand damage, such as displaying ads for unintended search terms. It is extremely important to establish guardrails to prevent AI from deviating, such as pre-setting keywords considered unsuitable for the brand image as “negative keywords” and monitoring its activities.

5. Golden Rule 5: Master the Basics. Utilize “Free Standard Features” Before Implementing Expensive Tools

To become a “strategist” who effectively governs powerful AI by practicing the rules so far, it is first necessary to deeply understand the battlefield where AI operates, namely the advertising platform itself. Before jumping into highly functional paid tools, mastering the free standard features provided by the platform is of utmost importance. This is the most crucial foundational training to become an AI strategist.

The key representative tools to be aware of are as follows:

• Google Ads Scripts: A free feature that allows complete automation of routine tasks like report creation, bid adjustments, and anomaly detection alerts using custom code based on JavaScript. Particularly effective when used in an MCC account managing multiple accounts, enabling batch processing across accounts and dramatically reducing workload.

• Yahoo! Ads Free Support Tools: Yahoo! Ads, which has a unique user base in Japan, also offers convenient free tools to support operations.

  • Keyword Advice Tool: Suggests the most suitable keyword candidates for ad placements based on site URLs and keyword examples.

  • Ad Display Options: Adds quick links and phone numbers to enhance ad visibility and click-through rates.

  • Yahoo! Campaign Editor: A desktop application that allows batch editing of a large number of ad settings offline, significantly improving operational efficiency.

By mastering these free tools, a great deal of efficiency can be achieved. And with this foundational capability, one can accurately discern what paid tools are genuinely necessary for one’s business.

Conclusion: Become One Who "Masters" AI

The five golden rules explained in this article serve as new behavioral guidelines for success in listing advertisements in the AI era. The key to success lies in evolving from a "operator" overwhelmed by manual tasks to a “manager” who strategically harnesses AI. Delegate mundane tasks to tools and focus on more creative and strategic realms. This will be the new standard.

Cascade is a platform designed to implement the five golden rules explained in this article. By freeing personnel from mundane tasks through AI-driven optimization and reporting, it provides an environment where humans can realize their true value as "AI teachers and strategists" through co-creation with AI.

• Reducing complex analyses that previously took hours to mere seconds

• AI automatically analyzes and optimizes ad spend allocation without waste

• Allows for smart decision-making by confirming and reflecting AI suggestions via Slack

If you wish to master AI and achieve marketing that stays one step ahead of the competition, please consider introducing Cascade.