Solved: Defining ad platforms, budget allocation, and performance benchmarks for a new AWS certification prep platform with limited budget.

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out, happy to give you some initial thoughts on getting your AWS certification prep platform off the ground with ads, especially needing to get those first paying students quickly with a limited budget. It's a common challenge, particularly in software or education related niches, getting everything lined up at the start.

I'd say you should probably focus on where your potential students are looking...

Okay, so first thing I'd look at is where someone who needs AWS certification prep would actually be looking. Are they just scrolling through social media hoping to stumble across a course, or are they actively searching for help?

Given it's certification prep, I'd say alot of people will be actively searching. They know they need to get certified, and they'll be on Google typing things like "AWS certification course", "best AWS prep platform", "learn AWS online" and keywords like that. For reaching people with that kind of high intent quickly, on a limited budget, Google Search ads is definately your best bet to start. It lets you put your platform right in front of people at the exact moment they are looking for a solution like yours. This usually translates to higher click-through rates and better conversion potential compared to trying to catch someone's attention who is just scrolling through Facebook or LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is good for targeting tech professionals specifically, yes, you can filter by job title, industry, skills etc. And alot of people who want AWS certs are in tech roles. But LinkedIn ads are typically much more expensive per click and per lead than Google Search. It can also take a fair bit longer to optimise and dial in LinkedIn campaigns to get them really working efficiently. When you need quick results and have limited cash, you really need to focus your spend where you are most likely to see a return fastest.

Meta (Facebook/Instagram) can reach professionals too, but the targeting for specific tech niches looking for something like this isn't as precise as LinkedIn or Search intent on Google. You'd be relying more on interest targeting ("people interested in AWS", "cloud computing") which can bring in a lot of traffic, but alot of it won't have that immediate 'I need this now' intent. It works well for lower-ticket B2C stuff or maybe building awareness over time, but for quick paying students with limited budget, it's a harder path than Search.

Based on that, for getting your first paying students quickly with limited budget, I'd put the vast majority of your budget into Google Search campaigns. We're talking maybe 80-90% minimum initially. Focus on targeting those really specific, high-intent keywords. You could perhaps set aside a tiny, tiny seperate budget to test the waters on LinkedIn much later, once Search is stable and profitable, but honestly, focus is key when budget is tight. Trying to do too much on multiple platforms with limited funds just spreads you too thin and makes it hard to get anything working well.

You'll need to think about your benchmarks, but focus on the right ones...

Benchmarking initially is tricky because your just trying to see if you can acheive a cost per paying student that actually works for your business model. You don't really have historical data yet, and industry benchmarks can be quite misleading as costs vary hugely depending on the specific niche, the offer, how good your website is, and how well your ads are setup and managed.

Your absolute focus needs to be tracking conversions properly from the ads all the way through signup to payment. Cost per Lead (CPL) or Cost per Signup are good early indicators, yes. They tell you how much it costs to get someone interested enough to give you their details or create an account. For B2B leads on LinkedIn, I've seen costs around £22. On other software campaigns, I've seen costs per trial around $7, or cost per user/registration anywhere from £0.96 to $2.38. But your actual cost per paying student is the real number to watch, your Cost Per Acquisition (CPA).

Don't worry too much about trying to hit some abstract 'standard' benchmark you read somewhere in these first few months. Your only benchmark should be your internal cost target for acquiring a paying student. Figure out what you can afford to pay to acquire one paying student while still being profitable, and work towards that number. Initial costs might be higher as you're learning and optimising the campaigns and your whole funnel.

Tracking is paramount. Make sure you have proper conversion tracking setup in Google Ads, sending data back for signups/registrations and most importantly, for actual paid conversions. This data is gold for telling you what's working and what's not.

We'll need to look at your offer and website as potential blockers...

This is another area I see holding a lot of software or service businesses back, especially in B2B or where there's a significant commitment needed from the customer. You mentioned needing to acquire paying students quickly. This makes your offer and website really, really important, perhaps even more so than the ads themselves initially.

I remember one client who had an accounting software platform. Their ads weren't working and when we looked, one of the biggest issues was that they weren't offering a free trial. Changing accounting systems is a huge effort for a business, and no one wants to pay upfront without trying it, especially when competitors offer months-long trials and discounts. Your situation with AWS cert prep might be similar. Paying for a course upfront is a bigger commitment than signing up for a free trial or watching a demo. If your competition offers a free trial, a freemium tier, or even just a free module or practice test, and you don't, your ads are working at a disadvantage from the start. People searching might click your ad, but when they see they have to pay immediately without trying it, they'll likely bounce and go to a competitor with an easier entry point.

A completely free trial or a strong free offering usually works best to get people in the door. Once they're using the platform, you can onboard them, nurture them with emails, show them the value, and then upsell them to a paid plan. This model, acquiring users cheaply or for free and converting them later, is often much more viable for scaling than trying to get cold traffic to pay immediately.

Your website needs to be really persuasive to get someone to even consider paying upfront, or at least signing up for a trial if you introduce one. The landing page your ads point to needs compelling sales copy that speaks directly to the pain points of someone needing AWS certification (career advancement, job requirements, proving skills) and clearly articulates the value and benefits of your platform over others. I often use a professional copywriter who specialises in SaaS and education for this because getting it right is crucial. If your website isn't converting visitors into signups or leads effectively, even the best ads in the world will struggle, leading to high costs per acquisition and making your limited budget disappear fast without results.

You'll also need to get your tracking spot on and be ready to test...

Once you have your platforms sorted (mostly Google Search) and your offer/website in the best possible shape to convert, the next step is relentless testing and optimisation. Ads are never set-and-forget. You need good tracking data to see where people are dropping off, as I mentioned before. Low click rates might mean your ad copy or targeting needs work. High clicks but low signups could point to the landing page or the offer itself not being compelling enough.

Split testing is key. Test different ad copy variations, different headlines, different descriptions. See which messages resonate most with people searching. If you expand to other platforms later, you'll test different creative formats (images, video) and different targeting options. I've had software clients see really good results with things like User Generated Content (UGC) videos, for example, showing real people using the platform.

Retargeting can also be powerful, though maybe less of an initial priority with a tiny budget. It lets you show ads again to people who visited your site but didn't convert. Sometimes people need multiple touchpoints before they are ready to commit, especially if it's a paid conversion you're aiming for right away.

Overall, getting paid acquisition working to get paying customers quickly on a limited budget is challenging. It requires a strong offer, a high-converting website, and very targeted advertising. The cost per acquisition can be high initially as you figure things out.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

Getting this right takes expertise and experience navigating these challenges, especially balancing budget constraints with performance goals. I've helped numerous software and eLearning clients tackle similar issues and drive results.

If you'd like to discuss your specific setup, website, and goals in more detail, I'm happy to offer a free initial consultation where we can look at everything together and give you more tailored guidance.

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh