Alex Kazankaya – The Portfolio of Alex

Alex / Portfolio

The Portfolio of Alex

Welcome! I’m Alex, a seasoned digital marketer with nearly a decade of expertise in performance marketing, content, analytics, and design. I specialize in driving results through paid acquisition (Google Ads, Meta Ads), SEO, marketing automation, conversion optimization, and data-driven decision-making. With a diverse background in both B2C and B2B across verticals like tech, finance, fintech, wholesale, retail, industrial, I tackle the full spectrum of challenges to deliver measurable revenue growth. I have a proven track record of driving success across diverse industries.

Explore my work, where strategy, creativity, and performance come together.

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High-Level Marketing Metrics Lately

Marketing responsibilities

Managed annual 1M€ marketing budgets

Across several channels.

Managed Global Accounts

Finland, the Nordics, and worldwide.

Proven track record

Consistently delivered strong, measurable profit growth.

Marketing 'channels' expertise

Paid Acquisition

Google Ads, Meta Ads, Native Ads, etc.

SEO/Organic

Google & Bing organic.

Customer Retention

CLV marketing, customer engagement, remarketing etc.

Offline medias

Print ads, offline marketing materials, product designs etc.

Exhibition marketing

Creative design and artwork enhance brand visibility.

Partnership marketing

Drove growth through strategic partnerships.

Google Ads

Managed 500 000€ annual budget

In highly competitive verticals.

Managed Global Accounts

Finland, the Nordics, and worldwide.

Proven track record for profit

Consistently delivered strong, measurable profit growth.

Why I start with Google Ads?

With 10 years of experience in performance marketing, I specialize in running high-converting Google Ads campaigns across Search, Display, Performance Max, and YouTube.

Paid advertising is not just about running ads—it’s a constantly evolving game where strategy, data, and technical expertise come together. The creatives (actual image or video ads) play a significant role, and I have proven track record to prove this. I have seen it countless times when every other factor is in place, but the creatives used are poor. Using creative excellence to bring top-level quality has proven to deliver excellent results. Today we see more digital ads than ever before. How do you think standing out is possible, unless your creatives also stand out? Thus it’s a joint-effort of everything working seamless together from strategy, product-market fit, data and creativity.

My strongest area of expertise is Google Ads, where I’ve refined my skills over the years in Search, Display, Performance Max, and YouTube campaigns. Meta Ads comes next, offering a completely different ecosystem with unique opportunities to scale advertising through social engagement.

While ad platforms may seem similar on the surface, each has its own rules, nuances, and technical complexities. Few truly master every channel, as each requires deep knowledge of algorithms, optimization mechanics, and measurement methodologies. Google Ads and Meta Ads, for example, have fundamentally different foundations—one driven by search intent, the other by behavioral targeting and visual engagement. The same applies to other platforms—no single channel is a one-size-fits-all solution for every business or product.

That’s why channel selection should never be based on assumptions or trends. First, it’s crucial to understand business goals, target audiences, and purchasing behavior.

Audit and analysis play a key role here—determining which channels are the best fit, which need optimization, and which might not be worth the investment. When strategy is driven by data and testing, advertising delivers real results—not just clicks and impressions, but meaningful conversions and revenue growth.

Paid advertising is more than just launching campaigns—it’s about continuous optimization, experimentation, and analysis to ensure every dollar spent generates the highest possible return.

List of stuff I bring expertise for

Acquisition: Show the numbers

My design skills

Case Study: Solving Attribution Challenges

Case Study: Solving Attribution Challenges – Maximizing Paid Advertising ROI The Problem:

Misattributed Conversions Inflating Costs

A major challenge in performance marketing is ensuring that each marketing channel gets properly credited for the conversions it drives.

In my role, I noticed a recurring issue: our paid search campaigns (Google Ads & Meta Ads) were reporting conversions that were actually driven by affiliate traffic.

This led to:

Inflated CPA costs. Paid channels appeared more expensive than they actually were due to conversions being wrongly attributed.

Misleading performance data. Budget was being allocated inefficiently, as decisions were based on inaccurate conversion tracking.

Incorrect Smart Bidding Optimization. The algorithm was being taught to optimize for conversions that didn’t actually result from paid ads, leading to misguided bidding strategies that rewarded the wrong actions.

Unclear Marketing ROI. Without a proper attribution setup, it was difficult to assess which channels were truly driving incremental value, making it harder to scale the most effective ones.

The solution: data-driven attribution fix

To correct this, I took a data-first approach:

Cross-Channel Data Audit. I analyzed conversion paths using GA4, offline conversion tracking, and Power BI, identifying where misattributions were happening.

Custom Conversion Segmentation. Instead of relying on standard conversion tracking, I set up two distinct conversion events—one for affiliate-driven actions and one for paid traffic.

Refined Audience Targeting. I implemented exclusions and audience filtering in Google Ads & Meta Ads, ensuring we weren’t retargeting users who had already converted via affiliates.

Improved Reporting & Optimization. With clear attribution in place, we could redirect budget to truly incremental paid conversions, reducing wasted spend and improving ROI.

The outcome: transparent, scalable growth

More accurate performance measurement. We knew exactly how much paid ads were contributing.

30% reduction in wasted ad spend. By eliminating duplicate conversions, we optimized budget allocation.

Higher profitability from paid channels. True CPA and ROAS improved, enabling smarter scaling.

This case reinforced a key lesson: attribution isn’t just about tracking—it’s about making sure marketing investments go where they generate real impact. With the right data, segmentation, and optimization strategy, businesses can unlock the true potential of their paid media efforts.

Attribution: The Results

Case Study: Data-Driven Customer Segmentation for Smarter Marketing & Higher Profitability

If you work in marketing or in any business role, you have heard this evergreen problem.

The customer value.

And here’s the secret. The secret everyone knows.

Not all customers are valued the same

Not all customers deliver the same value. While some drive strong revenue and profitability, others generate lower margins or fail to convert entirely. This is a real issue especially for very competitive industries, where customer acquisition costs are extremely high. In my experience with finance/fintech, I have experienced this first-handed.

What has been my approach to tackle this issue?

The challenge was to identify and segment high-value vs. low-value customers based on offline conversion data, revenue impact, and behavioral insights, ensuring marketing budgets were allocated toward acquiring and retaining the most profitable users.

Solution:

I collaborated closely with the data team to conduct a deep dive into customer profiles, leveraging Power BI, GA4, and internal CRM & backend data. This analysis focused on:

Offline Conversion Tracking & Revenue Impact. Identifying which leads actually converted into paid-out loans and assessing their contribution to gross profit and long-term profitability.

High-Value vs. Low-Value Customer Segmentation. Breaking down customers based on approval rates, loan amounts, lifetime value, and churn behavior to determine which segments were worth pursuing further.

Audience Targeting & Paid Advertising Optimization. Using the insights to refine paid media strategies by excluding unprofitable audiences and prioritizing high-value segments through advanced targeting in Google Ads and Meta Ads.

Customer Engagement & Remarketing Strategy. Beyond paid ads, I applied these insights to remarketing workflows, particularly in engaging users who submitted a loan application but did not finalize the loan payout. Some users needed additional trust-building, reminders, or better timing, requiring a remarketing funnel that stretched from 1 to 12 months.

Multi-Channel Implementation. These insights didn’t just benefit paid ads. The segmentation influenced email and SMS campaigns, landing page personalization, and overall user journey optimizations to improve engagement rates across the board.

Results:

More Efficient Ad Spend – Reduced waste by cutting out segments with historically low profitability.

Higher Conversion Rates – Paid advertising targeted users more likely to complete the full funnel.

Increased Gross Profit – A refined strategy that focused on long-term value, not just short-term lead volume.

Stronger Customer Engagement – More personalized messaging and remarketing touchpoints helped convert users who initially dropped off.

By combining deep data analysis with performance marketing execution, I ensured that every marketing euro spent was optimized toward the highest revenue and profit potential.

Customer Segmentation: The Results

More Efficient Ad Spend. Reduced waste by cutting out segments with historically low profitability.
Higher Conversion Rates. Paid advertising targeted users more likely to complete the full funnel.
Increased Gross Profit. A refined strategy that focused on long-term value, not just short-term lead volume.
Stronger Customer Engagement. More personalized messaging and remarketing touchpoints helped convert users who initially dropped off.

Case Study: Creative Optimization – Data-Driven Design for Maximum Impact

In performance marketing, creative assets are not just a visual component

Okay, so what are they then?

They are a critical lever for driving conversions and scaling campaigns effectively.

With over 10 years of experience in marketing design and deep expertise in the Adobe Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects).

I’ve developed a structured approach to creative optimization that blends data-driven decision-making with strategic testing. Oh yeah, with creativity.

If you’re reading this and think that “ads don’t matter, just add something in the campaign(s)”, I have to disagree. Let me explain, why.

I’ve seen it time and time again. Bad ads don’t convert. You could have the best product in the world, but if your competitors have stronger, more compelling creatives, they will eat your conversions for breakfast. If you have different opinion backed up with data, feel free to reach out to me and share that!

Marketing fundamentals haven’t changed from the old days. In a world filled with data and technology, one core principle remains unchanged: what the customer sees matters most. If your ads fail to capture attention or resonate with your audience, your business numbers will reflect it.

Challenge: Creatives That Convert, Not Just Look Good

Too often, brands focus on creative aesthetics without considering whether the visuals and messaging actually resonate with the audience.

I have also seen this process being outsourced to the ‘pure designers’ that might be in the UX/UI part of the company. They are highly talented in what they do, but might lack the right approach for ad creative designing.

Here’s the secret. They are two different worlds.

In paid advertising, this leads to wasted spend, lower engagement, and missed revenue opportunities. The key is to test systematically—not just small tweaks but the fundamental themes and messaging behind the creatives.

Approach: Structured Testing Framework

My approach to creative optimization follows a layered testing strategy:

Big Picture Testing (USPs & Themes)

Start broad by testing different unique selling propositions (USPs) and overarching creative themes.
Example: Does the audience respond better to trust-focused messaging (e.g., “Trusted by 100,000+ customers”) or urgency-driven messaging (e.g., “Limited-time offer”)?

Refinement Through Audience Insights

Leverage conversion data, audience segmentation, and insights from GA4 & Power BI to identify which creatives perform best across different customer profiles.
Example: High-LTV users might engage more with premium, trust-based messaging, while new users react better to discounts or social proof.

Granular Testing (Visual & Psychological Triggers)

Once high-level themes are validated, test smaller details:
Graphics, color schemes, and design elements.
Positioning of CTAs, headlines, and images/videos.
Emotional triggers that psychologically resonate with the target audience (pain points, aspirations, FOMO, etc.).

Aligning Creatives with Funnel Stages (TOFU → MOFU → BOFU)

Broad awareness creatives (TOFU) focus on engagement and brand familiarity.
Consideration-phase creatives (MOFU) shift towards problem-solving and differentiation.
Conversion-phase creatives (BOFU) highlight urgency, trust signals, and direct CTAs.
Results: Data-Driven Creative Success

By implementing this method, I’ve successfully:

Increased ad engagement rates by optimizing creatives based on audience segmentation.

Improved conversion rates by refining visuals and messaging to match user psychology.

Lowered CPA by ensuring creatives align with the right funnel stage, improving ad efficiency.

Scaled campaigns more effectively by understanding what creative elements resonate best.

At the end of the day, great creatives are not just about aesthetics—they are about understanding human behavior and making data-backed decisions. In a competitive landscape, the brands that master this balance between creativity and data win.

Content & Marketing Automation Expertise

In performance marketing, automation is the engine that drives efficiency and scale—but it’s only as powerful as the content it delivers.

My expertise lies in crafting highly targeted content that seamlessly integrates into sophisticated marketing automation workflows, ensuring the right message reaches the right user at the right time.

Working closely with marketing automation teams, I have helped design and execute complex, multi-step automation journeys tailored for the finance and fintech sectors, where customer decision-making is nuanced and requires a highly structured approach. My role has been pivotal in aligning content with automation strategies, ensuring that every interaction—whether email, SMS, or remarketing ad—feels relevant, timely, and conversion-driven.

Advanced Marketing Automation in Financial Services

Financial services, particularly in the loan brokerage space, demand highly sophisticated automation workflows due to the complexity of integrations, user decision-making processes, and regulatory requirements. Unlike traditional e-commerce, where a conversion occurs in a single transaction, loan applications involve multiple steps, varying eligibility criteria, and partnerships with financial institutions—each adding layers of complexity to the marketing funnel.

What am I trying to say? Hear me out.

Finance and fintech stand among the most challenging industries from a marketing perspective. Success requires not only deep automation expertise but also a strategic approach to customer engagement, trust-building, and data-driven decision-making to navigate the complexities of user acquisition and retention effectively.

I have played role in building and optimizing marketing automation journeys for example:

Automation workflows dynamically adjust based on which bank a customer applies through, ensuring relevant messaging and follow-ups.

Loan Application Status Triggers – Personalized automation based on application progress:

Application (lead) incomplete → Multi-step lead nurturing sequences. In this content-driven automation, the idea is to align messaging based on where the user dropped off in the loan application funnel (e.g., abandoned at step 3 vs. step 5). Fundamentally these are reminder sequences with tailored messaging based on the specific form or field the user last interacted with, guiding them back to complete the process. This process is constantly A/B tested to find better performing results, which are measured in both completed leads, and also the revenue generated.
Loan offer received but not accepted → Trust-building content with a sense of urgency, highlighting the benefits of the offer and potential consequences of inaction.
Visited bank offer page but did not accept → Reminder sequences with tailored messaging that emphasizes the value of the specific offer, using personalized elements to reignite interest.
Accepted offer but not signed → Reminder sequences with tailored messaging, focusing on finalizing the process with clear calls-to-action and additional reassurances.
Loan payout completed → Post-conversion engagement with value-driven content, ensuring the customer feels supported and informed, possibly including satisfaction surveys or offering additional services.
Application End Status journeys → Sequences designed to close the customer journey, reflecting their individual loan status and reasons for not progressing. These journeys may include “cross-selling” opportunities, offering additional products or services that could improve their chances of securing a better loan (e.g., a lower interest rate or a more favorable loan offer).

Customer Segmentation & Personalization – Crafting tailored content for email/SMS/app push campaigns based on:

Loan Details:
- Loan Type, Amount, and Lender Information
Market Trends:
- Current Market Sentiment (e.g., improved interest rates, higher approval rates, increased loan amounts)
Creditworthiness Factors:
- Credit Score and Likelihood of Approval
- Duplicate Application Status
Demographic Information:
- User Demographics and Co-Applicant Status (with or without co-applicant)
AI/ML Insights:
- Backend AI/ML Conditions and Predictive Analysis
Behavioral Triggers:
- Email/SMS Engagement:
  - Opened, but Did Not Click
  - Clicked on Email/SMS Link
- User Activity:
  - On-Page Behavior and Engagement with Specific Pages

Cross-Channel Engagement (Paid + CRM) – Integrating email, SMS, and paid retargeting to create a seamless user journey:

If a user starts an application but doesn’t complete it, they are placed into an engagement sequence via remarketing ads and CRM automation, with messaging tailored to their specific journey stage.

Long-Term Remarketing (1-12 Months Window)

In finance/fintech, some users don’t convert immediately. Perhaps they didn’t have a need right now, and are in the consideration stage. As their situation might change, it’s important to be there for them when that time comes. I have crafted long-term nurturing campaigns that engage leads over a 1-12 month window, ensuring they stay within the funnel until they are ready to convert.

Content-Driven Automation: Matching the Right Message to the Right Moment

In addition to developing and optimizing automation structures, my role has been deeply rooted in content creation and strategy. What does that mean?

In short, crafting messaging that resonates at every stage of the customer journey. Working closely with the marketing automation team (and part of it), I ensured that our automation efforts were not only technically efficient but also strategically aligned with the user’s needs.

Why?

Well, the customers don’t read technical automation setup. They read the content.

A central part of my strategy working in finance & fintech has been creating personalized content to meet the specific needs of users at different stages of their journey. I tailored content for emails, landing pages, and user experiences based on factors such as loan preferences, behavior, engagement history and new organic (SEO) acquisition. This included but is not limited to:

Loan Comparison Insights: Helping users understand their options across multiple financial institutions for personal loans, debt consolidation, and refinancing.
Educational Content: Explaining the different types of loans available, application processes, interest rates, and repayment terms.
Finance Tips and Advice: Offering practical advice on managing personal finances, budgeting, and improving credit scores.
Success Stories: Showcasing real user experiences, demonstrating how Axolaina has helped them achieve their financial goals.
Loan Calculators: Providing interactive tools that allow users to estimate loan repayments, helping them make more informed decisions.
Loan Process Guides: Step-by-step walkthroughs on how to apply for loans, manage existing loans, and handle post-loan responsibilities.

Dynamic Content Personalization:

I focused on tailoring content—such as emails and landing pages—to match individual loan preferences and user behavior. A key aspect of this strategy also involved SEO optimization, ensuring that our content ranked well and drove organic traffic.

Automated Educational Sequences:

I designed drip campaigns that guide users through the loan application process, addressing common concerns and objections at each step.

Through targeted content—articles, loan comparison insights, and success stories—I effectively re-engaged users based on their prior interactions.

Results: Driving Efficiency & More Gross Profit

I have achieved significant results:

Increased Conversion Rates: Through hyper-personalized follow-up messaging, I raised loan application completion rates, particularly for abandoned applications.

SEO Success: My contributions to SEO, including on-page optimization, keyword targeting, and creating new content while updating the old, directly led to improved organic rankings, further amplifying our content’s reach. My contributions have led to ranking in the top #1 and #2 for some of the most competitive finance keywords in Finland.

5x Gross Profit Growth: The significant increase in conversion rates, driven by content personalization and SEO efforts, contributed to more than a 5x increase in gross profit—amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros.

Reduced Acquisition Costs: Aligning paid traffic with content-driven remarketing reduced customer acquisition costs and enhanced the overall efficiency of our campaigns.

Improved User Experience: By ensuring that all content—whether emails, SMS, or ads—was highly relevant and conversion-focused, I enhanced the user experience and increased engagement.

Marketing automation is only as powerful as the content behind it. By partnering closely with the automation team and creating data-driven, relevant messaging, I played a key role in optimizing user journeys. This approach not only improved efficiency but also delivered tangible financial results, driving both user engagement and significant revenue growth.

Meta Ads

A brief summary of my experience

While Google Ads is my strongest area, Meta Ads comes next. And for good reason. The same principles that make me an expert in Google Ads—strategic campaign structuring, deep audience targeting, and performance-driven optimization—also apply to my Meta Ads expertise.

However, Meta’s strength lies in visual storytelling, and this is where my creative experience comes into play.

The hard truth is that Meta, or any other SoMe platform, is not the right platform without excellent creatives. Numbers back this claim up.

I have extensive hands-on experience designing a frameworks for high-performing ad creatives, from static images to motion-driven video ads. In today’s attention economy, ad performance is not just about audience targeting or bidding strategies—creativity is the differentiator. The marketing fundamentals have not changed. A perfectly structured campaign can fail if the creative doesn’t resonate. That’s why I combine my technical expertise in Meta’s algorithm with a strong creative vision, ensuring ads not only reach the right people but also capture their attention and drive action.

Additionally, my background in finance and fintech marketing has sharpened my data-driven decision-making. Meta’s ad ecosystem requires continuous testing and iteration, and my experience in highly analytical industries helps me break down performance data, optimize based on insights, and fine-tune creative and audience strategies for maximum ROI.

Meta Ads, at its core, is a blend of data, psychology, and creative execution—and I’ve mastered the art of bringing these elements together to drive real measurable business results.

So, which is my strongest channel?

However, Meta’s strength lies in visual storytelling, and this is where my creative experience comes into play.

The hard truth is that Meta, or any other SoMe platform, is not the right platform without excellent creatives. Numbers back this claim up.

Meta Ads, at its core, is a blend of data, psychology, and creative execution—and I’ve mastered the art of bringing these elements together to drive real measurable business results.

Collaboration? Send me a message.

Have a project, opportunity, or collaboration in mind? Get in touch, and let’s explore how we can work together!

The Portfolio of Alex

Take a shortcut

High-Level Marketing Metrics Lately

Marketing responsibilities

Managed annual 1M€ marketing budgets

Managed Global Accounts

Proven track record

Marketing 'channels' expertise

Paid Acquisition

SEO/Organic

Customer Retention

Offline medias

Exhibition marketing

Partnership marketing

Google Ads

Managed 500 000€ annual budget

Managed Global Accounts

Proven track record for profit

Why I start with Google Ads?

List of stuff I bring expertise for

Acquisition: Show the numbers

My design skills

Case Study: Solving Attribution Challenges

Attribution: The Results

Case Study: Data-Driven Customer Segmentation for Smarter Marketing & Higher Profitability

Customer Segmentation: The Results

Case Study: Creative Optimization – Data-Driven Design for Maximum Impact

Content & Marketing Automation Expertise

Meta Ads

A brief summary of my experience

So, which is my strongest channel?

Collaboration? Send me a message.