Running paid ads is an excellent way to get relevant traffic, sales, and other conversions. In some ways, it’s better than search engine optimization (SEO) because results are immediate – you can start generating traffic the moment your ad goes live.
When you need website visitors, PPC ads are perfect. Statistics published by techjury show that paid ads generate 65% of a website’s search engine traffic and create twice as much traffic as SEO. These are some promising stats. However, certain mistakes can kill your conversions.
No matter how many clicks you get, if your conversions are suffering, you might be unknowingly making some of the following mistakes.
Do your marketing messages relate to your market as human beings? Are they relatable? Do your messages elicit a sense of humanity? People aren’t going to buy from you if your ads and landing pages sound like they were written for a faceless audience. You’ll get more conversions when your marketing copy speaks directly to your audience in a way that resonates with them. This is how you build trust in a short period of time. For example, you can use humor or real-life stories that people can relate to, and this will make them listen, read, and be more likely to buy.
Your target audience needs a reason to trust you in order to buy from you, and to build that trust, you need to speak their language. Your ads need to be relatable, even if it’s just general humor. However, if you can reach your target audience with specific messages that address their pain points and needs, you’ll do even better.
You can focus on more than 100 metrics in AdWords and at least 75 in Facebook Ads, but that doesn’t mean they’re all valuable. In fact, when you focus on metrics that don’t matter, you’re wasting your time and you’re less likely to do things that will improve your conversions.
The bottom line is that conversions make you money, and when you get lost in metrics that don’t matter, you’re distracted from doing things that will increase your revenue.
The main metric to avoid getting lost in is traffic. Sure, you need traffic to get conversions, but optimizing your ads around traffic stats will only bring you more traffic. What’s wrong with more traffic? Isn’t that the goal? Yes and no.
Traffic is meaningless unless it converts. Generating more visitors will only inflate your conversion rates. If you’re looking at your traffic stats trying to devise ways to get more visitors with your ads, you’re ignoring conversions. What you need to do is zero in on your conversion rate.
Say you’re converting ten out of every 1,000 visitors to a landing page. That’s a 1% conversion rate, which is pretty low. Naturally, you’ll want to increase this percentage, but getting more traffic isn’t the way to go. Instead, you need to put your time and energy into optimizing your landing pages. Start running A/B testing and work on critical elements like your headings, page design, typography, and your calls to action.
Your goal is to get more sales, so don’t get lost in traffic metrics. Use the information to calculate your conversion rate, but don’t lose yourself in the belief that getting more visitors will automatically increase conversions – it won’t.
Bad copy is everywhere on the internet. You can’t avoid it. However, you can avoid killing conversions because of bad copy by stepping up your landing page game.
Words have the power to influence your audience for better or worse, so it’s essential to be intentional when you write your ads and landing pages. Your headlines need to be concise, yet descriptive, and your copy should present a clear value proposition to the reader. Calls to action need to be compelling and irresistible, and sales copy needs to be persuasive.
It’s easy to get people to click on your ads, but converting them isn’t automatic. Here are some simple tips for optimizing your landing pages for higher conversions:
If writing persuasive copy isn’t your thing, you can always hire a professional marketing company to write it for you. One major benefit of hiring a professional is having your ads and landing pages written by someone with experience who has already tested various page elements to see what works best. With a pro, you’ll be ahead of the game right out of the gate.
If you’re like most business owners, you probably run paid ads on social media sites, like Facebook, where you can target your existing fan base, people who have visited your website, and anyone who has interacted with your ads. While this is an important component in retargeting, it shouldn’t be your entire PPC strategy.
By showing ads mostly to people who already know you, you’re not going to get much of a return. They already know what you’re selling and they might purchase something in the future, but many will simply ignore or hide your ads.
Branch out and start displaying your ads to people who haven’t interacted with your brand on your chosen ad platform before. Start reaching new people, and if you decide to target a new segment, be sure to tailor your ads just for them. You’re more likely to increase conversions by generating sales from people who haven’t seen your ads a thousand times.
While getting lost in vanity metrics will work against you, it’s still important to track your progress. If you aren’t aware of how your ads are performing, you could be wasting money targeting the wrong demographics, running the wrong type of ads, or using the wrong platform.
Tracking your results along with A/B testing is essential for generating conversions. Even the slightest change in a page element can make a difference. For example, changing your typeface or your main heading has the potential to drive more sales or increase your bounce rate. You won’t know what’s creating your success or causing your failure unless you track your results.
The decision to get involved in any social issue should be thought out ahead of time. You can kill your conversions by generating a bad reputation based on how you respond to various issues happening in the world.
You might think you’re doing something positive, but people watching might interpret it negatively. For instance, if you choose to reference some kind of major disaster in a marketing campaign, it might backfire if people interpret your ads as insensitive or feel like you’re taking advantage of a tragedy for your own gain. Many brands have lost a good reputation over this type of situation, so be aware of this possibility.
People pay attention to everything brands do online, and if you earn a bad reputation over a social issue, your clicks and conversions will drop.
If any of these mistakes sound familiar, you’re not alone. Most business owners make some or all of these mistakes without knowing. Don’t worry, all you need to do is take a look at your strategy, identify the areas that you can improve, and make the correct changes. After a little bit of time and effort, you should see your conversions improve.
On the other hand, if you feel like you’re in over your head, you can always work with a professional paid ad agency, like PPC.co.
Whether you need sales, signups, or leads to follow up with through phone calls, we can optimize your paid ads and landing pages to get you more conversions. We are a full-service ad agency that specializes in pay-per-click ads on platforms like Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, YouTube, and others.
If your PPC ads aren’t converting as expected, contact us for more information about our services. We’d love to help you get the conversions you deserve!
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When this apartment complex client partnered with PPC.co, their goal was clear: generate more qualified leads through Google Ads. In just 60 days—from January to March 2025—we transformed their paid acquisition performance. Total conversions more than tripled, jumping from 10 to 32, while the overall conversion rate soared by over 300%. At the same time, we drove down the cost per conversion by 44%, delivering significantly more leads at a much lower cost.
By strategically combining Performance Max and high-intent Search campaigns, we not only increased lead volume but improved overall efficiency and ROI. This rapid and measurable improvement underscores the value of data-driven optimization and expert campaign management.
This case study is a testament to what can happen when a well-structured campaign meets expert strategy and continuous optimization. Whether you're launching a new property or looking to boost occupancy in a competitive market, PPC.co delivers real results—fast.
Ready to grow your leads and lower your cost per conversion?
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If you’re running an e-commerce or retail business, you already know that visibility is everything. The best product in the world won’t sell if no one sees it. That’s where paid ads for ecommerce comes in.
Done right, they drive traffic, conversions, and repeat customers.
Done wrong, they drain your budget and leave you wondering what went wrong.
Whether you’re spending $500 a month or $50,000, your goal is the same: profitability. Not just clicks, and certainly not just impressions. You want to turn ad dollars into real, predictable revenue.
So how do top-performing e-commerce and retail brands make their paid ads work?
What are they doing that you’re not?
This guide breaks it down step-by-step, so you can start running profitable ads with confidence.
Before you launch a single campaign, you need clarity on your audience and goals. Are you trying to boost first-time sales? Increase average order value? Each objective requires a different strategy and metrics for success.
Don’t fall into the trap of launching ads just to “see what happens.” Paid media works best when it’s part of a bigger strategy. So before you log in to Google Ads or Meta Ads Manager, get specific about what success looks like.
If you want to run profitable paid ads, knowing your numbers is the foundation of your entire strategy. Without a clear understanding of your margins, break-even points, and how much you can afford to spend to acquire a customer, you’re essentially gambling with your ad budget.
And in e-commerce, that can get expensive fast.
Let’s start with the most critical numbers you need to know:
Your break-even ROAS tells you the minimum return you need on your ad spend to not lose money. It’s calculated by dividing 1 by your gross profit margin.
So if your margin is 50 percent, your break-even ROAS is 2.0. That means for every $1 you spend on ads, you need to make $2 in sales just to break even.
For example, let’s say you’re running Facebook Ads and spending $1,000 on a campaign. If your break-even ROAS is 2.0, you need to generate at least $2,000 in revenue to avoid losing money. Anything above that is profit. Anything below that eats into your cash.
Once you know your numbers, you can reverse-engineer your ad strategy instead of throwing money into the void and hoping for results. For instance, if your AOV is low (say $25), you might struggle to profit from ads unless you have a very low COGS or high conversion rates. In that case, you might want to:
On the other hand, if your AOV is $150 and your margins are strong, you have more room to compete in ad auctions, bid more aggressively, and test multiple audiences and creatives without instantly wiping out your profit.
A lot of beginner advertisers focus entirely on immediate return from ads. That’s understandable – but short-sighted. If you’re breaking even or slightly losing on the first sale, that might still be a smart move if you’re building long-term customer relationships.
That’s where Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) comes in. If you know that your average customer places three orders a year, each worth $60, then their LTV is $180. If you spend $40 to acquire that customer with your first ad, but earn $140 more over the next 12 months, that ad was extremely profitable in the long run.
Top e-commerce brands build their paid strategies around LTV-to-CAC ratio – how much they earn over time compared to what they paid to acquire the customer.
A healthy ratio is usually 3:1 or higher. So if you’re spending $50 to acquire a customer, you want to earn at least $150 from that customer over time.
Once you understand your numbers, you can plan your ad spend with precision. You’ll know exactly:
Let’s say you want to make $5,000 in profit this month, and your product has a 50 percent gross margin. That means you need $10,000 in sales. If your target ROAS is 2.5, you can spend up to $4,000 in ad spend to hit that goal. With those numbers in hand, you now have a roadmap for campaign budgeting, not just a shot in the dark.
Every ad platform has strengths. But if you try to use them all at once, you’ll burn through your budget without learning much. Instead, pick one or two that align best with your business model and customer behavior.
If you’re selling visually appealing products like apparel, skincare, or home goods, platforms like Instagram and TikTok can deliver strong returns – especially with the right creative. If you’re focused on high-intent buyers, Google Search and Shopping Ads are goldmines. And if you’re targeting professionals or B2B retail buyers, LinkedIn may offer surprising results.
Test channels strategically. Start with the one that matches where your customers spend their time and scale from there. The best platform for you is the one where your ideal customers are already shopping, scrolling, or searching.
One of the biggest mistakes retailers make is casting too wide a net. You don’t want everyone to see your ad – you want the right people to see it.
On Google, this means targeting high-intent keywords that signal buying behavior. Focus on terms like “buy,” “best,” “free shipping,” or product-specific searches. On Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, you’ll want to dial in your custom audiences using demographic data, lookalikes, interests, and behavior.
Don’t forget retargeting. Most people won’t buy the first time they visit your site, but retargeting brings them back when they’re ready. Set up ads that follow people who viewed a product, added to cart, or engaged with your brand but didn’t check out.
The more relevant your targeting, the more efficient your spend and the higher your return.
Creative is the make-or-break factor in most e-commerce ad campaigns. You can have perfect targeting and the right product, but if your ad doesn’t grab attention in the first two seconds, it won’t convert.
Your creative needs to do three things quickly:
Use high-quality product photos or videos. Show your product in action. Highlight a clear benefit or solve a specific problem. Incorporate customer reviews or user-generated content to build trust.
For paid social, test multiple creatives at once – video vs. image, UGC vs. branded, short-form vs. long-form – and let performance data guide your iterations. On search platforms like Google, focus on copy that’s compelling and packed with relevant keywords. Test different headlines and descriptions to see what gets the best click-through rate.
Sending paid traffic to your homepage is a rookie mistake. You want every click to land on a page that’s designed to convert. That means fast load times, mobile optimization, and a clear call-to-action.
If you’re promoting a specific product, send users to that product page and not your full catalog. If you’re offering a bundle or a seasonal deal, create a dedicated landing page with copy, visuals, and layout tailored to that offer.
Remove distractions. Reduce friction. Make it stupid-easy for people to buy. The less effort it takes, the more sales you’ll see. And don’t forget to A/B test. Sometimes a simple tweak to your headline or CTA can double your conversion rate overnight.
Once your ads are live, your job isn’t done. In fact, this is where it really begins. You need to monitor performance regularly, looking at more than just the surface-level metrics.
Click-through rate (CTR) tells you how well your ad is capturing attention. Conversion rate shows how well your landing page is sealing the deal. ROAS tells you how profitable your campaign is. And CPA helps you compare efficiency across different products or audiences.
Watch for early indicators of success – or failure.
Treat your campaigns like living systems. Tweak, test, and improve them continuously.
Once you find a winning combination – an ad, offer, and audience that works – it’s time to scale. Increase your budget gradually while keeping an eye on performance. Scaling too fast can tank your results, so go step by step.
Duplicate high-performing campaigns to test new audiences or creatives. Experiment with upsells, bundles, or time-limited offers to increase AOV. Layer in email or SMS marketing to retarget paid traffic and drive repeat sales.
And just as importantly, don’t be afraid to kill underperforming ads. If something isn’t working after a reasonable test period, cut it. Your budget should be flowing to what works – not what you hope will work.
One of the biggest mistakes in paid advertising is chasing one-off sales without thinking about the bigger picture. Winning e-commerce brands think in terms of customer lifetime value.
If your first sale breaks even, that’s fine. (As long as you have a plan to turn that customer into a repeat buyer. ) You can use post-purchase emails, loyalty programs, and retargeting ads to bring people back.
At the end of the day, when you view paid ads as the beginning of a customer relationship – not the end – you unlock real long-term profitability. And at PPC.co, that’s where we want to help you! We offer industry-leading PPC management services for ecommerce and retail brands who want to stop wasting ad spend and start generating real ROI.
Contact us today to learn more!
