ACoS: the advertising costs per sale

ACoS stands for Advertising Cost of Sale. In other words: the percentage of your revenue that you spend on sponsored products. How do you calculate it, and how do you use it to your advantage? We are happy to explain.

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ACoS: the advertising costs per sale

You can calculate your ACoS by dividing the total amount you spent on advertising by the revenue you earned from it.

Did you spend €10.00 on advertisements, and earned a revenue of €100.00? Then your ACoS is 10%.

What is a good ACoS?

When you start advertising, it is good to think about what your ideal ACoS is.
That depends on your own goals, profit margins and other costs. Suppose your profit margin is 20%. Then your ACoS must be below 20%. Otherwise, your advertising costs will be at the expense of your profits. Of course that’s not the idea.

In addition to the costs for advertising, the following factors are also part of this calculation:

  • Your selling price: the price you charge your customers
  • Your purchase costs
  • Your commission to bol
  • Variable costs, such as shipping and delivery costs

4 causes for a poor ACoS

Are your advertising costs eating away at your profits? Then your ACoS is not ideal.
There can be several causes for a poor ACoS:

  • The competition in your product category is high
  • The bid prices for your keywords are high
  • Your delivery time is longer than that of the competition
  • The item is not generating enough sales

4 tips to improve your ACoS

1. Refine your keywords

Exclude keywords that drive ads of items that are not relevant. Check out our tips for finding the best keywords.

2. Compare your items with those of the competitor

Do you see that your competitors have, for example, a more competitive price, better reviews and/or better specifications? Then see if you can improve something there. Is this not possible? Then make sure that these items are no longer included in the campaign.

3. Exclude the page types that don't perform well

Do you get the least results, for example, on the product detail page? Then turn it off.

4. Turn off categories where you don't want to be visible

Often, your deepest sub-category is the best-selling category.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions