- Plan ads at 8%-13% of sales, deducted from sales — not a big upfront deposit.
- Ads push rankings and drive organic search traffic.
- As organic share rises, lower ad share: ads are an amplifier, not an engine.
Start with the math: where the budget comes from
I generally plan ad budgets at 8%-13% of sales, deducted from sales directly. The advantage: budget scales with the business. You spend more when you sell more, and you never carry a fixed ad cost that eats your cash flow.
During the new-product phase the ratio can temporarily go higher, then settle back into the range. The key is funding ads from sales, not asking clients to top up a big ad deposit upfront.
What ads really do: push rankings, grow organic traffic
Ads produce orders directly, but their real value is ranking: clicks, conversions and repeat-purchase data accumulate, keyword rankings rise, and organic search traffic follows.
Do not judge ads by ACoS alone — watch the organic order share too. A rising organic share means ads are building rankings, not just buying orders.
When to lower ad share
Once organic orders are stably above half and category ranking holds, gradually reduce bids and budget and let organic traffic take over.
Taper slowly: small weekly adjustments while watching rankings. If ranking drops, getting it back costs more than keeping it.
How I manage it for you
My ad operations are reviewed weekly: budget, bids, negative keywords and keyword structure, all backed by data. Ads are an amplifier, not an engine — fix the product, listing and conversion first, then ads can amplify.