Paid media priced against margin, not ROAS
A 3x ROAS on a 30% margin product loses money on every order. We run e-commerce paid media against contribution margin — the only number that tells you whether scaling is a good idea.
What's different here
The defining difference in e-commerce PPC is that the feed matters as much as the campaign. Most agencies optimize bids on a product feed that's missing GTINs, has truncated titles, and lists three-year-old pricing. We fix the feed before touching a bid — it's routinely the fastest available win in a Shopping account and it costs nothing in media.
E-commerce & DTC clients
What paid ads looks like for e-commerce brands.
These are the plays that wouldn't appear on a generic paid ads page — they only make sense in e-commerce & dtc.
Product feed enrichment first
GTIN coverage, title structure keyed to how people actually search, custom labels for margin tiers, and availability accuracy. In most audits, feed problems are suppressing 20–40% of eligible Shopping impressions before we spend a dollar differently.
Margin-tiered custom labels
We tag every SKU by contribution margin band, then bid separately by band. High-margin products get aggressive targets; margin-negative SKUs get excluded from prospecting entirely — which is often the first time a client sees which products are actually funding the business.
Advantage+ and PMax with guardrails
Both will happily spend your entire budget on brand and remarketing traffic you'd have won for free. We use exclusions, brand-term negatives, and asset-group segmentation so automated campaigns buy incremental demand rather than repackaging existing demand.
Post-purchase survey attribution
A single 'how did you hear about us' question at checkout gives you a directional cross-check against platform-reported numbers. When Meta claims 400 conversions and the survey says 180, that gap is your real story.
What holds e-commerce brands back
Rising CAC is eating your margin
Meta CPMs climb every year. Without conversion rate and AOV improvements, your unit economics get worse even when campaigns 'perform'.
You're optimizing platform ROAS
A 3x ROAS on 30% gross margin loses money per order. Platform ROAS ignores COGS, shipping, returns, and discounts entirely.
One-and-done customers
If every order needs paid acquisition, you're renting customers. Repeat purchase rate is the strongest predictor of DTC profitability.
Your store converts below benchmark
The median Shopify store converts at 1.4%. Good ones run 3–4%. That gap is worth more than any targeting change you'll make.
The full scope.
Everything in a paid ads engagement, applied to e-commerce & dtc.
Free account audit
A line-by-line teardown of structure, tracking, creative, and wasted spend — delivered before you commit to anything.
Server-side conversion tracking
GTM server container, Meta CAPI, Google Enhanced Conversions, and offline conversion imports from your CRM.
Campaign restructure
Consolidated, algorithm-friendly architecture with clean conversion signals and budgets that can actually exit learning.
Creative production
Static and video ad creative produced in volume, built on a systematic hook and angle testing matrix.
Landing page optimization
We build and test the destination too. Message match, speed, and form friction all get optimized alongside the ads.
Audience & feed strategy
First-party audience building, exclusion hygiene, and product feed optimization for Shopping and Advantage+ catalog campaigns.
Structured testing program
One variable at a time, statistically valid sample sizes, and a documented log of what we learned and what we killed.
Profit-based reporting
Blended CAC, contribution margin, and MER — not just the inflated numbers the ad platforms report to themselves.
How this runs.
Audit & diagnose
Week 1Full account teardown across structure, tracking, creative, and landing pages. You receive the written audit whether or not you hire us.
Fix measurement
Weeks 1–2Server-side tracking, conversion definitions, and value assignment. Nothing else is trustworthy until this is right.
Rebuild & launch
Weeks 2–4Restructured campaigns, new creative, optimized landing pages — launched with a clear testing roadmap.
Test & iterate
OngoingWeekly creative refreshes, systematic audience tests, and disciplined budget reallocation toward what's working.
Scale profitably
Month 2+Push spend to the edge of your CAC ceiling, then expand into new channels and markets from a proven base.
E-commerce & DTC results, in detail.
Full case studies with the numbers, the mistakes, and the recommendations clients didn't want to hear.
Scoped like the core service, no surcharge.
Every engagement is quoted from your actual brief. There's no vertical surcharge for this combination — request a quote and we'll scope it properly.
Single Channel
One platform, managed properly.
Scoped to your brief
- 1 platform (Google or Meta)
- Server-side tracking setup
- 8 creative assets/month
- Bi-weekly optimization
- Up to $40k/mo ad spend
Multi-Channel
Brands running paid across search and social.
Scoped to your brief
- Up to 4 platforms
- Full server-side + CAPI setup
- 20 creative assets/month
- Landing page builds & testing
- Weekly optimization calls
- Dedicated media buyer
- Up to $200k/mo ad spend
Performance
High-spend accounts wanting aligned incentives.
Scoped to your brief
- Unlimited platforms & markets
- Percentage-of-spend model
- Dedicated buying squad
- Incrementality testing
- 40+ creative assets/month
- Custom attribution modeling
All engagements start with a free audit. Prices exclude media spend, which you pay directly to the platforms on accounts you own.
E-commerce & DTC questions, answered straight.
Platform ROAS ignores COGS, shipping, returns, discounts, and payment fees. We regularly find accounts reporting a healthy 3.5x that are losing money per order once those are included, usually concentrated in one or two hero SKUs. The first thing we build is a contribution margin model, and it's yours to keep whether or not you hire us.
Let's talk about your growth constraint.
A 3x ROAS on a 30% margin product loses money on every order. We run e-commerce paid media against contribution margin — the only number that tells you whether scaling is a good idea.
Our commitment: Free account audit with no obligation. If we can't find at least 20% waste in your current spend, we'll tell you to stay where you are.