Let me explain.

I see this panic all the time:

“My ACoS is 22%, I need to get it to 12% ASAP!”

Wrong question.

Look at this campaign:

• €655 ad spend
• €2,944 in sales
• 22.25% ACoS
• €0.58 CPC

Most “gurus” would say: “Cut your bids! Lower that ACoS!”

I’d say: “Show me your margin first.”

HERE’S WHY ACoS ALONE IS A TERRIBLE METRIC:

1. IT IGNORES YOUR PRODUCT MARGIN

Scenario A:

• 22% ACoS on a 55% margin product = 33% profit after ads ✅ Print money.

Scenario B:

• 12% ACoS on a 30% margin product = 18% profit after ads ⚠️ Barely surviving.

Lower ACoS ≠ more profit.

2. IT PUNISHES GROWTH INVESTMENTS

Look at Feb 6-7 in the graph. ACoS spikes to 50%+ as total cost climbs.

Most sellers would panic and slash bids.

But what if:

• You just launched a new product?
• You’re building reviews and BSR momentum?
• That high ACoS today = organic rank tomorrow?

Cutting spend too early kills your flywheel before it starts spinning.

3. IT DOESN’T SHOW THE ORGANIC LIFT

A campaign at 22% ACoS that drives:

• 50 reviews in 30 days
• Page 1 organic rank
• 40% of sales becoming organic

Is 10x better than a 12% ACoS campaign with zero organic halo effect.

You’re not just buying sales. You’re buying visibility.

4. IT MAKES YOU KILL PROFITABLE CAMPAIGNS

I’ve seen sellers cut campaigns at 20-25% ACoS because “it’s too high.”

Then they watch:

• Total revenue drop 35%
• Organic rank collapse
• Competitors steal their keywords

They weren’t losing money. They were investing in market share.

WHAT TO TRACK INSTEAD OF ACoS:

❌ ACoS alone (meaningless without context)
✅ TACoS (Total Advertising Cost ÷ Total Sales—shows full picture)

❌ Daily ACoS swings (creates emotional decisions)
✅ 30-day rolling TACoS (smooths out noise)

❌ Campaign-level ACoS (misses cross-campaign effects)
✅ Contribution margin after ALL costs (rent, storage, shipping, ads)

❌ ACoS vs. arbitrary target (“I want 15%!”)
✅ Incremental ROAS (what happens when you increase/decrease spend by 20%?)

THE QUESTION ISN’T “IS 22% TOO HIGH?”

The question is:

1️⃣ What’s your product margin?
2️⃣ What’s your organic sales %?
3️⃣ What’s your customer LTV?
4️⃣ Are you growing market share?
5️⃣ Can you afford to wait 90 days for the payoff?

If your margin is 50%+ and you’re building organic momentum?

22% ACoS is PERFECT.

THE REAL GOAL ISN’T LOW ACoS. IT’S PROFITABLE GROWTH.

I’d rather have:

• 25% ACoS + 40% organic sales = Sustainable business

Than:

• 10% ACoS + 5% organic sales = PPC prisoner

Stop optimizing for vanity metrics. Optimize for profit.

Disagree? Think I’m wrong? Tell me why in the comments. I’m ready to defend this. 👇

Drop:

• if you’ve cut a “high ACoS” campaign and regretted it
• if you focus on TACoS instead of ACoS
• if you think 22% is always too high (let’s debate!)