Most Amazon sellers obsess over ACoS. And while it’s important, there’s another metric that gives you the real picture of your brand’s long-term success.
Enter: TACoS – your Total Advertising Cost of Sale. If ACoS is your efficiency meter, TACoS is your growth meter. And if you’re not tracking it, you’re flying blind.
In this post, we’ll break down what TACoS is, why it matters more than ACoS, and how to use it to scale profitably.
What Is TACoS?
TACoS (Total Advertising Cost of Sales) measures your ad spend relative to total revenue, not just ad-driven revenue.
TACoS Formula:
TACoS = (Ad Spend ÷ Total Sales) × 100
Example:
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Ad Spend: ₹10,000
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Ad Sales: ₹30,000
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ACoS = (10,000 ÷ 30,000) × 100 = 33.3%
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Total Sales (including organic): ₹1,00,000
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TACoS = (10,000 ÷ 1,00,000) × 100 = 10%
ACoS vs. TACoS: What’s the Difference?
| Metric | Measures | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| ACoS | Ad Spend ÷ Ad Revenue | Campaign Efficiency |
| TACoS | Ad Spend ÷ Total Revenue | Business Profitability & Growth |
✅ ACoS helps optimize campaigns
✅ TACoS shows if ads are growing your brand overall
Why Is TACoS So Important?
1. Tracks Organic Lift
If your ads are helping improve organic ranking and sales, TACoS will decrease over time, even if ACoS stays flat. That’s a good thing.
2. Reveals True Profitability
You might have a high ACoS but still be profitable if your TACoS is low-which means your ads are driving organic growth.
3. Prevents Over-Reliance on Ads
A high TACoS (>15-20%) indicates your sales are overly dependent on ads, and your listings likely lack organic traction.
What’s a Good TACoS Benchmark?
| TACoS Range | What It Means |
|---|---|
| < 10% | Excellent. Strong organic ranking. |
| 10–15% | Good. Balanced ad and organic growth. |
| > 20% | Warning. Too dependent on ads. |
Ideal range: 5%-12% depending on your category and stage.
When TACoS Drops, You’re Scaling Right
A falling TACoS with consistent or increasing sales = your ads are doing their job by:
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Boosting organic rank
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Driving brand awareness
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Creating repeat customers
This is a clear sign of sustainable growth.
What If TACoS Is Increasing?
If your TACoS is rising:
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❌ You may be overspending on unprofitable campaigns
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❌ Your product listing may have poor conversion rates
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❌ You’re not gaining enough organic traction
Fix it by:
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Improving your listing (images, title, bullet points)
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Refining keyword targeting
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Cutting wasteful ad spend
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Launching review or influencer strategies to support growth
How to Track and Optimize TACoS
Weekly Metrics to Monitor:
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| ACoS | < 30% |
| TACoS | < 10–15% |
| CVR (Conversion Rate) | > 10% |
| Organic vs Paid Sales | Increasing organic % |
Tips to Lower TACoS:
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Boost listing quality to drive organic conversions
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Use ads strategically to rank for high-converting keywords
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Build external traffic (e.g., influencer campaigns, SEO)
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Leverage repeat customers and reviews to increase organic share
Final Thoughts
TACoS gives you the big picture: Are your ads building a profitable brand, or just driving temporary clicks?
By focusing on TACoS along with ACoS, you’ll understand how ads affect your total business, not just campaign-level ROAS.
Want to Scale With Lower TACoS?
At eCommercean.com, we help Amazon sellers reduce TACoS while increasing total revenue-through smarter ads, better listings, and full-funnel strategy.
📩 Book your free audit today and let’s unlock your brand’s full potential.