Key takeaways
- TACoS is ad spend divided by total sales, so it shows whether ads are growing the whole business.
- There is no universal good TACoS. The right number depends on your margin, growth stage and goals.
- The trend matters more than the number. Rising sales with flat or falling TACoS means ads are lifting organic sales.
What TACoS measures
TACoS stands for Total Advertising Cost of Sales. It tells you how much you spend on ads for every dollar of total revenue, including the organic sales that ads help create.
Because total sales include organic orders, TACoS answers a different question than ACoS. ACoS asks whether a campaign is efficient. TACoS asks whether advertising is growing the brand.
TACoS vs ACoS
Here's a simple example. Say you spend $10,000 on ads in a month. Those ads drive $40,000 in attributed sales, and your total sales for the month are $100,000.
- ACoS is $10,000 ÷ $40,000 = 25%
- TACoS is $10,000 ÷ $100,000 = 10%
- 60% of your revenue came from organic sales
A 25% ACoS might look expensive on its own. Seen through TACoS, you're reinvesting 10% of revenue to drive the whole business. You need both numbers to make good decisions.
Try it on your numbers
Want this at the child-ASIN level? The free TACoS Bot builds it from three reports.
So what counts as a good TACoS?
Any single benchmark you read online ignores the two things that matter most: your margin and your stage.
- Launching a product: a higher TACoS is normal while ads build sales history and rank.
- Scaling an established product: you want sales to grow while TACoS holds steady or falls.
- Defending a mature product: TACoS should be stable and comfortably inside your margin.
Two Junglr clients show the range. An automotive brand grows 30% year over year at a 3.8% TACoS. Another brand grew total sales 143% in five months at a 13.8% TACoS. Both are healthy, because each fits that brand's margin and goals.
Not sure what your TACoS should be? We'll look at your account and tell you, SKU by SKU, before the call.
Book a callHow to set your TACoS target
- Start from margin. Your profit margin before ad spend is your breakeven ACoS. Any ad with a higher ACoS loses money on the sale it drove.
- Decide how much of revenue you'll reinvest. That share is your TACoS ceiling. It has to leave the profit you need.
- Set it per product. A hero SKU and a new launch shouldn't share a target.
- Review monthly. As organic sales grow, the same ad spend produces a lower TACoS.
The free Growth Balance Equation calculates the exact ACoS and TACoS that hit your profit goal.
Four ways to lower TACoS without stalling growth
1. Cut search terms that spend without converting
Wasted spend raises TACoS and adds nothing. Review search terms regularly and add negatives at scale.
2. Watch your branded spend share
Spending heavily on your own brand name can inflate ad-attributed sales while adding few new customers. Two of our case-study brands keep branded spend at 25% and 19.8% of total spend and still grow.
3. Protect the keywords that drive organic rank
Cutting the wrong campaign can drop rank and organic sales with it, which pushes TACoS up. Track keyword rank and BSR before and after every change.
4. Coordinate ads with deals and inventory
Ads that run into a stockout, or ignore a deal, waste momentum. Plan spend around both.
FAQ
Is a lower TACoS always better?
No. A very low TACoS can mean you're under-investing and leaving growth on the table. The goal is the TACoS that fits your margin while sales keep growing.
Where do I find TACoS in Seller Central?
Amazon doesn't show one TACoS number for your whole business by default. Divide total ad spend from the ads console by total sales from Business Reports for the same period, or use the calculator above.
Should TACoS be the same for every product?
No. Set targets per product based on its margin and stage. New launches and hero SKUs need different targets.
Co-founder and Lead Strategist at Junglr. 7 years running Amazon ads through every algorithm change, and host of the weekly #AskJunglr Live Q&A.