POAS & ecommerce advertising terms
Clear definitions for POAS, ROAS, COGS, MER, and related metrics — built for merchants and agencies optimizing on profit, not vanity revenue.
All guides
- Glossary
What is POAS?
POAS (Profit on Ad Spend) measures gross profit per ad dollar — not revenue. Learn the formula, benchmarks, and why POAS beats ROAS for ecommerce bidding.
- Glossary
What is ROAS?
ROAS measures ad revenue per dollar spent. Learn the ROAS formula, limits for ecommerce, and when to pair ROAS with POAS for profit-first advertising.
- Strategy
What is profit bidding?
Profit bidding means ad platforms optimize on gross profit, not revenue. Learn margin-based Smart Bidding, POAS signals, and how Profit Bid automates it.
- Glossary
What is COGS for ads?
COGS for ads is the product cost attributed to ad-driven orders. Learn how to source, validate, and use COGS in POAS and profit bidding.
- Glossary
What is MER vs POAS?
MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio) measures total revenue vs total marketing spend. Learn how MER differs from POAS and when to use each metric.
- Glossary
What is ACoS?
ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales) is ad spend ÷ ad revenue — the inverse of ROAS. Learn the formula, good ACoS benchmarks, and how ACoS relates to profit.
- Glossary
What is TACoS?
TACoS (Total Advertising Cost of Sales) is ad spend ÷ total revenue, not just ad revenue. Learn why TACoS reveals long-term brand health and organic lift.
- Glossary
What is AOV?
AOV (Average Order Value) is revenue ÷ number of orders. Learn the formula, why AOV drives ad profitability, and tactics to raise AOV without hurting margin.
- Glossary
What is CPA?
CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) is ad spend ÷ conversions. Learn the CPA formula, target CPA bidding, and why profit-aware CPA beats a flat CPA cap.
- Glossary
What is CPC?
CPC (Cost Per Click) is ad spend ÷ clicks. Learn how CPC, CTR, and conversion rate combine into CPA, and how to lower CPC without losing quality traffic.
- Glossary
What is CTR?
CTR (Click-Through Rate) is clicks ÷ impressions. Learn CTR benchmarks, how CTR affects Quality Score and CPC, and why CTR alone never means profit.
- Glossary
What is conversion rate?
Conversion rate (CVR) is conversions ÷ clicks (or sessions). Learn the formula, ecommerce benchmarks, and why CVR is the highest-leverage lever on CPA.
- Glossary
What is customer lifetime value?
LTV (Customer Lifetime Value) is the total gross profit a customer generates over time. Learn how LTV justifies higher acquisition costs via the LTV:CAC ratio.
- Glossary
What is CAC?
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) is total sales & marketing cost ÷ new customers. Learn how CAC differs from CPA and how the LTV:CAC ratio guides spend.
- Glossary
What is the LTV:CAC ratio?
The LTV:CAC ratio compares customer lifetime value to acquisition cost. Learn the 3:1 benchmark, what too-high or too-low ratios mean, and how to improve it.
- Glossary
What is contribution margin?
Contribution margin is revenue minus all variable costs (COGS, shipping, fees). Learn why it is the right base for ad bidding and profit-first decisions.
- Glossary
What is gross margin?
Gross margin is (revenue − COGS) ÷ revenue. Learn the formula, how gross margin sets your break-even ROAS, and why it is only the first layer of profit.
- Glossary
What is break-even ROAS?
Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ gross margin. Learn how to calculate the ROAS where ads stop losing money and how to set profitable targets above it.
- Glossary
What is target ROAS?
Target ROAS (tROAS) is a Smart Bidding strategy that optimizes toward a revenue-per-spend goal. Learn how to set tROAS from margin and feed it profit values.
- Glossary
What is blended ROAS?
Blended ROAS averages return across an entire account or all channels. Learn why blended ROAS hides loss-making SKUs and how to segment it for profit.
- Glossary
What is incrementality?
Incrementality measures the sales your ads truly caused, not just took credit for. Learn incrementality testing, holdouts, and why it corrects attribution.
- Glossary
What is marketing attribution?
Marketing attribution assigns conversion credit across touchpoints. Learn last-click, first-click, linear, and data-driven models and their limits.
- Glossary
What is net profit margin?
Net profit margin is net profit ÷ revenue after all costs. Learn how it differs from gross and contribution margin, and why ads target contribution.
- Glossary
What is repeat purchase rate?
Repeat purchase rate is the share of customers who buy again. Learn the formula, why it drives LTV, and how it lets you afford a higher acquisition cost.
- Glossary
What is refund rate?
Refund rate is refunds ÷ orders (or revenue). Learn how returns quietly erode ROAS-based profitability and why POAS should net out refunds.
- Glossary
What is ROI vs ROAS?
ROI measures profit relative to total investment; ROAS measures revenue relative to ad spend. Learn how they differ and why POAS bridges the gap.
- Glossary
What is first-order profitability?
First-order profitability is whether you profit on a customer's first purchase after CAC. Learn how it interacts with LTV and payback to guide acquisition.
- Glossary
What is MER?
MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio) is total revenue ÷ total marketing spend. Learn how MER differs from ROAS and how it pairs with POAS for profit-first growth.
- Glossary
What is cost per order?
Cost per order (CPO) is ad spend ÷ orders. Learn how CPO relates to CPA and AOV, and why comparing CPO to order profit is what actually matters.
Apply these concepts — start tracking POAS
Select a plan and continue to secure checkout — POAS conversion upload included on every tier.
Choose your plan
$14.99/ month
$29For one store getting started with profit-based bidding
- 1 connected store
- 300 orders / month included
- POAS conversion uploads to all Ad Platforms
- Profit dashboard & order snapshots
- Catalog & COGS sync
- Merchant Center XML feed
- Automatic order backup (stale stores)
- WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, PrestaShop, Shopware & OpenCart
- Unlimited products
- Unlimited support
- Unlimited ad platforms
- $0.03 per extra order
$39/ month
$59For brands that need a second store — same platform or mixed
- Up to 2 connected stores (any mix, including same type)
- 1,500 orders / month included
- POAS conversion uploads to all Ad Platforms
- Profit dashboard & order snapshots
- Catalog & COGS sync
- Merchant Center XML feed
- Automatic order backup (stale stores)
- WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, PrestaShop, Shopware & OpenCart
- Unlimited products
- Unlimited support
- Unlimited ad platforms
- $0.025 per extra order
$79/ month
$119For multi-store teams with advanced Google Ads
- Up to 4 connected stores (any mix, including same type)
- 5,000 orders / month included
- POAS conversion uploads to all Ad Platforms
- Profit dashboard & order snapshots
- Catalog & COGS sync
- Merchant Center XML feed
- Automatic order backup (stale stores)
- WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, PrestaShop, Shopware & OpenCart
- Unlimited products
- Unlimited support
- Smart product labels (Google Ads)
- AI Agent POAS optimization
- Unlimited ad platforms
- $0.02 per extra order
$149/ month
$199For agencies and high-volume merchants
- Up to 6 connected stores (any mix, including same type)
- 15,000 orders / month included
- POAS conversion uploads to all Ad Platforms
- Profit dashboard & order snapshots
- Catalog & COGS sync
- Merchant Center XML feed
- Automatic order backup (stale stores)
- WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, PrestaShop, Shopware & OpenCart
- Unlimited products
- Unlimited support
- Smart product labels (Google Ads)
- AI Agent POAS optimization
- Unlimited ad platforms
- $0.015 per extra order
14-day free trial available — start free · full pricing details