Better returns on bol and Amazon: what should you optimise before increasing ad spend?

More traffic needs a suitable offer

For products offered through Amazon FBA, the same commercial checks apply: demand, pricing, product information, availability and contribution after the relevant costs. FBA alone does not establish a profitable growth model. Assess fulfilment costs and stock commitments alongside advertising and product margin. If the fulfilment choice is the main question, use our FBA versus FBM comparison to assess that decision separately.

Marketplace performance connects visibility, clicks, purchases and the financial contribution those purchases generate.

More impressions help when the right customers notice the product. More clicks matter when visitors find an offer that matches their expectations. Additional orders create value when the selling price and costs leave enough room.

Define the result you want to improve. Reaching suitable customers, generating additional orders and improving contribution across the existing assortment are related goals, but they do not always call for the same intervention.

Identify the stage that needs attention

Separate four broad signals:

• Limited visibility: suitable customers rarely encounter the offer.

• Few clicks: the product appears, but attracts little interest.

• Few purchases: visitors click through but seldom buy.

• Weak contribution: orders arrive, but costs absorb too much of their value.

These are starting points rather than established causes. Few purchases could reflect unsuitable traffic, pricing, availability or missing information.

Assess individual products and keep measurement definitions consistent. Advertising clicks and all product-page visits represent different groups. A conversion rate calculated from one should not be compared directly with a rate based on the other.

Also consider what changed before the result deteriorated. That can help narrow the investigation.

Check the commercial foundations first

Review stock, orderability, price, delivery and your offer’s position against other sellers offering the same product.

Bol’s buy box considers factors including availability, price, delivery conditions and service quality. Amazon identifies price competitiveness, availability, shipping and customer service among its Featured Offer considerations.

Check advertising eligibility as well. Bol Sponsored Products requires, among other conditions, the buy box and complete product information. For Amazon Sponsored Products, products need stock and Featured Offer eligibility.

Increasing bids does not automatically resolve these requirements. Nor should content improvements be presented as directly determining who receives the buy box.

Review the assortment itself. A product may not be sufficiently relevant or distinctive for the search need being targeted. If that is the issue, a more polished product page alone may not change the commercial fit.

Improve the product page around a specific uncertainty

Do not assume every listing needs a complete rewrite. Start with the main question a suitable customer needs answered.

Images might explain scale, intended use or package contents. Titles, specifications and descriptions should refer consistently to the same product. Explain why features matter without inventing benefits or unsupported claims.

For a fictional example, suppose shoppers repeatedly ask whether an accessory fits a particular device. Making compatibility clear would be a focused change to investigate.

Our guide to outsourcing bol listings examines delivery models and responsibilities. The performance question here is narrower: which unanswered question might prevent an otherwise suitable visitor from purchasing?

Examine the relevance of the traffic

A useful search term reflects a customer’s need as well as a product category.

Compare search intent and advertising targeting with the product’s features, application and price range. A campaign can attract plenty of clicks without bringing many appropriate buyers.

Review patterns by product, search term or available placement. Check whether a change coincides with different targeting, a promotion or seasonal demand.

Avoid firm conclusions from a handful of clicks or orders. Record the possible explanation, gather relevant evidence and decide when the information will support a meaningful decision.

Limited volumes may call for a more focused test. They do not automatically justify excluding a target or reducing the budget.

Connect advertising metrics with contribution

ACoS is advertising expenditure divided by attributed advertising revenue, multiplied by 100%. ROAS is attributed advertising revenue divided by advertising expenditure.

A fictional campaign costing €200 and reporting €1,000 in attributed sales therefore has an ACoS of 20% and a ROAS of 5. Neither figure establishes profitability.

If the same €1,000, measured on a comparable revenue basis, leaves only €180 before advertising, subtracting €200 in ad costs produces negative contribution of €20. Fixed business expenses remain uncovered.

Set economic boundaries using product costs, commissions, delivery, returns and the campaign objective. Keep the VAT treatment and revenue definitions consistent.

Attribution also matters. Bol Sponsored Products includes conversions within fourteen days of an advertising click. Amazon’s rules can differ by advertising product and account type, so recent reporting may still change.

Attributed revenue is not necessarily incremental revenue that would have been absent without the advertising.

Use a diagnosis framework to guide the investigation

The explanations below are hypotheses. They indicate what to check rather than conclusions that can be accepted without evidence.

When is scaling justified?

Increasing investment becomes more defensible when the offer remains available, relevant visitors purchase and the expected additional sales leave enough contribution after the relevant costs.

Use evidence appropriate to the decision. There is no universal minimum number of orders. A major product difference or recent change may require more investigation than a stable pattern.

Increase expenditure selectively across a defined product group. Agree the budget, duration, expected outcome and review date. Monitor total contribution, stock and operational workload alongside advertising metrics.

If the result disappoints, investigate the reason. The appropriate response might be different targeting, stronger availability, a clearer offer or further measurement.

Do not assume the only choices are continuing unchanged or cutting expenditure.

Choose a few products and investigate one constraint

Select three to five important products. For each, record the signal, the explanation you suspect and the evidence that could support or challenge it.

Choose one improvement per product and document relevant conditions during the test. Our guide to prioritising e-commerce growth helps keep this work manageable.