Performance Stalled? Here’s a 3-Pillar Approach to an Ads Overhaul
Your ad spend is up. Your traffic is up. But your sales are down.
This scenario plays out across Amazon every day. More visitors, fewer conversions. Higher advertising costs, lower returns. It's the stalled performance paradox that's frustrating brand managers and executives who are doing everything "right" yet watching their numbers decline.
But one strategic overhaul reversed this exact scenario, turning a -15% decline into +21% growth in just 8 months. We’ve got the case study below, but first:
Why Performance Declines Despite Increased Investment
Competition is Increasing
Amazon's marketplace now hosts 9.7 million sellers globally, with CPC increases affecting 89% of categories in 2024 (SellerMetrics). Brands spending incrementally on the same strategies are fighting for the same shrinking pie. When everyone is spending more, your increased investment just maintains position rather than gaining ground.
The Traffic-Conversion Disconnect
More traffic means nothing without the strategic framework to convert that traffic effectively. More saturated spaces will see lower conversion rates, and while Amazon sellers enjoy a conversion rate of 10-15% on average (SalesDuo), competitive categories often see significant declines as market saturation intensifies.
Higher Ad Costs + Conversion Issues = The Downward Spiral
Any brand facing those 2 challenges is going to see declining sales. It's a compounding problem where higher spend generates lower returns, creating a cycle that tactical fixes can't break.
What Strategic Turnarounds Require
Moving beyond incremental adjustments, declining performance requires a systematic overhaul, not tactical tweaks. Successful turnarounds focus on key areas like:
Strategic Foundation Development: Addressing category positioning and competitive dynamics simultaneously, rather than reacting to individual metrics in isolation.
Brand Positioning Reinforcement: Prioritizing content optimization and upper-funnel investment that rebuilds conversion foundations and creates sustainable competitive advantages.
Portfolio Performance Optimization: Maximize cross-selling opportunities and improve overall account performance by treating your product ecosystem as an integrated whole.
Unlike agencies that focus solely on CPC reduction, GO's integrated approach tackles the root strategic issues causing performance decline.
Here's how that looks in practice.
Case Study: From -15% Decline to +21% Growth
The Challenge
A brand came to GO facing the ultimate performance paradox. Despite a 22% rise in advertising spend, they experienced a 15% year-over-year sales decrease. Their top product segment showed declining conversion rates, and traditional optimization approaches weren't reversing the trend.
GO's Strategic Overhaul Approach
GO partnered with the brand in 2024 and implemented a three-pillar strategy:
Pillar 1: Always-On Advertising Realignment
We leveraged an always-on advertising approach for the top product segment, aggressively targeting category and competitor keywords through both search and DSP campaigns.
We optimized campaign keywords and refined audience targeting to mitigate wasted spend and maximize investment efficiency.
Using Amazon Marketing Cloud insights, we refined audience segments and implemented advanced DSP retargeting strategies for precision targeting beyond traditional search behavior.
Pillar 2: Strengthening the Brand Position & Deploying Video
We refined PDP content to communicate brand history and differentiation.
We updated search creatives to include product differentiation messaging
We launched upper-funnel video campaigns to boost brand recognition.
Pillar 3: Cross-Selling Strategy Implementation
We drove cross-selling opportunities by promoting lower-selling items through search and DSP campaign.
We developed content that showcased complementary products alongside one another to gain greater visibility to the wider cataloge.
The Results
GO's strategy was fully implemented by April. From April through December, the brand achieved complete reversal: +21% year-over-year growth in shipped COGS. This represents a 36-percentage-point swing (from -15% to +21%), demonstrating complete business transformation from decline to aggressive growth with consistent improvements across 8 months.
Most tactical fixes take 2-3 months to show impact; strategic overhauls might need 6-8 months to show sustained results.
Your Implementation Guide
Ready to apply this approach? Here's your roadmap:
Phase 1: Audit Everything
Carefully review your advertising approach—is it keeping you at the status quo or positioning you to get ahead?
Analyze keyword campaign performance and bid strategies
Review audience targeting effectiveness and reach
Evaluate brand positioning strength and messaging consistency
Track conversion rate trends across product segments
Assess portfolio performance to identify cross-selling opportunities
Phase 2: Strategic Implementation
Deploy always-on strategies that capture daily demand and combine them with upper-funnel tactics (especially video) to build brand affinity:
Prioritize your hero ASINs that will always be key traffic drivers
Deploy Amazon DSP video ads for upper-funnel reach
Implement Amazon Marketing Cloud audience segmentation for precision targeting
Update PDP content to highlight brand differentiation
Develop cross-selling content showcasing complementary products
Ensure your brand store is designed to guide shoppers through your full catalog
Deploy AI-powered bid automation and real-time optimization tools
Phase 3: Growth Optimization and Expansion
Monitor integrated results across all strategic pillars and scale successful approaches:
Leverage Amazon Marketing Cloud insights for advanced campaign refinement
Adjust keyword bids based on compound performance data
A/B test video creative formats to optimize engagement and conversion rates
Scale high-performing campaigns while maintaining strategic focus
Expand successful content formats across additional product segments
Continuously optimize audience targeting based on integrated results
Key Performance Indicators to Monitor:
Year-over-year growth trends across all product segments
Conversion rate improvements by traffic source
Balance your advertising efficiency gains (CPC reductions, ROAS improvements) with broader long-term performance (CPP, topline sales, and LTV)
Video campaign engagement metrics and brand lift measurement
Amazon Marketing Cloud attribution analysis
Customer lifetime value increases from strategic initiatives
Your Strategic Assessment Challenge
Is your brand experiencing the stalled performance paradox—higher spend generating lower returns? It might not be a budget problem—it's more likely a strategy problem that requires systematic overhaul rather than incremental adjustments.
With Amazon’s increasing competition and rising ad costs, the window for strategic intervention is narrowing. Reach out through the contact button below and we’ll take a closer look at your strategy to see what might be holding back your growth.