How to Use Ads

What do the different campaign performance metrics mean?

● Impressions

Impressions measure the number of times your ad or campaign is seen by logged-in shoppers. The higher the impressions, the wider the reach of your ads to potential shoppers. 

● Clicks

Clicks measure the number of times logged-in shoppers click on your ads or campaign after seeing them. 

● Click-Through-Rate (CTR)

1. CTR measures the percentage of times shoppers click on your ad or campaign after seeing them. 
2. For example, if there are 100 impressions for your ad or campaign and 10 clicks, your CTR is 10%. A higher CTR is better as it reflects higher interest in your ad or campaign.

● Orders

Placed Order

1. Total number of placed orders within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads. Placed orders include all buyer checkouts, even if later cancelled or returned.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and places an order for Product A and Product B together, but has not completed payment, Product A campaign will track 1 placed order.

Confirmed Order

1. Total number of confirmed orders within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads. Confirmed orders include paid non‑COD orders, as well as COD orders confirmed by the system for shipping, even if they are later cancelled, returned, or refunded.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and places a COD order for Product A and Product B in which it was confirmed for delivery within 7 days, it will be attributed to Product A campaign as 1 confirmed order.

● Conversions

Placed Conversion

1. Total number of unique products sold from placed orders completed within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and places an order for 3 items of Product A and 2 items of Product B within 7 days, a total of 2 placed conversions (1 from Product A and 1 from Product B) will be attributed to Product A campaign.
3. One conversion can consist of multiple items sold of the same product.

Confirmed Conversion

1. Total number of unique products sold from confirmed orders completed within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and paid purchase for 3 items of Product A and 2 items of Product B within 7 days, a total of 2 confirmed conversions (1 from Product A and 1 from Product B) will be attributed to Product A campaign.

● Items Sold

Placed Items Sold

1. Total quantity of products that buyers placed orders for within 7 days of them clicking your ads.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and places a COD order for 2 items of Product A and 1 item of Product B within 7 days, but order has not confirmed shipping, 3 placed items sold will be attributed to Product A campaign.

Confirmed Items Sold

1. Total quantity of products that buyers confirmed orders for within 7 days of them clicking your ads.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and places an COD order for 2 items of Product A and 1 item of Product B within 7 days, and order has confirmed shipping, 3 confirmed items sold will be attributed to Product A campaign.

● Gross Merchandise Value (GMV)

Placed GMV

1. Total sales from placed orders from your shop within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads. Placed orders include all buyer checkouts, even if later cancelled or returned.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and places an order for Product A and Product B within 7 days, the total placed GMV of Product A and B will be attributed to Product A campaign.

Confirmed GMV

1. Total sales from confirmed orders from your shop within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads. Confirmed orders include paid non‑COD orders, as well as COD orders confirmed by the system for shipping, even if they are later cancelled, returned, or refunded.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and places an COD order Product A and Product B within 7 days, and order has confirmed shipping, the total placed GMV of Product A and B will be attributed to Product A campaign.

● Expense

Expense measures the total amount of money spent on your ads or campaigns. Make sure your expense is within your advertising budget.

● Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS)

Placed ROAS

1. Measures the sales from placed orders generated within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads, relative to every dollar spent on your ads.
2. ROAS = Placed GMV ÷ Campaign Expense.

Confirmed ROAS

1. Measures the sales from confirmed orders generated within 7 days of buyers clicking your Ads, relative to every dollar spent on your ads
2. ROAS = Confirmed GMV ÷ Campaign Expense.

● Advertising Cost of Sales (ACOS)

Placed ACOS

1. Measures the expense relative to sales from placed orders generated within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads 
2. ACOS = Campaign Expense ÷ Placed GMV × 100%.

Confirmed ACOS

1. Measures the expense relative to sales from confirmed orders generated within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads
2. ACOS = Campaign Expense ÷ Confirmed GMV × 100%.

● Conversion Rate (CR)

Placed CR

1. Measures how often buyers complete a placed order for unique products within 7 days of clicking your ads.
2. Conversion Rate = Placed Conversions ÷ Clicks × 100%.

Confirmed CR

1. Measures how often buyers complete a confirmed order for unique products within 7 days of clicking your ads.
2. Conversion Rate = Confirmed Conversions ÷ Clicks × 100%. 

● Cost Per Conversion 

Placed Cost Per Conversion

1. Refers to on average how much each placed conversion costs. 
2. Cost per Conversion = Expense ÷ Placed Conversions.

Confirmed Cost Per Conversion

1. Measures how much each confirmed conversion costs on average.
2. Cost per Conversion = Expense ÷ Confirmed Conversions.

What is a 'Direct' metric and how is it different?

1. Metrics labeled as "Direct" only track actions related to the promoted item. 

2. In contrast, metrics without "Direct" include actions taken on both the promoted item and other items from the same shop.

● Direct Conversions

For Product campaigns, below is an example for attribution of Direct Conversions:

Placed Direct Conversions

1. Total number of promoted products sold from placed orders completed within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and places an order for 3 items of Product A and 1 item of Product B within 7 days, only 1 placed direct conversion on Product A will be attributed to Product A campaign.

Confirmed Direct Conversions

1. Total number of promoted products sold from confirmed orders completed within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and completes payment for 3 items of Product A and 1 item of Product B within 7 days, only 1 confirmed direct conversion on Product A will be attributed to Product A campaign.

For Shop Search Ads, Direct Conversions include:

1. Products displayed on Shop Search Ads that are clicked and purchased within 7 days*
2. Products that are clicked on ad's landing page (that is either shop's page or a product collection page) within 1 day of ad click and purchased within 7 days
3. Note: Not all Shop Search Ads shown to shoppers display products from your shop. For more information, click here.

● Direct Items Sold

For Product campaigns, below is an example for attribution of Direct Items Sold:

Placed Direct Items Sold

1. Total quantity of promoted products that buyers paid for within 7 days of them clicking your ads.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and places an order for 2 items of Product A and 1 item of Product B within 7 days, only 2 paid direct items sold of Product A will be attributed to Product A campaign.

Confirmed Direct Items Sold

1. Total quantity of promoted products that buyers confirmed orders for within 7 days of them clicking your ads.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and purchases 2 items of Product A and 1 item of Product B within 7 days, only 2 confirmed direct items sold of Product A will be attributed to Product A campaign.

For Shop Search Ads, the total quantity of products include: 

1. Products displayed on Shop Search Ads that are clicked and purchased within 7 days*
2. Products that are clicked on ad's landing page (that is either shop's page or a product collection page) within 1 day of ad click and purchased within 7 days

● Direct Gross Merchandise Value (GMV)

For Product campaigns, below is an example for attribution of Direct GMV:

Placed Direct GMV

1. Total sales from placed orders from your promoted product within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads. Placed orders include all buyer checkouts, even if later cancelled or returned.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and places an order for Product A and Product B within 7 days, only the GMV of Product A will be attributed to Product A campaign.

Confirmed Direct GMV

1. Total sales from confirmed orders from your promoted product within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads. Confirmed orders include paid non‑COD orders, as well as COD orders confirmed by the system for shipping, even if they are later cancelled, returned, or refunded.
2. If a user clicks on Product A campaign, and places a OD order for Product A and Product B within 7 days, only the GMV of Product A will be attributed to Product A campaign once the COD order shipping is confirmed.

For Shop Search Ads, the total quantity of products include: 

1. Products displayed on Shop Search Ads that are clicked and purchased within 7 days*
2. Products that are clicked on ad's landing page (that is either shop's page or a product collection page) within 1 day of ad click and purchased within 7 days

● Direct Return on Advertising Spend (Direct ROAS)

Placed Direct ROAS

1. Measures the sales from placed orders generated from promoted products within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads, relative to every dollar spent on your ads.
2. Direct ROAS = Placed Direct GMV ÷ Expense

Confirmed Direct ROAS

1. Measures the sales from confirmed orders generated from promoted products within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads, relative to every dollar spent on your ads.
2. Direct ROAS = Confirmed Direct GMV ÷ Expense

● Direct Advertising Cost of Sales (Direct ACOS)

1. Placed Direct ACOS: Measures the expense relative to sales from placed orders from promoted products generated within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads.
2. Direct ACOS = Campaign Expense ÷ Direct Placed GMV × 100%.

Confirmed Direct ACOS

1. Measures the expense relative to sales from confirmed orders from promoted products generated within 7 days of buyers clicking your ads.
2. Direct ACOS = Campaign Expense ÷ Direct Confirmed GMV × 100%.

● Direct Conversion Rate (Direct CR)

Placed Direct CR

1. Measures how often buyers complete a placed order for promoted products within 7 days of clicking your ads.
2. Direct Conversion Rate = Placed Direct Conversions ÷ Clicks × 100%.

Confirmed Direct CR

1. Measures how often buyers complete a confirmed order for promoted products within 7 days of clicking your ads.
2. Direct Conversion Rate = Confirmed Direct Conversions ÷ Clicks × 100%.

● Cost Per Direct Conversion

Placed Cost Per Direct Conversion

1. Measures how much each placed conversion of the promoted product costs on average.
2. Cost per Direct Conversion = Expense ÷ Placed Direct Conversions.

Confirmed Cost Per Direct Conversion

1. Measures how much each confirmed conversion of the promoted product costs on average.
2. Cost per Direct Conversion = Expense ÷ Confirmed Direct Conversions.

● Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM)

1. Cost Per Thousand Impressions measures the cost to deliver a thousand ad impressions.
2. Cost Per Thousand Impressions = Expense ÷ Impressions x 1000 
3. [Only for Brand Ads] CPM is fixed when you book your campaign. You will only be charged based on the actual ad impressions delivered while your Brand Ads campaign is live. 

What is the difference between Placed / Confirmed Performance Metrics? 

1. Placed GMV

Placed GMV refers to the total value of all orders at the time they are placed (checkout). This includes both paid and unpaid orders.

2. Confirmed GMV

Confirmed GMV is the total value of confirmed orders. 

1. Non-COD (cash on delivery) orders: GMV confirmed upon payment completion
2. COD orders: GMV is confirmed once the order is confirmed for shipping.

For more information on the new changes, you can refer to this article.

What is the difference between Orders, Conversions and Items Sold?

Each metric helps you track how well your ads generate sales on a different level:

1. Orders: Measures how many orders your ads or campaigns generate
2. Conversions: Measures how many unique products are sold in each order your ads or campaigns generate
3. Items Sold: Measures the quantity of products sold in each order your ads or campaigns generate

For example, if a shopper clicks on your ads or campaign for product A, purchases 2 units of product A and 3 units of product B in a single order:

1. Orders = 1
2. Conversions = 2 (Unique products sold are product A and product B)
3. Items Sold = 5 (A total of 2 units of product A and 3 units of product B)

What are Product Impression, Clicks and CTR for Shop Search Ads?

Product Impressions

1. Product Impressions refer to the number of times products in your shop page are seen by logged-in shoppers after clicking your Shop Search Ad. 
2. For example, if a shopper clicks on your Shop Search Ad and scrolls down to see 10 products in your shop's page before they exit, you will have 10 Product Impressions. A higher Product Impression indicates that shoppers explore your shop more after clicking your Shop Search Ad. 

Product Clicks

1. Product Clicks refer to the number of times the products in your shop page are clicked by logged-in shoppers after clicking your Shop Search Ad. 
2. For example, if a shopper clicks on your Shop Search Ad, then clicks on 4 products in your shop page, you'll get 1 Click and 4 Product Clicks. As such, your Product Click count may be higher than your Click count, as an interested shopper may click on multiple products after clicking once on your Shop Search Ad.

Product CTR

1. Product CTR measures the percentage of times shoppers click on your products upon seeing them in your shop page, after they click on your Shop Search Ad. 
2. Product CTR = Product Clicks ÷ Product Impressions
3. For example, if you have 100 Product Impressions and 20 Product Clicks, your Product CTR is 20%. High Product CTR indicates that the products on your shop page are attractive to shoppers.

What are Reach, Page Views and Unique Visitors for Brand Ads? 

Reach

1. Reach refers to the total number of unique users who have viewed your Brand Ad during the campaign duration.
2. For example, if you are running a 7-day campaign and the same shopper saw your Brand Ads on Day 1 and Day 5, you will get 1 Reach. 

Unique Visitors

1. Unique Visitors refers to the total number of unique users who visited your shop page and/or product pages within 24 hours after a click on your Brand Ads. 

Page Views

1. Page Views refers to the total views of your shop page and/or product pages within 24 hours after a click on your Brand Ad. 
2. For example, if a shopper clicks on your Brand Ads, lands on your shop page and proceeds to click on a product listed, you'll get 2 Page Views. A higher Page View compared to Unique Visitors shows that shoppers explored your shop after Brand Ads drove awareness.

Where can I check my ads' or campaigns’ performance?

Check your ads’ or campaigns’ performance via your Shopee app or by logging into Seller Center on your browser. 

1. Via Shopee app

1. Tap on your "Me" tab
2. Tap on "My Shop" at the top left of the screen
3. Scroll down and tap on "Shopee Ads"
4. Depending on which ad type you are looking for, tap on "Search Ads" or "Discovery Ads", or "Display Ads"
5. Tap on any product to see the product level ads performance data. You can also toggle the desired time period for the ads performance.

2. Via Seller Centre on your browser

After logging into your Seller Centre, click "Shopee Ads" on the left navigation bar.

When and how often should I review my ad or campaign data?

1. When running your ad or campaign for the first time, wait for at least 2 weeks before downloading the report to get sufficient and robust data. Minimal adjustment is advised for the first 2 weeks for new ads or campaigns.

2. Check your ad or campaign performance at least once a day after 2 weeks. You can check more frequently if your ads are not performing to your expectations and optimize your ads or campaigns.

3. Download and save your data regularly. The Export Data function allows you to access data up to the last 90 days.