Know your break-even ACoS before you spend a dollar on ads. See your target ACoS for the profit margin you want. Calculate max bid to avoid losing money.
The ACoS where you make zero profit. Calculated as: (Sell price - All-in cost) / Sell price × 100. Above this number, every ad sale loses money.
The ACoS where you hit your desired margin. Lower than break-even by the % margin you want. This is what you optimize toward.
Highest bid you can pay per click and still hit target ACoS. Formula: Target ACoS × Sell price × Conversion rate. Set your auto-campaign cap here.
Launch phase (first 60 days) to build sales velocity and reviews. Black Friday + Q4. New keyword testing budget (10% of total). Outside these, stay below break-even.
21 steps from idea to first US sale. Free PDF.