Marketing metrics glossary

What is TACoS? (Total Advertising Cost of Sales)

TACoS measures ad spend against your total sales (organic and ad-driven combined), not just the sales the ads are credited with. It is the metric that shows whether advertising is growing the whole business or simply renting orders.

TACoS = Ad spend ÷ Total sales × 100

Why TACoS matters

ACOS can look great while the account quietly stalls. TACoS catches what ACOS misses: a product where ads drive discovery, customers come back organically, and total sales climb even as ad spend holds steady. That shows up as a falling TACoS, the single healthiest pattern in an Amazon account. A rising TACoS with flat sales is the warning sign: the brand is leaning on paid to stand still.

TACoS vs ACOS

The two answer different questions. ACOS = ad spend ÷ ad sales: how efficient the ads are on their own. TACoS = ad spend ÷ total sales: how much of the whole business advertising costs. A client optimising a single campaign watches ACOS; an owner judging whether advertising is worth it watches TACoS.

What a healthy TACoS looks like

Related metrics

ACOSROASAmazon PPC reporting

AgencyReportr reports ACOS and ROAS straight from the Amazon Ads API, and adds TACoS wherever total-sales data is connected, all in one branded client report.

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FAQ

TACoS questions

What is the difference between TACoS and ACOS?

ACOS compares ad spend to ad-attributed sales only. TACoS compares ad spend to total sales, ad-driven and organic combined. ACOS tells you how efficient the ads are in isolation; TACoS tells you how much of the whole business the advertising is costing. A falling TACoS while sales grow is the healthiest signal there is: advertising is driving organic rank and the brand is becoming less dependent on paid.

What is a good TACoS?

There is no universal number, but the trend matters more than the level. A TACoS in the high single digits to mid teens is common for a healthy, established product. What you want to see is TACoS falling over time as organic sales grow: that means the ads are building the brand, not just renting sales. A rising TACoS with flat sales means advertising is propping the account up.

Why is TACoS harder to report than ACOS?

ACOS comes entirely from the ads platform. TACoS needs total sales, which lives in Seller Central or your store analytics, not the Amazon Ads API. So a report can show ACOS and ROAS directly from the ad account, but TACoS only where total-sales data is connected. That is why many Amazon PPC reports lead with ACOS and add TACoS wherever the full sales figure is available.