I’m stuck in a tight spot with my Amazon listing and need advice from experienced sellers. My parent ASIN has a TACOS of 7.3%, and the top child SKU is even better at 6% TACOS. Organic sales make up 63% of total orders, while ads drive 37%. The listing bounces between top 1-2 in the category—but my boss still isn’t satisfied.

Here’s the full situation:

My main competitor has a smaller pack count, higher unit price, but a lower retail price. They’re aggressively bidding for top ad positions, which makes my rankings unstable.

I tried a product matrix ad strategy to block this competitor: I ran targeted ads on high-traffic keywords for other strong child SKUs (these are top sellers for rival listings, so they have real demand). This move slowed the competitor’s growth and boosted sales for those supporting SKUs, helping overall ranking. The downside? Those keywords don’t have organic positions for those child SKUs, and total TACOS rose ~0.7% to 8%. My boss immediately ordered me to pause those extra ads.

As soon as I cut those defensive ads, the competitor locked in top 1-2 ad spots and quickly gained share. Now my rankings are slipping.

Here’s the pressure from my boss:

  • He says ACOS over 15% shows no cost control and is “wasting money”

  • He insists TACOS must be below 5%

  • He thinks since we’re already top-ranked, we should spend way less on ads

  • But he also demands we hold #1 and dominate market share

I believe some ad spend is necessary to fight an aggressive competitor, even if ACOS runs a little higher. TACOS is the real metric that matters for profitability, not just ACOS. But I have to follow his orders.

I’m worried cutting ads more will crush traffic, sales, and our ability to fight competitors. All my top child SKUs are only 1-2 in the market, not firmly #1, but I’m scared to increase ad spend now.

My current ad performance breakdown:

  • Core exact match (weight maintenance): 87 clicks, 1.61% CTR, $196.18 spend, $2.25 CPC, 24 orders, 38.65% ACOS

  • High-traffic keyword 1 exact: 101 clicks, 1.04% CTR, $188.16 spend, $1.86 CPC, 39 orders, 22.94% ACOS

  • High-traffic keyword 2 exact: 82 clicks, 2.14% CTR, $137.60 spend, $1.68 CPC, 32 orders, 18.11% ACOS

  • High-traffic keyword 3 exact: 94 clicks, 2.15% CTR, $181.77 spend, $1.93 CPC, 45 orders, 17.99% ACOS

  • Root keyword 1 broad: 124 clicks, 0.69% CTR, $160.58 spend, $1.30 CPC, 38 orders, 17.81% ACOS

  • Root keyword 3 broad: 165 clicks, 1.07% CTR, $251.26 spend, $1.52 CPC, 68 orders, 15.58% ACOS

  • Targeting ads: 75 clicks, 1.57% CTR, $95.52 spend, $1.27 CPC, 31 orders, 10.61% ACOS

  • B2B ads: 2 clicks, 2.44% CTR, $2.27 spend, $1.14 CPC, 2 orders, 5.87% ACOS

Total: 758 clicks, 0.93% CTR, $1,262.69 ad spend, $1.67 avg CPC, 349 ad orders, $8,170.85 ad revenue, 15.45% ACOS, 6.47% TACOS

I followed my boss’s order and cut ads. Now ACOS is higher, my ad structure is messy, and rankings dropped. I’m trying to fix it but feeling stuck.

Questions for the community:

  1. How can I tweak my current ad structure to meet my boss’s cost rules and keep top rankings?

  2. What operational shifts can I make to fight the aggressive competitor without raising ad spend?

  3. Do you think ads have to be profitable on their own, or is TACOS the right KPI?

  4. Any tips to explain this to a boss focused on short-term cost control?

I know my strategy isn’t perfect, so I’d love real-world seller advice.

Would you like me to shorten this to a 200-word quick-post version for faster engagement?