Etsy ads charging too much for one click

[ThePleatedPetal]

I have had my shop for over 10 years and have always used the Etsy ad campaign.  I didn’t love it when they took over choosing how much to charge for each click but I went along with it. Just yesterday they charged an outlandish amount for one click.  How is it fair that they can charge me $1.80 for one click?  They advertised this listing only 10 times. Can I dispute this?  

[StudioThirteenTwelve]

I haven't used ads consistently, but unfortunately my shop's traffic and sales have plummeted since last year so I thought I would give ads a try again. I have been getting charged anywhere from $1.40-$1.90 for a click and have had no purchases come from it, and it's frustrating.

I don't have any advice, but just wanted to let you know it's happening to me too, and it's really off-putting. I stopped my ad campaign yesterday because of it.

[BagmakerSupply]

@ThePleatedPetal: "Can I dispute this?" Not really - all you can really do is turn off the on site ads. https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360034223613-How-to-Review-the-Performance-of-Your-Etsy-Ads?...

[BluSkyDreams]

I had one yesterday at 1.80 for a single click !  My clicks have varied from .19 to 1.80 so I check my ads everyday to see what is going on.  If the expensive click would lead to a sell I would be happy, but so far those expensive clicks have not lead to a sale.

[PrimFun]

Cost of keywords in some areas has always been expensive.  Even 10 years ago when we could choose which keywords to use.  There were ones even then that cost over $1.00.

Certain areas have very high competition and therefore high competition for the keywords and many shops have the ability in those areas to spend hundreds of dollars.  Yes I said hundreds.  That does mean the desire does make the cost go up. 

[SugarTaffySoap]

@ThePleatedPetal   It's all automated and auction based but you can see if support will review your ad campaign for technical issues letting them know the CPC is higher than normal for that listing etc.. One of mine was $1.38 so I just turned it off until I can review it.  We all dislike when the clicks are high. I'm curious if you're going to continue to let the listing run or will you pause it.  

[TrinketDrawersUK]

I now turn off ads on any listings that attract high price clicks, having your entire budget wasted on a single click with no sale isn't cool. 

[kickglassenamels]

That's been my strategy too. If an ad gets someone to my shop, they'll see the more popular (and high click cost) items there.

[BluSkyDreams]

Note:  For me there does not seem to be a rhyme or reason for a particular gemstone to be a higher click rate, only this year have I been hit with some high click rates.  To me it seems erratic.

[BootifulLabels]

The amount you pay per click on an item depends on the amount of competition for that type of product at the time.  If you have a lot of competitors and a lot of them are using Etsy ads, getting exposure from the ads will cost more.  It is a bidding war for who gets the top spots.  What's more, you pay for the ads whether they bring in sales or not.

I used to use Etsy ads before the Offsite Ads came in and while in the early ads they brought in enough extra sales to cover the cost of them, over time they got less and less effective.  When OA came in I switched to those, even though I could opt out if I want.  Since you only pay for OA when they actually bring you a sale, I find them much better value for money.  I know some people don't like being forced into them, but I get a few sales from them each month and they cost me much less than the $60 a month I used to pay on Etsy Ads, and when they don't bring in sales, they cost me nothing.