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TikTok ads agency for ecommerce brands that sell on their own site

We plan and run TikTok ads for consumer and ecommerce brands that sell on their own site. We check the tracking first, test creative made for TikTok and judge results on new customers and margin, not on views. You can buy it on its own.

Paid media
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Problems we fix

This page is about one channel. Splitting budget between TikTok, Meta and Google sits on our paid media agency for ecommerce page. Selling inside the TikTok app is a different job, covered by our TikTok Shop agency service.

The problem

The video got a lot of views. The comments were lovely. The bank statement has not commented yet.

How we fix it

New customers and margin.

What you get

Campaign setup

Manual campaigns, or TikTok Smart+ where your data supports it. TikTok describes Smart+ as a single AI-powered campaign for performance objectives1. We test it against a manual setup before handing it the wheel.

Spark Ads

TikTok's help centre describes Spark Ads as ads made from existing TikTok posts, your own or a creator's, used with the creator's authorisation2. We use them when a real post is likely to beat a made-for-ads video.

Catalogue ads

TikTok's help centre covers catalogue-based ads under the Smart+ name3. Format names change. We work with what your account offers.

Reporting next to your orders

What TikTok reports about itself, next to your shop's orders, new customers and contribution margin.

The wider picture of the platform is in TikTok ads for ecommerce.

How does the work run?

Four steps.

  1. 1

    Problem

    Account, tracking, creative and margin. We name what is actually wrong, and whether TikTok is the right place to fix it.

  2. 2

    Plan

    Campaign type, budget, creative tests and the decision each one feeds. Before launch, we agree how the result will be judged, margin included.

  3. 3

    Execution

    We build and run the campaigns, ship creative with our creative team and keep the tracking clean.

  4. 4

    Decision

    When the data can be read, you hear one of three things: it pays, it doesn't, or the data can't tell yet. Then we scale, change or stop.

Case studies

Rebuilding a growth engine for a recovery-footwear brand

A category-defining recovery-footwear brand had a growing market, a best-in-class product, and a shrinking customer base.

A recovery-footwear brand
+27.8%
net-new customers, full year over prior year
−33%
cost per new customer, exit quarter vs starting quarter

All Ears Vet: 37% more new clients for an independent Brooklyn clinic

A 37% increase in new client acquisition.

37%
increase in new customer acquisition
4.5k
impression increase in brand-related keywords

Bergman Eyewear: building brand awareness among women 30+ at a falling cost of reach

43% lower CPM and 360% more reach.

43%
drop in the cost per thousand ad impressions (CPM)
41%
drop in the cost per click (CPC)

All case studies

How do we measure TikTok results?

Tracking first. TikTok describes the Pixel as code on your website that records what visitors do there4. The Events API sends events from your server to TikTok instead5. TikTok's help on deduplication describes matching the two with a shared event ID, so one purchase isn't counted twice6. That is event deduplication. We check all of it before we trust any TikTok number.

Creative tested, not assumed. One TikTok agency's service page argues that TikTok needs creative made for the platform7. That is an agency view. We'd rather test it on your account than take anyone's word for it, including ours.

New customers and margin. The question is whether TikTok brings people who weren't buying from you already. So we look at new customers and margin, not just at the ROAS TikTok shows.

Tests for bigger bets. A holdout test keeps a group away from the ads and compares. We propose one when the answer could change a budget and your volume can show it.

For ZFD: Views are TikTok's currency. Margin is yours.

“Their performance met and often exceeded our expectations.”
Gabriel BabusOwner, STEGA Creative · Clutch review

Who it's for and who it's not for

How you can buy it

On its own

TikTok ads can be bought as a standalone service.

As part of paid media

TikTok together with Meta, Google or Reddit, with one budget decision across channels.

Next to TikTok Shop

A separate service, bought separately or together.

We don't publish prices. Fee terms are agreed before we start.

Tools

Smart+Spark AdsTikTok PixelEvents APIAds Manager

FAQ

A rider in a red cape and bicorne hat on a rearing yellow plush horse, after David's Napoleon Crossing the Alps

What's the difference between TikTok ads and TikTok Shop?

TikTok ads send people to your site or app. TikTok's Sales objective can point to a website, an app or TikTok Shop8. TikTok Shop sells inside TikTok, and its ads run as GMV Max campaigns, which TikTok says combine organic, paid and affiliate activity9. Different checkout, different numbers.

Do we need TikTok Shop to advertise on TikTok?

No. TikTok ads can send people to your own site. TikTok Shop is a separate way of selling inside the app, with its own ad type. We run both, as separate services. For the margin side of Shop, read TikTok Shop GMV Max profitability.

Do we need a big budget to start on TikTok?

You need enough to learn something, and creative made for TikTok. If your budget can't buy a readable result, better to know before you spend it.

Can we reuse our Meta ads on TikTok?

Sometimes, as a starting point. Then we test them against videos made for TikTok and keep what earns its place.

How long before we see results on TikTok?

Long enough for TikTok to learn and for us to check its numbers against your orders. Then you get one of three answers: it pays, it doesn't, or the data can't tell yet.

What are Spark Ads, and do you use them?

Ads made from existing TikTok posts, yours or a creator's with their authorisation. We use them when a real post is likely to work better, and judge them on new customers and margin.

Smart+ or manual campaigns?

Depends on your data. With clean purchase tracking we test Smart+ against a manual setup. Without it, automation optimises towards noise.

Do we need both the TikTok Pixel and the Events API?

We usually set up both, deduplicated with a shared event ID. The Pixel works in the browser, the Events API from your server. We check the setup before trusting any TikTok number.

Can TikTok ads target under-18s in Europe?

TikTok's help centre says it limits advertisers' ability to target users under 18 in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, and doesn't show personalised ads to 13–17-year-olds there10. If your product is for teenagers, plan around that before you plan creative.

What we don't promise

Who runs this for you?

  • Adrian Ludek, Creative Strategist

    Creative Strategist

    Adrian Ludek

    Seven years of paid social. Budgets over $2M a month. The algorithm is good, but it cannot fix an ad that says nothing.

    Talk to AdrianRead the full profile
Paid media

Paid media

Meta, Google and TikTok ads for ecommerce brands, with budgets set on contribution margin and payback, not platform ROAS. Free audit to start.

Paid media

TikTok Shop

TikTok Shop agency for ecommerce brands: GMV Max ads, product and offer choices, and results read as margin per order, not GMV. Buy it alone.

Creative & testing

Performance creative

Ad concepts, production and testing for Meta, TikTok and Google, briefed from product margin and stock and judged on cost per purchase, not CTR.

Search & AI visibility

SEO & AI visibility

Ecommerce SEO for category and product pages, technical health and AI answers. Reported with what Search Console shows and can't. No ranking promises.

Analytics & measurement

Analytics & tracking

Tracking for ecommerce brands: Pixel and Conversions API, enhanced conversions, Consent Mode, GA4, and platform numbers reconciled with your shop data.

Growth economics & retention

Growth economics & strategy

Margin, cash, stock, promotions and returns, tied to marketing decisions. A profitable growth strategy for ecommerce, built with your finance team.

Sources

  1. About Smart+ CampaignsPrimary source
  2. About Spark Ads (TikTok Ads Help)Primary source
  3. How to create Smart+ Catalog AdsPrimary source
  4. About TikTok PixelPrimary source
  5. About Events APIPrimary source
  6. About Event DeduplicationPrimary source
  7. TikTok for Ecommerce Brands (Nonsensical)Vendor
  8. About the Sales advertising objectivePrimary source
  9. GMV Max: Your TikTok Shop Growth Engine (TikTok for Business)Primary source
  10. Protecting minors on TikTok: advertising initiativesPrimary source

Want to know whether TikTok can pay for itself in your business?

Book a call about your budget decision and ask for the free audit of your account and tracking.

Get a proposal