Are you frustrated with sluggish sales despite trying every way to optimize your product images? Shopee Ads is the golden key to unlock breakthrough growth for your store this year. However, not everyone knows how to operate this tool effectively to generate profits immediately.
In reality, Vietnam's e-commerce market is witnessing unprecedented fierce competition. Thousands of new sellers join every day, making the market share pie smaller and smaller. Without the right approach strategy, you will easily be left behind by competitors.
According to data from 2025 online consumer behavior report, up to 65% shoppers search for products through the search bar on the platform. This means that if your product doesn't appear in the top positions, you're losing a massive potential customer base.
At DPS.MEDIA, we've witnessed countless cases where shop owners burned hundreds of millions of dong on ads without results. The main reason comes from lack of foundational knowledge and misguided operations from the start. This is an extremely regrettable waste of resources for small and medium enterprises.
This article is not just empty theory but condensed from real-world experience with over 5,400 customers. We will guide you step-by-step in detail to master the advertising tool. The goal is to help you optimize costs and increase profits sustainably.
1. Core mindset before starting Shopee Ads
Understand correctly the role of advertising on e-commerce platforms
Many sellers mistakenly think that Shopee Ads is a magic wand that can turn any product into a bestseller. They top up their account and expect orders to explode immediately. However, advertising is really just a tool to buy display positions to reach customers faster.
If your product isn't good yet or the selling price isn't competitive, running ads will only expose those weaknesses faster. Customers may click to view but won't buy if they don't see real value. This leads to low conversion rates and high cost per order.
You need to clearly understand that advertising is a catalyst to speed up the product consumption process. It works best when you already have a solid product and store foundation. Never use ad money to try to salvage a bad product.
Set clear campaign goals from the start
Before setting up any campaign, you must ask yourself about the specific goals you want to achieve. Do you want to increase sales, boost brand awareness, or just clear inventory? Each goal requires a completely different bidding strategy and budget.
If the goal is profit, you need to focus maximum on GMV metrics and tightly control cost-to-revenue ratio. Precise keywords with high purchase intent will be top priority here. You can't waste money on overly broad reference keywords.
Conversely, if you're a new shop needing traffic to build reputation, you can accept breaking even or slight losses initially. At this point, the goal is to attract as many visits as possible to generate initial engagement metrics. This is a necessary investment phase to build momentum for future growth.
Prepare budget and mindset for short-term losses
Run Shopee Ads is like investing in a controlled high-risk channel. In the initial phase, you need to allocate a test budget to measure market effectiveness. Never pour all your capital into a single campaign without validated data.
In practice at DPS.MEDIA, most new campaigns need 7 to 14 days for machine learning to optimize. During this time, metrics can fluctuate wildly and not achieve desired results. You need a cool head to avoid shutting down ads too early.
We always advise customers to prepare mentally for the “tuition fee” of the first lessons. This money helps you collect valuable data on customer behavior and keyword performance. Only with data can you make accurate adjustments.
List of preparation factors needed
- Stable working capital to maintain continuous ads for at least 1 month.
- Basic knowledge of ad metrics like CTR, CPC, and CIR.
- Strong mindset to not panic when costs suddenly spike.
- Clear product plan, identifying funnel products and main products.
- Team or personal time sufficient to monitor ads daily.
- Tools to track and analyze market competitors.
Real example 1: A men's fashion shop in Ho Chi Minh City impatiently increased budget 5x after just 2 days of testing. The result was burning 20 million dong for only 15 million in revenue due to unoptimized conversion rates. This is a costly lesson on lack of patience in the machine learning phase.
Real example 2: Cosmetics shop X mispositioned goals, using profit budget for brand awareness campaigns. They reached thousands but no one bought because products lacked reviews. After DPS.MEDIA consultation to adjust goals, they reduced 40% wasted costs.
Lessons learned: Success in advertising doesn't come from who has more money but from who understands goals better and is more patient. Start small, measure carefully, and scale up when you have solid metrics in hand.
| Comparison factor | Organic traffic | Paid traffic |
|---|---|---|
| Direct cost | Low (Mainly optimization effort) | High (Pay per click) |
| Efficiency speed | Slow (Requires accumulation time) | Fast (Displays immediately) |
| Sustainability | High (Long-term maintenance if done well) | Low (Stops displaying when money runs out) |
| Control capability | Hard to control display position | Easy to control position and audience |
2. Set up SEO-standard storefront: Mandatory stepping stone for Shopee Advertising
Professional product image and video optimization
The main image is the first thing that catches the customer's eye when they see Shopee Ads yours. A blurry, aesthetically lacking photo will make the click-through rate (CTR) disastrously low no matter how high you bid. You need to invest in clear, distinct concept, and attractive product photos.
Besides the cover photo, the detailed inner photos also play an important role in convincing customers to make decisions. Take the product from different angles and clearly display outstanding features. Adding eye-catching frames also helps the product stand out more than competitors.
Product videos are currently an unmissable trend on e-commerce platforms. A short 15-30 second real-life product video will greatly increase credibility. Customers always want to see the real product before spending money, especially for fashion or household items.
Build SEO-standard product titles and descriptions
Product titles need not only to contain main keywords but also to stimulate buyers' curiosity. Shopee's algorithm will use the title to distribute ads to the right search audience. Make sure you've thoroughly researched keywords and naturally incorporated them into the product name.
Product descriptions need to provide full detailed information on specifications, usage instructions, and warranty policies. A sketchy description will make customers doubt the quality and credibility of the shop. Present the content easy to read, clearly paragraphed, and use icons for emphasis.
Don't forget to use hashtags at the end of the description to increase product visibility. These hashtags should be directly related to the category and current search trends. However, avoid spamming too many unrelated hashtags as it may be rated low by the system.
Pricing strategy and accompanying promotions
Price is always a sensitive factor that directly affects consumer buying behavior Vietnam. Before running ads, you need to survey the prices of direct competitors on the platform. If your price is higher without a convincing reason, the ads will become meaningless.
Create promotional combos or shock deal bundle programs to increase average order value. This not only makes customers feel they got a bargain but also helps you optimize marketing costs. A smart pricing strategy will help offset the advertising costs incurred.
Shop discount codes (Vouchers) are also a powerful tool to increase conversion rates when running ads. Customers tend to check out faster when they see expiring discount codes. Set these vouchers to display right on the product page for easy saving by customers.
Storefront optimization checklist before running ads
- Sharp product images, 1:1 ratio, file size under 2MB.
- Title contains main keyword, niche keyword, and standout features.
- Detailed description over 500 characters, full origin and warranty information.
- Shop's average rating above 4.8 stars.
- Chat response rate above 90% to ensure customer experience.
- Fully set up shipping units and payment methods.
Real example 1: Phone accessories shop Y increased conversion rate from 2% to 5% just after changing product photos. Previously, they used blurry images from Chinese websites. After taking real photos with white background and adding review videos, ad performance improved significantly.
Real example 2: A mother and baby store failed miserably when advertising paper diapers because the price was 10% higher than the market. After consulting DPS.MEDIA, they created a combo of 2 packs with free wet wipes, increasing order value and making customers feel the price was reasonable.
Lessons learned: Ads only bring customers to the door; whether they enter and buy depends on the store's appeal. Don't rush into ads when the “house” isn't tidy and organized.
| Optimization Category | Basic Standards | Impact Level on Ads |
|---|---|---|
| Product Title | Contains main keyword + features + brand | Very High (Determines display) |
| Cover Image | Clear, framed, highlights USP | Very High (Determines CTR) |
| Selling Price | Competitive, with strikethrough discount | High (Determines conversion) |
| Reviews/Ratings | At least 5 five-star reviews with photos | High (Builds trust) |
3. Technical Guide to Setting Up Shopee Ad Types
Search Ads: The Ultimate Weapon
Search ads are the most popular and effective ad type on Shopee today. They allow your products to appear right when customers type related keywords into the search bar. These are customers with real purchase intent, and conversion rates are usually very high.
There are two keyword types to focus on: exact match and broad match. Exact match keywords help you reach the right target audience but may have lower search volume. Meanwhile, broad match keywords increase reach but can attract low-quality clicks.
At DPS.MEDIA, we often recommend clients start with exact match keywords for flagship products. This helps control costs better in the early stage when budget is limited. Only after stable profits should you expand to other related keywords.
Discovery Ads: Expanding Customer Base
Discovery ads display your products in “Today's Suggestions” or “Similar Products” positions. This type is suitable for reaching customers without specific search intent but with related interests. Cost per click for this type is usually cheaper than search ads.
However, discovery ads often have lower conversion rates because customers are in a casual browsing state. Use this type for products with high aesthetics that easily stimulate visual appeal. Fashion, accessories, and home decor items are very suitable.
To optimize Discovery Ads, you need to pay special attention to the product cover image. The image must be extremely eye-catching to attract attention among hundreds of other suggested products. Additionally, the displayed price must also be attractive enough to stimulate viewers' clicking behavior.
Shop Ads Advertising: Build a Strong Brand
Shop Ads advertising allows displaying your entire store at the top of the search results page. This is an excellent tool to increase brand recognition and drive traffic to your shop's homepage. However, the condition to use this type is that you must be a Favorite Shop or Shopee Mall.
When setting up Shop Ads, you need to prepare a concise slogan and a professional representative banner image. The landing page that you direct customers to also needs to be beautifully decorated and scientifically arranged. If you lead customers to a messy store, you will waste advertising money in vain.
We recommend using Shop Ads during major sales events on the platform or when the shop has a new collection launch program. At this time, the demand for searching brand names or product categories will surge. This is a golden opportunity for you to capture traffic from the market.
List of basic technical setup steps
- Access Seller Center -> Marketing Center -> Shopee Advertising.
- Deposit money into the advertising account (Should deposit a small package to test first).
- Select “Create new campaign” and choose the desired advertising type.
- Select products to run (Prioritize products with good sales and reviews).
- Set daily budget or total budget for the campaign.
- Select keywords manually (Recommended) instead of letting Shopee auto-select.
Real example 1: A sneaker shoe shop wasted 5 million dong because it left Shopee's “Auto Advertising” mode on. The system distributed displays to unrelated keywords like “shoe laces
