Improving Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is one of the biggest challenges facing small e-commerce brands today. As advertising costs rise and competition becomes stronger, many small businesses struggle to generate profitable results from their paid ads especially on platforms like Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram).

My name is Patricia Ogbuh, and in this guide, I break down exact, practical strategies that small e-commerce brands can use to improve ROAS in 2025. Whether you’re running ads for a beauty brand, haircare brand, wellness store, or lifestyle product, these principles will help you achieve profitable growth.

What Is ROAS and Why It Matters in 2025

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) measures how much revenue you generate for every £1 you spend on advertising. If you spend £100 and make £300, your ROAS is 3x.

In 2025, ROAS has become harder to maintain for three reasons:

• Meta CPMs (cost per 1,000 impressions) have increased
• More advertisers are entering the market
• Privacy changes make tracking less accurate

According to Meta Marketing Insights (2024), the average ROAS for small e-commerce brands dropped by 29% in 2023, making optimisation more urgent.

Why Many E-commerce Brands See Low ROAS

1. Weak Ad Creatives

Most brands run ads that do not stop the scroll. With more competition, creativity becomes the #1 driver of performance.

2. Poor Targeting

If your audience is too broad or too narrow you waste money.

3. Weak Landing Pages

Ads can be strong, but if the landing page is slow or confusing, ROAS tanks.

4. No Testing Framework

Brands that test randomly never get consistent results.

5. Wrong Campaign Objectives

Choosing “Traffic” instead of “Sales” can destroy ROAS.

How E-commerce Brands Can Improve ROAS in 2025

Here are the top 8 most effective ROAS improvement strategies I use for small brands:

1. Improve Your Offer (Most Important)

If the offer is weak, no amount of ads can fix it.
Examples of strong offers:

• Buy 2 Get 1 Free
• Bundle Discounts
• Free Gift
• Free Shipping
• Limited Time “Beauty Bundle” Promotion

2. Upgrade Ad Creatives (The 3-Second Rule)

You have 3 seconds to catch attention.
Winning creative types:

• UGC videos
• “Watch me try this product” videos
• Problem/Solution ads
• Before/After clips
• Storytelling ads

Your hook MUST be strong:

• “I spent £300 on ads—here’s what happened.”
• “If your edges are falling out, watch this.”
• “Struggling with slow hair growth? Try this.

3. Improve Your Landing Page

Most ROAS issues come from the landing page not the ads.

Fix this:

• Highlight benefits, not features
• Add product reviews at the top
• Use short-form product videos
• Add urgency (“Only X left”)
• Improve page loading speed

4. Use MultiLayered Targeting

In 2025, the most effective strategy is:

• Broad targeting
• Retargeting warm viewers
• Lookalikes (1%-2%)
• Interest layering for niche brands

5. Improve Retargeting

Retarget:

• Add-to-cart users
• Website visitors
• Video viewers
• Instagram engagers

These audiences convert 3–10x better.

6. Use Better Product Reviews

UGC and reviews increase ROAS dramatically.
If you sell beauty products, scalp treatment oils, hair serums, or any e-commerce item reviews must be visible in your ad creative AND landing page.

7. Test More Frequently

The more creative tests you run, the faster you find winning ads.

Testing schedule:

• 3 new creatives/week
• 2 new headlines/week
• 1 new thumbnail/week

8. Fix Tracking

Set up:

• Meta Pixel
• TikTok pixel
• GA4
• Server-side tracking if possible

Good data = high ROAS.

My 5-Step ROAS Optimisation Framework (By Patricia Ogbuh)

This is the exact framework I use:

Creative Testing

Test 5 creatives at once, keep the winner.

Offer Optimisation

Enhance the perceived value of your product.

Funnel Mapping

Understand the full journey:

AD → Landing Page → Checkout → Thank You

Landing Page Fixes

Improve speed, layout, benefits.

Scaling Using Data

Increase spend only after stability

Case Study Example

A small haircare brand struggled with:

• Low ROAS (0.8x)
• Poor creatives
• Slow product page

I implemented:

• 3 new UGC videos
• A strong offer
• Landing page redesign
• Retargeting setup

Result:

ROAS increased from 0.8x → 3.2x in 21 days.

If you’re a beauty or e-commerce brand looking to improve your ROAS, connect with me on LinkedIn Instagram or visit PatriciaOgbuh.com for more insights.