I said something to a founder on a call recently that probably sounded like I wa
By Ted Gibson · September 22, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
I said something to a founder on a call recently that probably sounded like I was talking myself out of work, which is that I could get him a return on ad spend of twenty if he wanted one, and it would mean almost nothing.
The way you do it is you point the budget at the brand's own name. Those people were already looking for you, they already know what they want, the click is cheap and the conversion is high, so the number that comes back is enormous. It looks like performance, and it is mostly standing at the door of a shop taking credit for the people who were walking in anyway.
He was already halfway to this on his own, which is why it was worth saying. He was spending a decent five figures a month on Amazon ads and roughly a third of it was going against his own brand terms. My rough working rule is closer to ten percent, enough to stop competitors sitting on your name and no more, because most of what you spend above that would have converted regardless.
The awkward bit is that brand spend is also the thing that makes the monthly report look good, so there is a quiet incentive for whoever runs the account to leave it exactly where it is. If your agency's return on ad spend has been spectacular for a while, it is worth asking what share of it is your own name, and what the number would do if you switched that off for a fortnight.