Solved: Facebook Ads Clicks Without Sales, No Add to Cart

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out!

It's a really common problem to see clicks but no sales, so you're not alone. It's frustrating when you see what looks like a good sign (a low CPC) but it doesn't translate into actual money in the bank. The good news is that this is usually a very fixable issue. Most of the time, the problem isn't the ad itself, but what happens after someone clicks it.

I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and a bit of guidance on how I'd go about diagnosing and fixing this. The short version is that we need to stop looking at the click as the goal and start treating it as the first step in a longer journey. Your job is to find out where people are getting lost on that journey.

We'll need to look at why your clicks aren't converting...

First things first, let's debunk a common myth. A low Cost Per Click (CPC) doesn't automatically mean your ad is working well. In fact, sometimes it can be a warning sign. When you tell Facebook to run a 'sales' campaign with broad targeting and a brand new pixel, you're giving it a very specific, unspoken instruction: "Find me the largest number of people for the lowest possible price."

The algorithm is brilliant at doing exactly what you ask. It seeks out the users inside your targeting who are least likely to engage, least likely to have buying intent, and absolutely, positively least likely to ever pull out a credit card. Why? Because those users are not in demand. Their attention is cheap. You are, in effect, paying the world's most powerful advertising machine to find you the worst possible audience for your product. That's why your clicks are cheap—they're from people who click on lots of things but rarely buy anything.

The real goal isn't cheap clicks; it's profitable conversions. I'd rather pay £3 for a click from someone who is highly likely to buy than £0.50 for a click from someone who was just scrolling mindlessly. The path from seeing an ad to making a purchase is a funnel, and you need to understand every step. A click is just the entry point.

Here’s a simple visualisation of what that journey, or funnel, looks like for an eCommerce store. You're getting people in the door, but they're leaving before they even look around.

I'd say you need to diagnose the drop-off...

So, we've established people are clicking the ad but disappearing immediately after. This points to one of two core issues: either you're attracting the wrong people, or your landing page/store is scaring the right people away. Let's break it down.

Look at your website analytics. What's the bounce rate? How long are people staying on the page? My guess is it's very high and they are leaving within seconds. The most common culprits are:

1. Your Website Doesn't Build Trust: This is probably the biggest factor. People are incredibly wary of buying from new online stores. If your site looks unprofessional, they won't risk their card details. Things I often see:
-> The product images are low quality. For physical products, you need professional photography. Show the product in use, on a model, from multiple angles. A grainy photo taken on a kitchen table won't cut it.
-> There are no product descriptions, or they are very basic. You need to sell the product with words. What problem does it solve? What are the benefits? What is it made of?
-> The overall design looks cluttered, dated, or is slow to load. A slow website is a conversion killer.
-> There are no trust signals. Where are the customer reviews? Testimonials? Links to your social media profiles? A clear returns policy? An address and contact details? Without these, you look like a scam.

2. Your Offer is Unclear or Unappealing: When someone lands on your page, do they instantly understand what you're selling and why they should want it?
-> Is the pricing clear? Are there unexpected shipping costs sprung on them at the last minute?
-> Is there a clear call-to-action? Is the 'Add to Cart' button obvious?
-> Maybe people just aren't ready to buy straight away. This is very common. You might need to set up retargeting campaigns to bring them back over a longer period.

You can use a simple calculation to see just how severe the drop-off is at each stage. It helps make the problem feel less abstract and more like a specific leak you need to plug.

You probably should rethink your targeting strategy...

Fixing your website is priority number one. But even the best website in the world won't sell anything if you're sending the wrong people to it. This brings us back to your "broad, no interest" targeting.

This can work, but only for mature ad accounts with thousands of purchase events recorded on the pixel. The algorithm then has enough data to build a profile of your ideal customer and find more people like them. For a new account, you have no data. You're flying blind.

You need to give the algorithm a starting point. This is where detailed targeting comes in. You need to think deeply about your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Who are they? What do they like? What brands do they follow? What problems do they have?

Your goal is to find interests that your ideal customer is highly likely to have, but that the general population is unlikely to have. For instance, if you're selling high-end, handcrafted leather wallets, targeting "Fashion" is too broad. You'll get millions of people who buy cheap fast fashion. A much better aproach would be to target interests like "Saddleback Leather Company" (a competitor), "Horween Leather Company" (a specific material supplier), or magazines like "The Rake". People interested in these are pre-qualified to be interested in your product.

I usually structure campaigns to guide customers through the funnel. Here's how I prioritise audiences, from coldest to warmest:

For your situation, you need to turn off the broad campaign and create a new campaign with 3-5 ad sets, each targeting a different, highly specific interest group. Let them run for a few days and see which one starts generating "add to carts". That's your first sign of life.

You'll need a message they can't ignore...

Let's assume you've fixed your website and you're now targeting the right people. There's still one more peice of the puzzle: your message. Your ad and your product page need to work together to tell a compelling story that makes people *need* what you're selling.

Too many eCommerce stores just list features. "100% Cotton T-Shirt." So what? Every other store sells those. You need to sell the outcome, the feeling, the transformation. This is where copywriting frameworks come in handy. One of the most effective for eCommerce is the Before-After-Bridge.

Before: You describe the customer's current frustrating reality.
After: You paint a picture of their desired future state.
Bridge: You position your product as the bridge that gets them from Before to After.

Let's imagine you sell high-quality, noise-cancelling headphones.
Before Ad Copy: "Trying to focus in a noisy office? The constant chatter and background noise are killing your productivity."
After Ad Copy: "Imagine a world of pure, uninterrupted focus. Hitting your deadlines with ease and feeling completely in control of your workday."
Bridge Ad Copy: "Our new headphones are the bridge. With industry-leading noise cancellation, they create your own private bubble of silence. Get yours today and reclaim your focus."

This structure works because it connects your product directly to a pain point. You're not just selling headphones; you're selling focus, productivity, and relief from frustration. This emotional connection is what drives action and turns a click into an 'add to cart'.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

This is a lot to take in, I know. It's a process of systematic testing and elimination. You start with the most likely problem (your website and targeting) and work your way through the list. To make it clearer, here’s a summary of the action plan I'd recommend.

Fixing these issues isn't just about getting one or two sales; it's about building a predictable and scalable system for growth. We've worked with many eCommerce clients who started in a similar position. For one women's apparel brand, implementing this kind of methodical approach led to a 691% return on their ad spend. For another selling cleaning products, it resulted in a 633% return. It's not magic; it's just about getting the fundamentals right.

This process can be time-consuming and requires a fair bit of expertise to diagnose correctly. You have to be part data analyst, part psychologist, and part creative director. It's tough to do all of that when you're also trying to run your business.

That's where getting professional advice can make a huge difference. We can quickly identify the bottlenecks in your funnel and implement the strategies needed to fix them, saving you a lot of time and wasted ad spend. If you'd like, we can hop on a quick, completely free consultation call to take a look at your website and ad account together. It often helps to have a second set of experienced eyes on it.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh