Solved: No Sales from Ads in Oslo (The Real Reason)

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out! That's a classic and frustrating problem to have – seeing traffic come in but no sales to show for it. It feels like pouring water into a bucket with a hole in it. The good news is that it's almost always fixable. The issue is rarely just one thing, but usually a mix of who you're talking to, what you're saying, and what happens when they land on your site. I'm happy to give you some of my initial thoughts and guidance on how we'd go about diagnosing and fixing this for the Oslo market specifically.

The core of the issue is almost never the ad platform itself, but the strategy behind it. Getting clicks is easy. Getting clicks from the *right* people who are ready and willing to buy from you in Oslo is the hard part. We need to dig into the entire journey, from the ad they see to the final checkout button.

We'll need to look at your audience... Are you attracting tourists or buyers?

Right, first things first. Let's stop talking about 'traffic' and start talking about 'people'. It's a subtle shift, but it's massive. "Traffic" is a number on a dashboard. "People" have problems, motivations, and wallets. The most common mistake I see is businesses celebrating traffic numbers without questioning who those people actually are. You could be getting thousands of clicks from people in Oslo who love your photos but would never, ever buy your product. This is what happens when you run 'awareness' campaigns – Facebook and Google are brilliant at doing what you ask, and if you ask for 'awareness', they'll find you the cheapest people to show your ad to, who are almost by definition the least likely to buy anything. You're literally paying to find non-customers.

So, who are you targeting? If your answer is something like "women aged 25-45 in Oslo who like fashion," you've already lost. That's a demographic, not a customer. It tells you nothing of value and leads to generic ads that speak to nobody. Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) isn't a person; it's a problem state. It's a nightmare.

What is the specific, urgent, expensive problem your product solves for someone in Oslo?

-> For an e-commerce store selling ergonomic office chairs, the nightmare isn't 'needing a new chair'. It's the chronic back pain a freelance graphic designer is getting, which is threatening her ability to meet deadlines and pay her high Oslo rent.
-> For a company selling high-end waterproof jackets, the nightmare isn't 'getting wet'. It's a busy professional who wants to go hiking around Sognsvann on the weekend but whose cheap jacket makes them cold and miserable, ruining their limited free time.

Once you've identified this 'nightmare', your targeting changes completely. You stop targeting broad interests and start targeting the specific signals of that nightmare. The graphic designer might follow specific design software pages on Instagram or be in Facebook groups for Norwegian freelancers. The hiker might follow specific outdoor brands, Norwegian hiking groups (like 'Den Norske Turistforening'), or publishers. This is how you pre-qualify your audience. You target them based on their problem, so when they see your ad, it's not an interruption; it's a solution.

I'd say you need to be brutally honest about your offer...

Okay, let's assume you've got the right people clicking. The next, and frankly most common, point of failure is the offer itself. Your ad makes a promise, and your landing page has to deliver on it, but the entire proposition has to be compelling. For the Oslo market, this is even more important.

You need to look at your entire offer through the eyes of a sceptical Norwegian customer.

1. Pricing and Currency: Is your pricing in Norwegian Kroner (NOK)? If it's in EUR or USD, you're adding a layer of mental friction and making them do maths. It also feels less local and trustworthy. Are your prices competitive for the Oslo market, which is notoriously expensive? If your price looks "too cheap," it might signal poor quality. If it's too expensive compared to local alternatives, you need to justify that extra cost with immense value.

2. Shipping and Returns: Is shipping to Oslo clearly stated, fast, and reasonably priced? A surprise €20 shipping fee at the final stage of checkout is the number one killer of sales. It feels deceptive. You're better off increasing your product price slightly and offering "free" or cheaper shipping. How easy is it to return an item from Oslo? A clear, hassle-free returns policy builds a huge amount of trust.

3. Trust and "Lokal" Feeling: Why should someone in Oslo trust your brand, especially if you're not Norwegian? You need to build trust signals on your site.
-> Do you have reviews from other Norwegian customers?
-> Is the website language flawless (either in English or, even better, Norwegian)? Any spelling mistakes or poor translations will instantly kill credibility.
-> Do you feature any User-Generated Content (UGC) from Norwegian customers? Seeing someone in their own country using your product is powerful social proof.
-> Do you offer local payment methods? While card is common, offering something like Vipps can be a massive trust signal.

4. The "So What?" Test: Your ad and landing page need to scream value. Don't just list features. For every feature, you must state the benefit. Your mass spectrometer has a "0.001% margin of error." So what? "So your lab can publish results with unshakeable confidence, securing more funding." Your jacket uses "Gore-Tex Pro." So what? "So you stay completely dry and comfortable on your hike, even in a downpour, letting you enjoy your precious weekend." A message they can't ignore is one that solves a problem they care about.

Your offer’s only job is to deliver undeniable value. If you're selling a product, this means incredible photos, detailed descriptions that answer questions before they're asked, and clear, risk-reversing policies. If it's a service, it's about making the value tangible. Instead of just "marketing services," it's a "Free SEO audit that shows your top 3 keyword opportunities." You solve a small, real problem for free to earn the right to solve the whole thing. It seems you're in eCom, so the equivalent is a seamless, trustworthy, and high-value buying experience.

You probably should become a detective and find the leak...

This is where we get into the numbers. You need to use your website analytics (like Google Analytics or Shopify Analytics) to find out *exactly* where people are dropping off. This is a non-negotiable step. "No sales" is a symptom; we need to find the cause. The customer journey has several steps, and a leak at any one of them can sink the whole ship.

Let's break down the funnel:

1. Ad Clicks -> Landing Page Views: Is there a big drop here? If you have 1,000 clicks but only 500 landing page sessions, you might have a problem with bots, accidental clicks (especially on mobile display networks), or a very slow-loading website. A page that takes more than 3 seconds to load will lose a huge chunk of its visitors before they even see your offer.

2. Landing Page Views -> Product Page Views: If people land on your homepage but don't click through to view specific products, the problem is on your homepage. It's either not relevant to the ad they just clicked (a major sin), it's confusing, or it doesn't build enough interest. The ad promised a solution to their 'nightmare', and the homepage isn't continuing that story.

3. Product Page Views -> Add to Carts: This is the moment of truth for your product. If you're getting lots of people viewing a product but no one is adding it to their cart, the issue lies on the product page itself.
-> Photos/Videos: Are they high quality? Do they show the product from all angles, in use, and in a lifestyle context relevant to Oslo? For that hiking jacket, show someone wearing it in the Norwegian woods, not on a sunny beach.
-> Description: Does it sell the benefit, not just the feature? Does it answer every possible question (sizing, materials, care instructions)? Bad copy is a conversion killer.
-> Price & Value: Is the price clearly displayed in NOK? Is the value proposition obvious?
-> Social Proof: Are there reviews on the page? Star ratings?
-> Call to Action (CTA): Is the "Add to Cart" button big, bold, and obvious?

4. Add to Carts -> Initiated Checkout: A drop-off here is less common but can happen if the cart summary page is confusing or if people are just using the cart as a 'wishlist'.

5. Initiated Checkout -> Purchase: This is the big one. If you have a lot of people abandoning their cart at the checkout stage, you have a major trust or cost issue. This is almost always caused by:
-> Surprise Costs: High shipping fees or taxes that weren't mentioned before.
-> Forced Account Creation: Don't make people create an account to buy. Always offer a guest checkout.
-> Lack of Payment Options: They expect to pay with their preferred method. If it's not there, they might leave.
-> Complicated Form: Asking for too much information. Keep it simple: name, address, payment. That's it.
-> Security Concerns: Does your checkout look professional and secure? Are there trust badges (SSL certificate, payment provider logos)?

You MUST look at your data and pinpoint which of these stages is your biggest leak. Fixing the wrong problem is a complete waste of time and money.

You'll need to understand the maths that actually matters...

Most business owners are obsessed with the wrong metrics. They want the lowest possible Cost Per Click (CPC) or the lowest Cost Per Lead (CPL). The real question isn't "How low can my costs go?" but "How high a cost can I afford to acquire a truly great customer?" The answer lies in calculating your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV).

Once you know what a customer is worth to you over their lifetime, it completely changes how you view ad spend. A £50 Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) might seem terrifyingly high, but if that customer is worth £500 to you, it's a bargain you should be taking all day long. This is the maths that unlocks aggressive, intelligent growth.

Let's run through a quick example. You'll need three numbers:

1. Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA): What do you make from a customer on average? For an e-commerce store, this would be the Average Order Value (AOV). Let's say it's £80. If customers buy from you more than once, you need to factor that in. Let's say a customer buys 3 times on average, so the ARPA is £240.
2. Gross Margin %: What's your profit margin on that revenue after the cost of goods? Let's say it's 60%.
3. Monthly Churn Rate: This is more for subscription businesses. For e-commerce, we can think of it as the inverse of their lifetime. If a customer's 'lifetime' is 12 months before they are unlikely to buy again, the monthly churn is 1/12 = 8.33%. This is a bit abstract for eCom, so it's often simpler to just use the lifetime revenue.

Let's use a simpler LTV formula for e-commerce:
LTV = (Average Order Value x Purchase Frequency x Gross Margin %)
LTV = (£80 x 3 purchases x 0.60) = £144

In this example, each customer is worth £144 in gross margin to your business. A healthy LTV to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio is typically 3:1. This means you can afford to spend up to £48 (£144 / 3) to acquire a single customer and still run a very healthy business. Suddenly that £20 CPL from a targeted Facebook ad doesn't seem so expensive, does it? It looks like an investment in a £144 return.

Use the calculator below to get a feel for your own numbers. This is a crucial step to understanding how much you can really afford to bid for an Oslo customer.

This is the main advice I have for you:

To wrap this all up, getting sales in Oslo isn't about finding a magic bullet. It's about a systematic process of diagnosis and testing. You have to move from being a hopeful advertiser to a methodical marketer. Stop guessing and start measuring. Below is a summary of the actionable steps I'd recommend you take right now.

This whole process can feel overwhelming, I get it. It takes time, expertise, and a very analytical approach to get right. You have to analyse data, understand customer psychology, write compelling copy, and know the ins and outs of ad platforms. It's a full-time job, and doing it wrong can be a very expensive learning experience.

This is where expert help can make a huge difference. Instead of spending months and thousands of pounds trying to figure it out yourself, an experienced agency can diagnose the issues quickly and implement proven strategies. For instance, one campaign we worked on for a women's apparel brand faced similar conversion challenges. By applying the same systematic approach of refining their audience, offer, and on-site experience, we were able to generate a 691% return on their ad spend. We've seen time and again that this methodical process is what turns traffic into sales.

If you'd like to have a more detailed, one-on-one look at your specific ad account and website, we offer a completely free, no-obligation strategy session. We can screen-share, dig into your analytics together, and give you a clear roadmap of what we'd do to fix the problem. It's a chance for you to get some expert advice tailored directly to your business.

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh