If you're running ads and not seeing the kind of sales you expected, you're not alone.

Over the past few months, we've worked with multiple Shopify brands that were doing a lot of things right—ads were live, traffic was coming in, product-market fit was strong. But sales weren’t where they should have been.

In almost every case, the issue wasn’t the ads.
It was what happened after someone clicked on the ad.

Most brands today focus heavily on creatives, targeting, and media buying. That’s important—but without a strong post-click experience, the funnel starts leaking. And when that happens, performance suffers no matter how good the ads are.

Common Funnel Leaks We See All the Time

1. Ad and landing page aren’t aligned

Let’s say an ad promotes a plant-based scalp serum for hair fall, with a clear problem-solution message. But the landing page headline says something generic like “Our Best Sellers.”

There’s no mention of hair fall, no visual cue about scalp health, and nothing to connect the user’s click to the page they’re seeing.

That’s a drop-off waiting to happen.

What works better is simple: repeat the same promise from the ad, both visually and textually. The messaging should flow seamlessly from the ad to the landing page. It’s a small shift that has a massive impact.

2. Slow load speeds on mobile

This one’s straightforward. Most paid traffic today is mobile. And yet, we often see stores with 5–6 second load times, especially on product-heavy or app-heavy pages.

When pages take that long to load, users bounce before they even see the offer.

We’ve helped multiple brands reduce load times just by compressing images, removing redundant apps, and optimizing their themes for speed. The result: better engagement and fewer drop-offs—without changing a single ad.

3. Weak first fold: no clarity, no direction

We often land on pages where the first fold includes vague lines like “Elevate Your Everyday” or “Crafted With Love.” While that might work on brand campaigns, it doesn’t work for performance.

If someone clicked an ad expecting a solution to a specific problem, they should land on a page that immediately shows:

• What the product is

• Who it’s for

• What result it delivers

Clear headline. Strong visual. Direct CTA. That’s what converts attention into action.

4. Too many steps between click and checkout

A typical funnel might look like this:
Ad → Collection Page → Product Page → Add to Cart → Cart → Checkout

That’s six steps. And each step introduces friction.

We’ve helped brands simplify this by building custom landing pages designed specifically for campaigns. These pages often focus on one product, one message, and one action. Not only does this reduce friction—it gives users less to think about and more to act on.

It’s not about redesigning the whole store. It’s about giving paid traffic a focused path.

5. No urgency or motivation to buy now

We’ve seen a lot of brands trust the product to “sell itself.” Sometimes that works. Most of the time, it doesn’t.

Without urgency, people delay decisions. They tell themselves they’ll return later. But most don’t.

We’re not talking about fake scarcity here. But small nudges like “Ships today if ordered by 4 PM,” “Only 2 left in stock,” or “Offer valid for 48 hours” give users a reason to act now—especially if they’re already interested.

A Real Example

One brand we worked with had strong Meta campaigns. Clicks were coming in, engagement was decent, but conversions were flat.

They were sending traffic to a standard product page with good visuals and copy. But:

• The headline didn’t reflect the ad promise

• Trust signals were buried way down the page

• The CTA was hard to spot on mobile

We built a new campaign-specific landing page with:

• A focused headline that matched the ad copy

• Social proof and trust badges above the fold

• Mobile-first layout with a sticky CTA

• A short urgency message based on their delivery promise

We didn’t touch the ad campaigns. Just the landing experience.

Within 2 weeks, their conversion rate went up by 30%. ROAS followed without increasing ad spend.

Key Takeaway

Most brands don’t have a traffic problem. They have a conversion problem post-click.

Fixing that doesn’t require rebuilding your entire store. It just needs focus:

• Align your ad and landing message

• Optimize for mobile and speed

• Simplify the path to purchase

• Add just enough urgency to nudge action

If you’re running ads but not seeing the returns you expected, it’s worth taking a closer look at the funnel—especially after the click.