Increase Sales with TikTok Ads | Essential Guide for New Sellers

As TikTok rapidly evolves from an entertainment powerhouse into a thriving global e-commerce hub, sellers face both unprecedented opportunities and pressing challenges. For beginners, stagnant store traffic and sparse orders can stall growth from the outset. Simultaneously, the platform's breakneck pace demands swift identification of winning products to optimize inventory and marketing strategies—making traditional organic testing painfully slow.

Compounding this, TikTok's algorithm favors viral momentum, and with millions of creators and brands now competing for attention in its hyper-engaged ecosystem, paid advertising has become indispensable. It offers sellers an accelerated pathway to cut through the noise, validate product-market fit, and capitalize on the platform's explosive reach.

Today we will look at the main types of TikTok Ads.

 



GMV MAX Ads 

Entry: Store Backend → Store Ads → Select "Maximize GMV"

Advantages:


	

	
Full-funnel traffic product (covers VSA + PSA placements)
	
	

	
Simplified operation, ideal for beginners!
	


Setup: Account opening → Bind Store → Link TikTok Account



 

Product Shopping Ads (PSA) 

Best for:


	

	
New sellers without TikTok accounts (quick setup with image/text creatives)
	
	

	
Existing LSA/VSA advertisers expanding to new traffic sources
	


Notes:


	

	
On the campaign creation page, select Product Sales as the objective. We recommend running the campaign all day.
	
	

	
Optimize your header image: Keep the background clear and highlight the product's core selling points to maximize exposure.
	
	

	
New Seller Testing Phase (0→1):

	

		

		
Strategy: All Products + Minimum ROAS Bidding
		
		

		
Budget: $50–100/day per ad group (or 5× target CPA)
		
		

		
Testing Period: 3 days → Adjust based on ROAS
		
	
	
	

	
TikTok product card ads PSA will automatically obtain the product details page images and product copy information from the merchant's backend, without the merchant having to prepare additional materials for the PSA (currently, customized modifications are not supported when placing ads). Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you prepare the product visual main image and key copy word layout in advance when uploading mall products.

	 
	


 Video Shopping Ads (VSA) 

Setup Flow:

S1: Create Campaign

Notes


	

	
Objective: Product Sales / Store Traffic
	
	

	
Budget: Campaign Budget Optimization (recommended)
	
	

	
Supports setting a daily budget: When there are many ad groups, you can choose to set/adjust the budget at the campaign level. However, the budget setting here may limit the ad group from fully consuming the budget according to the ad-level budget, affecting the running volume;
	


S2: Build an Ad Group


	

	
Placement: Video Shopping Ads / Live Shopping Ads
	
	

	
Define audience → Set budget/schedule → Choose optimization goal
	


S3: Create an Ad


	

	
Select products (single/multi-product landing page auto-generated)
	
	

	
Upload video creative
	


 



Live Shopping Ads (LSA) 

Setup Flow:

S1: Create GMV Max Campaign


	

	
Objective: Maximize GMV→ Select live stream
	


S2: Create and Publish Custom Ads

⚠️ **Critical Timing**:


	

	
Start ads 2+ weeks pre-live
	
	

	
Ensure live duration ≥ 2 hours (short streams limit delivery)

	
 
	




Picture from Freepik

After completing the ad setup, our advertisements will appear in search results for relevant keywords on platforms such as the comprehensive search page and the Shop Center tab shopping mall search page.

Therefore, when setting up ads, we should pay close attention to keyword selection and ensure that product detail pages clearly highlight the product's selling points. This approach guarantees that our ad campaigns generate positive results, effectively enhancing the exposure and conversion rates of both the store and its products.