Learn · Goals

The goal is profit, not just revenue

Chase these in order: site visits, click-through rate, add-to-cart rate, conversion rate, average order value, ROAS and MER, cost per acquisition, contribution margin, and finally net profit. That is the order a customer meets your store: they see an ad, visit, add to cart, buy, and leave you some profit. Get each rung a little better and the last one grows. Here is what each number means and what good looks like.

Revenue is the vanity number. Profit is the goal. A store can double its sales and still lose money if ads, discounts and product costs grow faster. Each rung of the ladder feeds the next, and every one of them is there to grow the last one: net profit.

  1. 1

    Site visits (sessions)Attract

    How many times people came to your store this month.

    What good looks like: No single right number. Visits grow with ads, content and email. What matters is that each extra visit comes at a cost you can afford.

  2. 2

    Click-through rate (CTR)Attract

    Out of every 100 people who see your ad, how many click it.

    What good looks like: 1% or more is solid and 1.2% or more is strong. Under 0.5% means the ad is not stopping people: try a new opening or a new message.

  3. 3

    Add-to-cart rateConvert

    Out of every 100 visits, how many add something to the cart.

    What good looks like: Around 7.5% or more is a good guide. Lots of add-to-carts but few sales usually points at shipping costs or the checkout.

  4. 4

    Conversion rateConvert

    Out of every 100 visits, how many buy.

    What good looks like: 2% or more is solid for most stores, and many sit between 1 and 3%. Small lifts here make every ad dollar work harder.

  5. 5

    Average order value (AOV)Convert

    How much a customer spends in one order, on average.

    What good looks like: No universal target. A higher AOV means you can afford to pay more to win each customer. Bundles, gifts and a free-shipping amount a little above your usual order help.

  6. 6

    ROAS and MERGrow

    ROAS is sales per $1 of ads. MER is the share of all your sales that went on ads (the honest version, because no platform can overcount it).

    What good looks like: Many growing stores keep MER between 20 and 35%, which is a blended ROAS of about 2.9x to 5x. Keep each platform's ROAS at least 20% above your break-even ROAS.

  7. 7

    Cost per acquisition (CPA)Grow

    What you spend on ads, on average, for each order.

    What good looks like: Keep it below your break-even CPA (your average order times what you keep before ads). 15% or more below it is green.

  8. 8

    Contribution marginGrow

    What is left of each $1 of sales after product, shipping, fees and ads. It pays your fixed bills and your profit.

    What good looks like: 15% or more is healthy, 5 to 15% is thin, under 5% is risky.

  9. Net profitGrowThe goal

    What the business actually made after everything, including rent, software, staff and your own wage.

    What good looks like: Above $0 means the business pays for itself. Many healthy online stores make 10 to 20% net. This is the goal.

These ranges are general guides for online stores, not guarantees. They match the explanations on the Helix Dashboard. Your own break-even lines matter most, and Helix works them out from your numbers.

Set your monthly goals Back to the Playbook

Who Helix is for

Built for stores doing $10k to $100k a month that want to reach a $1M year, profitably.

That is where Helix gets the most done for you: you have real sales and real numbers, the owner still makes the calls, and small daily gains add up fast. Just starting? The Just starting track begins at $0 and gets you to steady sales. Already past $1M a year? Helix keeps helping as you scale toward $10M.

  1. Great start

    Just starting

    $0 to your first sales

    Under about $10k a month

    Pick a product people want, build a store that converts, and run a first small test campaign without wasting money.

    Just starting track (28 days)

  2. Most value

    Growing

    Up to about $1M a year

    About $10k to $100k a month

    Find ads that pay for themselves, lift conversion and order value, grow your list and keep more of every sale. Most owners here still make every call themselves.

    Growing track (64 days)

  3. Good fit

    Scaling

    About $1M to $10M a year

    About $100k a month and up

    Protect margin as spend grows, plan stock and Black Friday a year ahead, and hand work to a small team with clear numbers to hit.

    Growing track, plus the business and stock tools

Milestones to aim forFirst saleFirst $10k monthFirst $100k monthFirst $1M yearFirst $10M year