From 2x to 5x ROAS: How to Optimize Instacart Ads

If your Instacart ROAS is stuck around 2x, you may already have the data you need to improve it.

Instead of starting from scratch, you can use your existing automated—or optimized—campaign as a source of historical keyword data, export that data into Excel or Google Sheets, identify your strongest keywords, calculate new CPC bids, and rebuild the campaign manually.

This guide explains how to optimize Instacart ads step by step, using your existing campaign data to create a more granular manual setup.

Step 1: Open Your Existing Instacart Automated Campaign

Before you optimize Instacart, start with the campaign that has already collected enough historical data to show you what is working.

In Instacart, this may be referred to as an optimized campaign.

This campaign has already collected important information for you:

• which keywords Instacart associated with your products,
• how much was spent on each keyword,
• which keywords generated clicks,
• which keywords generated sales,
• what CPC you paid,
• and what ROAS each keyword delivered.

Do not delete this campaign, it gives you the data you need for Instacart ads optimization.

You are going to use its historical performance data to build your new manual campaign.

Step 2: Open the Ad Group You Want to Analyze

Go into the campaign and select the relevant ad group.

If your automated campaign contains several products inside one ad group, you may see the same keyword repeated several times in the exported data because that keyword may have been associated with different products.

Ideally, future campaigns should be structured as:

1 SKU = 1 ad group

This makes it much easier to understand exactly which keyword is driving performance for which individual product.

Step 3: Go to the Keyword Section

Inside the selected ad group, open the keyword section.

This is where you can see the keyword-level performance generated by the automated campaign.

You now want to export that data so you can analyze it outside Instacart.

Step 4: Export the Aggregated Keyword Report

Click:

Export Aggregate

This exports the historical keyword report for that specific ad group.

This report gives you the data you need to optimize Instacart based on real keyword performance rather than assumptions.

Step 5: Download the File and Open It in Excel or Google Sheets

Download the exported file.

Open it in your preferred spreadsheet tool, for example:

• Microsoft Excel
• Google Sheets

You do not need to modify Instacart data before opening it.

The goal is simply to get the full keyword report into a spreadsheet where you can sort and compare performance.

Step 6: Identify the Key Columns

In your spreadsheet, focus first on the fields that tell you how each keyword performed.

You are primarily interested in:

• Keyword
• Spend
• Sales
• ROAS
• Average CPC

You may have additional columns in the export, but these are the most important for the first optimization pass.

Step 7: Sort the Spreadsheet by Spend

Select the data table and sort it by:

Spend → Highest to Lowest

Starting with your highest-spend keywords helps you optimize Instacart where the biggest share of your budget is already being used.

Step 8: Review the Highest-Spend Keyword First

Start with the keyword at the top of the spreadsheet.

In the example shown in the video, the biggest keyword was:

chips

Now look across the row and compare:

• total spend,
• sales,
• ROAS,
• average CPC.

A keyword may be generating significant sales but still have relatively weak ROAS.

That does not necessarily mean the keyword should be removed.

It may simply mean you are paying too much for it.

Step 9: Check Whether You Are Overpaying for the Keyword

Look at the keyword’s average CPC.

Ask:

Is this keyword valuable, but too expensive?

For a strong category keyword, you may still want to appear in auctions.

However, if the CPC is too high, it will reduce ROAS.

The goal is therefore not always to stop bidding.

If an important keyword is generating sales but producing weak ROAS, you may be able to optimize Instacart by lowering the bid rather than removing the keyword entirely.

Step 10: Do Not Reduce the CPC Too Aggressively

Do not automatically set the keyword bid to Instacart’s minimum.

In the Instacart Ads Ecosystem shown in the video, the minimum bid is:

$0.30

But if you reduce an important keyword from more than $1 to $0.30, you may stop winning auctions entirely.

That can destroy sales volume.

Instead, reduce the bid to a level that is still realistic for that keyword.

Step 11: Calculate a New CPC for the Keyword

Create a new column in your spreadsheet called something like:

New CPC

For every important keyword, decide whether the bid should decrease, stay similar, or increase. This is one of the most important steps when you optimize Instacart manually.

For example:

Keyword	Historical CPC	ROAS	New CPC
Chips	$1.42	Lower than desired	$1.05

In the video, the bid on the keyword “chips” is reduced from approximately $1.42 to $1.05.

The objective is to lower the cost of winning traffic without reducing the bid so far that the campaign stops participating in auctions.

Step 12: Identify Keywords Where You Can Increase the Bid

Not every keyword should have its CPC reduced.

Look for keywords that are:

• generating good ROAS,
• producing sales efficiently,
• but currently running on a relatively low bid.

For those keywords, you may decide to increase the CPC slightly to compete in more auctions.

In the example shown in the video, a keyword performing well at approximately $0.30 could be increased to around $0.37.

Step 13: Repeat the Process for Every Important Keyword

Continue down the spreadsheet.

For each meaningful keyword:

1. Check spend.
2. Check sales.
3. Check ROAS.
4. Check current average CPC.
5. Decide whether the CPC should go down, stay similar, or increase.
6. Enter your new CPC in the spreadsheet.

When you finish, every keyword you want to carry into the new campaign should have its own planned bid.

Step 14: Build Your Final Keyword-and-Bid List

Your final spreadsheet should contain only the keywords and CPCs you want to use in the new campaign.

For example:

Keyword	New CPC
Chips	$ 1.05
Snacks	$ 0.37
Healthy Snacks	$ 0.65

This clean keyword-and-bid list becomes the working file you use to optimize Instacart during manual campaign setup.

You will copy these keywords and bids into Instacart manually.

Step 15: Pause Your Existing Automated Campaign

Before you create and launch the manual campaign, go back to Instacart and pause the automated campaign.

Do this before the manual campaign starts running.

The reason is simple:

If both campaigns are active at the same time, they may overlap and make it difficult to judge the performance of the new manual setup.

Pausing the old campaign gives you a cleaner comparison.

If the manual campaign does not work, you can restart the automated campaign later.

Step 16: Click Create Campaign

Return to the main Instacart Ads screen.

Click:

Create Campaign

Give your campaign a clear name.

The exact naming structure is up to you.

Step 17: Select Maximize Sales

When Instacart asks for your campaign objective, select:

Maximize Sales

This is the objective used in the tutorial.

Step 18: Select Instacart Ads Ecosystem

Next, choose the campaign scope.

Select:

Instacart Ads Ecosystem

This means your ads can appear across eligible retailers in the Instacart ecosystem where your products are available.

The video focuses on ecosystem campaigns rather than partner-specific campaigns.

Step 19: Select Sponsored Products

Choose:

Sponsored Products

This is the ad format used for the campaign in the video.

Step 20: Enter Your Initial Daily Budget

Set an initial daily budget.

For the first test, use approximately:

$50–$100 per day

In the example, the campaign starts at:

$50 per day

The purpose is to keep the first few days controlled while you validate the new campaign structure.

Step 21: Set the Start Date

If you are replacing the automated campaign immediately, you can set the campaign to start the same day.

This is what is done in the tutorial because the automated campaign has already been paused.

If you are building the campaign for a future promotion, you can instead select a later start date.

Step 22: Change the Bidding Type From Optimized to Manual

When you reach bidding settings, do not choose:

Optimized

Instead select:

Manual

This is the critical switch.

Instacart will no longer make all bidding decisions for you.

You are now going to enter your own keyword-specific CPC bids and will be able to optimize Instacart ads more effectively.

Step 23: Create the First Ad Group

Click to create a new ad group.

Name it after the product or SKU you are advertising.

For example:

Chips

Step 24: Add Only One Product to the Ad Group

Select one specific product.

Do not place several products into the same ad group if you can avoid it.

The recommended structure is:

one product per ad group

Using one SKU per ad group gives you a cleaner way to optimize Instacart at the product level.

Step 25: Set the Default Maximum CPC to $0.30

Instacart may still suggest additional keywords even when you are using manual bidding.

Those automatically suggested keywords use the default maximum CPC bid.

At the beginning, set this to:

$0.30

This keeps Instacart-suggested keywords at the minimum bid while allowing your manually selected keywords to use the CPCs you calculated in Excel.

Step 26: Return to Your Excel Keyword List

Go back to the spreadsheet where you prepared your final keyword list.

Copy the keywords for the SKU you are currently setting up.

Do not copy the CPC column yet.

First copy only the keyword names.

Step 27: Paste the Keywords Into Instacart

Return to the Instacart campaign setup.

Paste your list of keywords into the keyword field.

Click:

Add Keywords

Your selected keywords should now appear inside the ad group.

Step 28: Enter the CPC for the First Keyword

Return to your spreadsheet.

Find the first keyword and its calculated New CPC.

Copy that number.

Return to Instacart and paste it into the bid field next to that keyword.

Step 29: Repeat for Every Keyword

Repeat the same process one keyword at a time:

1. Find the keyword in Excel.
2. Copy the calculated CPC.
3. Return to Instacart.
4. Paste the CPC into the keyword bid field.
5. Move to the next keyword.

At present, the process shown in the tutorial requires entering these bids individually.

This is where the manual setup becomes much more precise and where you begin to optimize Instacart based on each keyword’s actual value.

Step 30: Check That Every Keyword Has the Correct Bid

Before continuing, compare the Instacart screen with your spreadsheet.

Make sure:

• every selected keyword is present,
• every keyword has the correct CPC,
• there are no missing keywords,
• you have not accidentally entered the wrong bid.

This is one of the most important checks in the setup.

Step 31: Repeat the Process for Additional Products

If you have additional SKUs:

1. Create another ad group.
2. Add one product.
3. Set the default CPC.
4. Copy that product’s keyword list.
5. Add the keywords.
6. Enter the specific CPC for every keyword.

Continue until all products are set up.

Step 32: Click Next

Once your ad groups, products, keywords, and bids are complete, click:

Next

Instacart will take you to the campaign review screen.

Step 33: Review the Full Campaign

Before launching, verify:

• Campaign objective: Maximize Sales
• Scope: Instacart Ads Ecosystem
• Ad format: Sponsored Products
• Daily budget
• Start date
• Bidding type: Manual
• One product per ad group
• Default CPC
• Selected keywords
• Individual keyword bids

Compare the final setup against your Excel sheet one last time.

Step 34: Launch the Campaign

If everything is correct, click:

Launch

Your new manual Instacart campaign is now live.

Step 35: Do Not Judge Performance on Day One

Do not make major changes immediately.

The first day may represent only part of a day, depending on when you launched the campaign.

Your campaign also needs time to begin participating in auctions.

Step 36: Let the Campaign Run for 2–3 Days

Give the campaign approximately:

2–3 days

before you start evaluating its first meaningful results.

Use this new performance data to optimize Instacart again instead of treating the first manual setup as final.

Step 37: Review the New Performance Data

After the first few days, return to the campaign and start reviewing keyword performance again.

Look at:

• spend,
• CPC,
• sales,
• ROAS,
• traffic.

Use this new performance data to optimize Instacart again instead of treating the first manual setup as final.

Step 38: Check Keywords Where You Reduced CPC

For every keyword where you lowered the bid, ask:

• Did ROAS improve?
• Did sales stay relatively stable?
• Are you still getting clicks?
• Are you still winning enough auctions?

If ROAS improved without destroying sales, your new bid may be working.

Step 39: Check Whether You Reduced Any Bid Too Far

If a keyword suddenly loses traffic after you lower its CPC, you may have reduced the bid too aggressively.

Increasing the bid again can help you optimize Instacart without sacrificing too much visibility or sales volume.

Step 40: Check Keywords Where You Increased CPC

For keywords where you increased the bid, ask:

• Did you win more traffic?
• Did sales increase?
• Did the increase in sales justify the higher CPC?
• Is ROAS still acceptable?

A higher CPC only makes sense if the extra visibility generates enough incremental sales.

Step 41: Adjust the Bids Again

Based on your new results:

• lower inefficient bids,
• increase bids where there is room to scale,
• correct bids that became too low,
• continue watching sales and ROAS.

This is not a one-time setup.

Manual bidding gives you more control, but it also requires continued optimization.

Step 42: Repeat the Optimization Cycle

The full process becomes:

Export → Analyze → Adjust → Run → Review → Adjust Again

This repeated process will give you ability to optimize Instacart ads more effectively

Over time, you continue learning which combination of:

SKU + keyword + CPC

produces the best results.

Instacart Manual Campaign Setup Checklist

The biggest advantage of this approach is that you are no longer relying on one broad automated setup.

You are using actual performance data to optimize Instacart at the level of individual products, keywords, and CPC bids.

That gives you more control over how much you spend, where you spend it, and what return you expect from each keyword.

Before launching, make sure you have completed every step:

1. Open the existing automated campaign.
2. Select the ad group.
3. Open keyword performance.
4. Click Export Aggregate.
5. Download the report.
6. Open it in Excel or Google Sheets.
7. Identify keyword, spend, sales, ROAS and CPC.
8. Sort by spend from highest to lowest.
9. Review the highest-spend keywords.
10. Identify keywords where CPC may be too high.
11. Calculate a new CPC for each selected keyword.
12. Identify strong keywords where bids could be increased.
13. Create the final keyword-and-bid list.
14. Pause the automated campaign.
15. Click Create Campaign.
16. Select Maximize Sales.
17. Select Instacart Ads Ecosystem.
18. Select Sponsored Products.
19. Enter a $50–$100 starting daily budget.
20. Set the start date.
21. Select Manual bidding.
22. Create one ad group per SKU.
23. Add one product per ad group.
24. Set the default maximum CPC to $0.30.
25. Copy your keywords from Excel.
26. Paste them into Instacart.
27. Click Add Keywords.
28. Copy the first CPC from Excel.
29. Paste it into the corresponding Instacart bid field.
30. Repeat for every keyword.
31. Repeat for every SKU.
32. Review the campaign.
33. Launch.
34. Allow 2–3 days to collect initial data.
35. Review keyword performance.
36. Adjust CPCs based on sales and ROAS.
37. Repeat the optimization cycle.

Watch the Full Instacart Ads Walkthrough

The video above shows how to optimize Instacart ads directly inside the platform—from exporting keyword data to setting up Instacart manual bidding and launching the campaign.

This lesson is part of the RMIQ Retail Media Academy, where we show practical ways to improve retail media performance at the SKU and keyword level.