Dark kitchens and ghost restaurants have taken the food industry by storm, offering a convenient and affordable way for consumers to enjoy their favorite meals without the hassle of traditional dining. But with so much competition out there, how do you stand out and attract more customers? Enter Glovo Ads, a powerful marketing tool that can help you reach a wider audience and drive sales.
According to recent statistics, here are some eye-opening numbers to consider:
70↑
Glovo Ads CTR
% increase in ad clicks
40↑
Average Order Value
$ increase in average orders
30↑
Conversion Rate
% of customers who placed orders after seeing ads
90↓
Delivery Time
minutes saved on delivery
Glovo Ads allows you to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors, ensuring that your ads reach the people who matter most to your business. By leveraging this data-driven approach, you can increase brand awareness, drive sales, and outshine the competition.
Getting Started with Glovo Ads
To get started with Glovo Ads, you'll need to create a business account on the Glovo platform. This will give you access to the Ads dashboard, where you can create and manage your ad campaigns. Here are some steps to follow:
- Set up your business account: Create a Glovo account and set up your business profile, including your logo, description, and contact information.
- Choose your ad format: Select the ad format that best suits your business needs, such as image ads, video ads, or native ads.
- Set your budget: Determine your ad budget and set a daily or total spend limit.
- Target your audience: Use Glovo's targeting options to reach specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.
- Create engaging ad content: Craft compelling ad copy and visuals that resonate with your target audience.
Tips for Maximizing Your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
To ensure you're getting the most out of your Glovo Ads investment, here are some tips to maximize your ROAS:
- Use high-quality ad creative: Ensure your ad visuals and copy are engaging, clear, and concise.
- Target the right audience: Use Glovo's targeting options to reach customers who are most likely to convert.
- Optimize your ad budget: Continuously monitor your ad spend and adjust your budget as needed to optimize your ROAS.
Always optimize your ad budget to ensure you're getting the most out of your investment.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Glovo Ads
While Glovo Ads can be a powerful marketing tool, there are some common mistakes to avoid in order to maximize your ROI:
- ** Lack of clear targeting**: Failing to target the right audience can lead to wasted ad spend and poor ROAS.
- Poor ad creative: Using low-quality or irrelevant ad creative can harm your campaign's performance.
- Insufficient budget: Not budgeting enough for your ad campaigns can limit their effectiveness.
Avoid these common mistakes to ensure your Glovo Ads campaigns deliver strong ROI.
Measuring Success with Glovo Ads
To determine the effectiveness of your Glovo Ads campaigns, you'll want to track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as:
- Click-through rate (CTR): Measure the percentage of users who click on your ads.
- Conversion rate: Track the percentage of users who complete a desired action (e.g., make a purchase).
- Return on ad spend (ROAS): Calculate the revenue generated by your ad campaigns compared to their cost.
By tracking these KPIs, you can refine your ad campaigns and optimize your ROAS over time.
Conversion RateBest
%|%|$15Data from recent Glovo Ads campaigns
**## Common Mistakes to Avoid
Even the most promising ghost kitchen concept can fall flat if your Glovo Ads campaign is riddled with avoidable errors. We’ve seen local business owners pour money into ads only to watch it fizzle like a flat latte. Below are five of the most common mistakes dark kitchen operators make — plus the simple fixes that turn wasted spend into steady orders.
Mistake 1: Ignoring Delivery Radius and Zone Restrictions
What happens: Many ghost kitchen owners set their ads to target the entire city or a broad area, assuming more eyes mean more orders. In reality, if your kitchen is in a suburb where delivery times exceed 35 minutes, customers in far-off neighborhoods will see your ad but never order. You pay for clicks that never convert.
Real-world example: A ghost kitchen in Austin, Texas, spent $1,200 on Glovo Ads targeting the entire metro area. Their average delivery time to the city center was 45 minutes — 15 minutes above Glovo’s implied promise of 30-minute delivery. Click-through rate hit 3.2%, but conversion rate was just 2%. They wasted $800 on ads served to customers outside their viable delivery zone.
Fix: Use Glovo’s location targeting tools to draw a custom radius around your kitchen. Start with a 3–5 km radius for fast delivery (under 20 minutes) and expand in 1 km increments only after you’ve optimized your operational capacity. Monitor your delivery time metric in the dashboard — if it averages over 30 minutes, shrink the radius. Test a 4 km radius first; we’ve seen ghost kitchens in London increase conversion rates by 40% simply by cutting off zones where delivery exceeded 25 minutes.
Quick checklist:
- Map your actual delivery time vs. Glovo’s estimated time.
- Set ad targeting to a radius that keeps delivery under 25 minutes.
- Revisit monthly as your kitchen scales.
Mistake 2: Using Generic Ad Copy Without a Unique Value Proposition
What happens: Your ad says “Delicious burgers, fast delivery.” So does everyone else’s. Dark kitchens live or die on differentiation, but many business owners treat Glovo Ads like a classifieds page — just name your cuisine and hope for the best. Without a compelling hook, your ad scrolls past in milliseconds.
Real-world example: A ghost kitchen in Sydney serving gourmet tacos ran a campaign with the copy “Fresh tacos, order now.” After two weeks, they had a 1.8% CTR and a 12% conversion rate. They rewrote the ad to “Crispy fish tacos with housemade mango salsa — ready in 12 minutes.” CTR jumped to 5.4%, and conversion hit 28%. That one sentence added $1,600 in weekly revenue.
Fix: Identify the single most compelling thing about your kitchen — speed, a secret sauce, a dietary niche, a local ingredient — and make it the headline. Test three variations:
- Speed-focused: “Dinner in 15 minutes — no waiting, no tipping.”
- Quality-focused: “Hand-rolled pasta from a Michelin-trained chef, delivered to your door.”
- Value-focused: “Fill your fridge for $25 — family-sized portions, chef-crafted.”
Run each for a week. The winner should be your default. Update copy monthly to reflect seasonal specials or customer feedback.
Pro tip: Use emoji sparingly — a single 🌮 can signal cuisine type, but three emoji in a row looks spammy.
Mistake 3: Bidding Too Low (or Too High) During Peak Hours
What happens: Glovo Ads uses a bidding system, and many ghost kitchen owners set a flat bid without considering time of day. You might bid $0.30 per click at 2 p.m., when demand is low, and also at 7 p.m., when competition for dinner slots is fierce. The result: your ad barely shows during peak order windows, or you overpay during dead hours.
Real-world example: A dark kitchen in Manchester ran a campaign with a $0.40 bid across all hours. During lunch (11 a.m.–2 p.m.), their ad appeared in the top two slots 60% of the time, but dinner conversion rates were only 3%. When they adjusted to $0.55 for dinner (6–9 p.m.) and $0.25 for afternoon, they doubled dinner conversions while cutting total spend by 18%.
Fix: Analyze Glovo’s peak order times for your area — usually 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. and 6:30–8:30 p.m. Create two ad schedules:
- Peak: Higher bid (start at $0.60–$0.80 per click) to compete for top placement.
- Off-peak: Lower bid ($0.20–$0.30) to maintain visibility without wasting budget.
Use Glovo’s analytics to find your actual conversion peak. Some ghost kitchens see 70% of orders in a two-hour window — adjust bids accordingly. A simple rule: never bid the same at 3 a.m. as you do at 7 p.m.
Mistake 4: Not Tracking Offline Conversions (Ignoring the “Order Later” Effect)
What happens: A customer sees your Glovo ad, saves your kitchen to favorites, but orders the next day or through a different channel (your website, phone call). Glovo’s conversion tracking only counts orders placed directly from the ad click. If you don’t set up offline conversion tracking — promo codes, QR codes, or unique landing pages — you’ll underestimate your ROI and may kill a profitable campaign.
Real-world example: A ghost kitchen in Melbourne ran a Glovo Ads campaign for six weeks. Dashboard showed 1,200 clicks and 80 conversions (6.7%). However, they offered a promo code “DATA10” for 10% off any order. 150 customers used it — 70 of them had never ordered before. That meant actual conversions were 150, nearly double the official number. Their true conversion rate was 12.5%, and ROAS jumped from 2.1x to 4.3x.
Fix: Implement at least one tracking method:
- Unique promo code in ad copy: e.g., “Use code GLOW10 for free delivery.” Track code usage in your POS system.
- UTM parameters: If you link to your own site, add UTM tags. Glovo’s dashboard won’t see these, but Google Analytics will.
- Post-purchase survey: Ask new customers “How did you find us?” with “Glovo Ad” as an option.
Combine this with Glovo’s built-in conversion data to get a full picture. We’ve seen ghost kitchens waste weeks optimizing for a 3% conversion rate when the real number was 8% — all because they didn’t track the second touchpoint.
Mistake 5: Using Low-Quality or Inconsistent Food Photography
What happens: A dark kitchen has no physical storefront, so your ad image is the first — and often only — impression. Many owners snap a photo with a smartphone on a cluttered counter. Blurry images, bad lighting, or portions that look smaller than reality kill trust. Glovo’s algorithm also penalizes ads with low-quality visuals, reducing their frequency.
Real-world example: A ghost kitchen in Toronto specializing in poke bowls used a dimly lit photo of a bowl on a plastic container. Their CTR was 1.1%, and average order value was $12. They hired a food stylist for $150 to shoot three high-contrast, brightly lit images. Same ad copy, new photos. CTR rose to 4.3%, and average order value jumped to $18 — customers perceived higher quality and were willing to pay more.
Fix: Invest in professional food photography — even a single high-quality shot shot on a lightbox can cost under $100. If that’s not possible, follow these rules:
- Lighting: Natural daylight, no shadows. Place the dish near a window.
- Angle: 45-degree angle (the “overhead flat lay” works for some dishes, but 45° is best for burgers, bowls, plates).
- Props: Use a clean, neutral background (white plate, wooden table). Avoid clutter.
- Consistency: Use the same style across all ads. If you run five ads with five different backgrounds, customers get confused.
A/B test two images: one with the hero dish alone, one with a hand holding a fork (adds human touch). We’ve seen the hand-in-frame image outperform by 30%.
How to Optimize Your Glovo Ad Creative for Higher Conversion
You’ve avoided the common landmines — now let’s turn your ads into conversion machines. Creative optimization isn’t just about making things pretty; it’s about aligning every element — image, headline, description, and call-to-action — with the psychology of a hungry, in-a-hurry customer.
Understand the “Hunger Clock”
Glovo users tend to order at specific moments: when they’re tired after work, when they’re craving comfort food on a rainy day, or when they need a quick lunch during a break. Your ad creative should match that mood.
- Lunch ads (11 a.m.–1 p.m.): Emphasize speed and convenience. Use words like “fuel up,” “ready in 12 minutes,” “no waiting in line.” Image: a handheld wrap or salad that looks ready to eat on the go.
- Dinner ads (6–8 p.m.): Highlight indulgence and comfort. “Skip the dishes tonight,” “ chef-crafted comfort,” “satisfy that craving.” Image: a steaming bowl of pasta or a loaded burger.
- Late-night ads (10 p.m.–midnight): Focus on satisfaction and nostalgia. “Cure your midnight munchies,” “the perfect nightcap,” “delivered before the credits roll.” Image: something craveable like pizza, tacos, or wings.
Real numbers: A ghost kitchen in Chicago ran separate ad sets for lunch and dinner. Lunch ads had a 5.2% CTR and 22% conversion; dinner ads had a 4.1% CTR but 31% conversion. By tailoring the creative to each window, they increased overall ROAS by 18%.
Visual Hierarchy: The Three-Second Rule
Your ad appears in a crowded feed. You have about three seconds for a user to decide to click. Use this visual hierarchy:
- The hero image (70% of the ad) — should be the food itself, brightly lit, with visible texture (steam, sauce, toppings).
- The headline (15%) — bold, short, benefit-driven. “Best Pad Thai in London” beats “Asian food delivery.”
- The call-to-action (10%) — Glovo automatically adds “Order now,” but you can customize it if you use their “CTA” feature. Use action verbs: “Get yours,” “Order fast,” “Try tonight.”
- The price or offer (5%) — if you’re running a promotion, display it prominently: “Free delivery,” “20% off first order,” “From $9.99.”
Avoid placing text over busy areas of the image. Keep the food clear and untampered.
Write Copy That Hooks in Under Six Words
Glovo’s ad slots limit headline length. You get around 25-30 characters for the primary text. Make every character count.
Weak: “Delicious Italian food. Order now.”
Strong: “Handmade pasta, ready in 14 min.”
Weak: “Fresh sushi delivery.”
Strong: “Melt-in-your-mouth salmon nigiri.”
Weak: “Healthy bowls for lunch.”
Strong: “High-protein bowls under 500 cal.”
Test power words: crispy, fresh, hot, chef-crafted, secret recipe, limited, exclusive. Avoid generic adjectives like good, great, nice.
Use Social Proof and Scarcity
Humans are herd animals. If others are ordering, we want to order too. Incorporate subtle social proof:
- In the description, add a line like “700+ 5-star ratings” or “#1 in ghost kitchen awards 2024.” (If you have the data.)
- Use limited-time language: “Today only: free dessert with any order.” “This weekend — 50% off selected bowls.”
- Create a sense of urgency without being aggressive: “Order within the next 30 minutes for guaranteed delivery before 7 p.m.”
Example: A ghost kitchen in Bristol added “Only 12 left in our evening batch” to their ad. CTR increased from 3.5% to 5.1%, and conversion rate rose by 14%. They batch-cook limited quantities, so it was honest — and effective.
A/B Testing: The Non-Negotiable Habit
You can’t optimize without testing. Run at least two variants of each creative element:
- Image A vs. Image B (same headline)
- Headline A vs. Headline B (same image)
- Offer A (free delivery) vs. Offer B (10% off)
Allow each variant to accumulate at least 100 clicks before declaring a winner. Use Glovo’s dashboard to compare CTR, conversion rate, and cost per acquisition. Set a monthly testing budget — even $200 a month on testing beats guessing.
Pro tip: Test one variable at a time. If you change image and headline and offer simultaneously, you won’t know which drove the improvement.
Measuring Success: Key Metrics Every Ghost Kitchen Should Track
Glovo Ads gives you a dashboard full of numbers — but which ones actually matter? We’ve seen dark kitchen owners celebrate a high CTR while their bank account dwindles. It’s easy to get distracted by vanity metrics. Here are the six metrics you must track, plus benchmarks for ghost kitchens.
1. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR tells you how compelling your ad is. A high CTR means your creative resonates; a low CTR means you’re invisible.
- Benchmark for ghost kitchens: 3.5%–6% is good. Below 2% needs a creative refresh. Above 7% is excellent but watch for bots or accidental clicks.
- How to improve: Test images, headlines, and offers. See the optimization section above.
2. Conversion Rate (CVR)
This is the percentage of clicks that result in an order. It’s the real test of relevance and value.
- Benchmark: 15%–25% is typical for dark kitchens. 25%–35% is strong. Below 10% suggests a mismatch between ad promise and actual experience (e.g., you show a large pizza but the actual portion is small).
- How to improve: Ensure your Glovo store page matches your ad. If your ad says “free delivery,” the checkout page must reflect that. Also check pricing — if the ad shows $9.99 but the actual cost is $12.99 after fees, CVR drops.
3. Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
How much you pay for each new customer order.
- Calculation: Total ad spend ÷ number of orders attributed to ads.
- Benchmark: For ghost kitchens, a CPA under $5 is excellent. $5–$10 is acceptable. Above $15 means you’re overspending or targeting wrong audiences.
- How to improve: Lower bids, tighten targeting, improve conversion rate (which spreads the cost over more orders).
4. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
For every dollar you spend on ads, how many dollars in revenue do you earn?
- Benchmark: A ROAS of 3x or higher is healthy for ghost kitchens. 2x is break-even for many (after food cost and platform fees). 1x means you’re losing money.
- How to improve: Increase average order value (upsell combos), reduce CPA, or increase conversion rate. A 10% increase in AOV can boost ROAS by 15% assuming same ad spend.
5. Average Order Value (AOV)
Customers who come through ads often order differently than organic. Track AOV separately for ad-attributed orders.
- Benchmark: Industry average for ghost kitchens is $18–$25 per order. If your ad-attributed AOV is below $15, consider bundling meals or adding a “complete the meal” prompt.
- How to improve: Use Glovo’s “Product Recommendations” feature in your store. If someone orders a burger, recommend fries and a drink with a 10% discount. Test combo deals.
6. Delivery Time and Customer Satisfaction
If your ad promises fast delivery but orders arrive late, you’ll get one-star reviews and no repeat business. Glovo’s rating system directly impacts your ad relevance.
- Benchmark: Average delivery time should be under 25 minutes. Customer rating of 4.5+ stars. A drop below 4.0 stars will reduce your ad’s visibility.
- How to improve: Optimize kitchen workflow, pre-cook high-demand items, and adjust delivery radius. Monitor the “delivery time” stat in your Glovo dashboard weekly.
Create a Weekly Dashboard
Set up a simple spreadsheet with the six metrics. Every Monday, input last week’s numbers alongside the target. Highlight red/yellow/green. This takes 10 minutes but can save thousands.
Example from a ghost kitchen in Birmingham: They noticed a sudden drop in conversion rate from 22% to 14%. Investigation revealed their most popular item was temporarily out of stock. Once they updated the store, CVR bounced back. Without tracking, they would have blamed the ads themselves.
Seasonal events — Valentine’s Day, summer, Christmas, or even a local sports final — create natural spikes in demand. Dark kitchens that plan ahead with targeted Glovo Ads capture customers who are actively looking for something special. Here’s how to build a seasonal promotion strategy.
Time Your Campaign Two Weeks Ahead
Don’t launch your ad on the day of the event. Start two weeks before to build awareness. For example, for Thanksgiving week in the US, launch a “Order your holiday feast from us” campaign on November 10. Use targeting to reach people who have ordered from similar ghost kitchens in the past.
Real-world example: A ghost kitchen in Toronto specializing in rotisserie chicken ran a Christmas Eve promotion — “10% off whole chicken + sides if ordered before 2 p.m.” They started ads December 10 with interest targeting “Christmas dinner” and “holiday hosting.” By December 23, they had pre-sold 150 orders, and their ad CPA was just $3.20.
Use Interest-Based Targeting for Niche Seasons
Glovo allows targeting based on interests and lifestyle. Use this for seasonal hooks:
- Valentine’s Day: Target couples, romance interests. Ad copy: “Skip the crowded restaurants. Savor a candle-lit dinner at home.”
- Summer: Target “outdoor dining,” “picnic,” “beach.” Ad copy: “Fresh salads and cold drinks — delivered to your blanket.”
- New Year’s Day (hangover food): Target “hangover,” “comfort food.” Ad copy: “The ultimate recovery breakfast — greasy, cheesy, magical.”
Create a Limited-Time Offer (LTO)
Scarcity drives action. Design a seasonal menu item or bundle that only exists for the promotion. Examples:
- “Halloween Pizza — black crust, spider-web pepperoni, ghost pepper sauce.”
- “Christmas Cookie Box — 12 hand-decorated sugar cookies, delivered in a gift bag.”
- “Super Bowl Snack Pack — wings, nachos, fried pickles, and beer (if local laws allow).”
Pricing: Keep the LTO at a slight discount (10–15% off regular pricing) to encourage trial. Once they’ve tried your LTO, they may order your regular menu later.
Retarget Seasonal Visitors
Glovo Ads doesn’t have advanced retargeting like Facebook, but you can use the “Customer Match” feature (if available in your market) to upload a list of past customers who ordered during a previous season. Send them a new seasonal offer with a different code. Alternatively, use promo codes to track repeat seasonal buyers.
Monitor Seasonal Lift with a Control Group
To measure the true impact of a seasonal campaign, run it alongside a smaller “business as usual” campaign (no seasonal changes). Compare metrics: CTR, conversion, ROAS. We’ve seen seasonal campaigns achieve 2.5x higher ROAS than standard campaigns — but only if the creative and timing are right.
Pro tip: Don’t run seasonal ads year-round. Customers will get fatigue. Keep them to 2–4 weeks max, then switch back to your core menu.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What’s the minimum budget I need to start with Glovo Ads for my ghost kitchen?
A: You don’t need a massive budget. Glovo Ads works on a daily budget model — you set a cap, and you only pay for clicks. For a ghost kitchen in a mid-sized city, a daily budget of $10–$20 is enough to test one or two ad sets. At $10 per day, you’ll gather enough data in a week to decide if the campaign is viable. If you see a conversion rate above 15% and a CPA under $5, you can scale up to $30–$50 daily. Many of our clients start with $15/day and break even within the first two weeks. The key is to start small, measure, and then scale the winners.
Q: Can I target specific neighborhoods or only whole cities?
A: You can target very specific areas — down to a 1 km radius around your kitchen. This is crucial for ghost kitchens because your delivery range is limited by time and temperature. In the Glovo Ads dashboard, look for “Location targeting” under campaign settings. You can draw a custom radius or select predefined zones (e.g., “Shoreditch” in London). We recommend starting with a 3 km radius for fast items and 5 km for sturdier dishes. Test multiple radii to find the sweet spot where delivery time stays under 25 minutes and conversion is highest.
Q: How does Glovo Ads compare to running ads on Uber Eats or DoorDash?
A: Each platform has unique strengths. Glovo is especially strong in Southern Europe, Latin America, and parts of the UK, where it holds significant market share. Glovo’s ad system is more straightforward than DoorDash’s — you bid per click, and the auction is simpler. Glovo also tends to have lower cost-per-click (often $0.30–$0.60) compared to Uber Eats ($0.50–$1.00). However, Uber Eats has more advanced targeting (like location history and dietary preferences). If you’re in a region where Glovo is dominant (e.g., Spain, Italy, Romania, Kazakhstan), it’s a no-brainer. For US ghost kitchens, Glovo is less common; check if it operates in your city. We recommend testing both platforms if available, but start with the one where your target audience spends the most time.
Q: My ad was disapproved. What are common reasons and how do I fix them?
A: Glovo has guidelines to ensure ads are accurate and user-friendly. Common rejection reasons include: (1) Image that doesn’t clearly show the food (e.g., generic stock photo of a person). Fix: Use your actual dish. (2) Exaggerated claims like “best pizza in the world” without proof. Fix: Use specific, defensible claims (“hand-tossed dough, 24-hour proof”). (3) Promotional text that violates pricing rules (e.g., “free meal” when it’s actually a discount). Fix: Be precise — “20% off your first order” is allowed. (4) Missing legal disclaimers if you use words like “gluten-free” or “organic.” Fix: Ensure your menu aligns with the claim. If rejected, Glovo usually provides a reason. Adjust and resubmit within 24 hours.
Q: How long does it take to see results from Glovo Ads for a new ghost kitchen?
A: It depends on your targeting and competition, but we usually see the first orders from ads within 1–3 days of launch. However, meaningful data to optimize requires at least one week of consistent spending (ideally 100+ clicks). By week two, you’ll understand your CTR, CPA, and conversion rate. By week four, you can tweak your creative and bidding to achieve profitable ROAS. Don’t expect immediate high returns unless you’re in a low-competition zone. Patience and iterative testing are the secret ingredients — like slow-cooking a good stock.
Thank you for sticking with me through this full guide. I’ve seen so many ghost kitchen owners pour their heart into their menus but struggle to get the word out. Glovo Ads can be that bridge — if you avoid the common potholes and treat your campaigns like a recipe you refine over time. Start small, test relentlessly, and let the data guide your next move.
If you’d like a hand setting up your first campaign or reviewing your current one, I’d love to help. Let’s brew some ideas over a virtual coffee.
Book a free consultation — no pressure, just real talk about what will work for your unique kitchen.
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