An online store can advertise in Telegram Ads in three ways: send traffic straight to its website, to its own Telegram channel with products, or to a bot or Mini App with a catalog. Website ads are available only in the euro account, which most businesses access through a reseller, and website sales are tracked with the pixel and UTM tags. Below: how to choose a model, which creatives work for products, and where e-commerce most often loses money.
Is Telegram Ads a fit for an online store?
Telegram Ads is auction-based advertising paid per 1,000 impressions: ads appear in public channels, bots and search, and targeting relies on topics, channels and interests, with no gender or age. For a store, that means finding the audience through placements: channels about fashion, gadgets, home goods, or your competitors’ channels.
The platform suits stores with a clear product for a recognizable niche and budget for testing. The limits matter too: you bid only on impressions, and according to Kokoc (May 2026) there is no optimization for sales. In Russia specifically, Telegram’s audience shrank in 2026: Mediascope data cited by ppc.world show monthly reach falling from 94 million in March to 76 million in June, with sales channels hit hardest.
Where to send traffic: website, channel or bot
| Ad destination | Account | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Store website | Euro only (via reseller) | Short path to purchase, pixel, end-to-end analytics | Erid token required for Russia; the site may not open for users on a VPN |
| Store’s Telegram channel | Euro, TON, Stars | Repeat touches, subscriber base, cheap start with Stars | Long path to purchase; subscribers don’t equal sales |
| Bot or Mini App with a catalog | Euro, TON, Stars | Purchase without leaving Telegram, start parameters for analytics | Requires development; the pixel can’t track in-Telegram actions |
A channel isn’t always better than a website. At TgConf in October 2025, Nikita Kravchenko of eLama described a business that sold well through its website, moved traffic to a channel, and saw its audience grow while sales did not. We compare the models in Telegram Ads vs channel ad buys, and cover bots as a storefront in promoting a bot or Mini App.
Which creatives work for products
A Telegram ad is up to 160 characters of text, a button and one media file. For e-commerce the main lever is the product image:
- Close-up product photo. According to Masha Smirnova (M&Ads) at TgConf in October 2025, a close-up product photo without text overlays was the most effective e-commerce creative, with a 1.32% CTR.
- Media vs text. In a case published by eLama for a wholesale menswear seller, adding a product photo raised CTR from 1.82% to 5.18% and cut cost per subscriber from €1.04 to €0.36 (the autumn 2024 campaign drove traffic to a channel).
- The price of media. According to Kokoc (June 2026), an image raises the minimum CPM by 50% for topic targeting and 80% for channel targeting; video by 70% and 100%. Test text and media versions separately.
- Specific copy. Product, key difference and offer — without caps lock, lists or excessive emoji, which the rules prohibit.
More techniques in our guide to Telegram Ads creatives.
How to track sales
For website ads, the usual setup is the Telegram Ads pixel for conversions in the ad account plus UTM tags for web analytics and CRM.
- Install the base code of the Telegram Ads pixel on every page of the site.
- Create “add to cart” and “purchase” events and place their code on the cart button and the order confirmation page.
- Attach the event to every ad that leads to the site: conversions are counted only from the moment it’s added.
- Tag links with UTM parameters using one naming scheme — see UTM tags for Telegram Ads.
- Match revenue by tag in analytics or CRM against spend in the account and calculate ROAS or ROMI per ad.
The pixel counts post-click conversions and can’t see purchases inside Telegram. If you sell through a bot, pass the source in a start parameter; through a channel, use a separate invite link for each ad.
Budget and launching through a reseller
Website ads are available only in the euro account, and a direct account requires a deposit of about €2 million, so stores work through official resellers. Public data as of October 2026 show starting budgets from €250 at eLama, Click.ru and Clickise and from €500 at Telescope, OneSpot and Magnetto.Pro, plus the reseller’s fee and VAT. Most of these are Russian resellers serving the Russian market. Compare them in our reseller directory and in how to choose a reseller.
For a first test, Masha Smirnova advised at TgConf spending €1–3 per ad to see CTR and cost per click, noting that clicks above €3 are unlikely to pay off. That’s a practitioner’s benchmark, not a rule: your acceptable click price depends on your store’s average order value and margin.
Moderation rules for stores
The official Telegram Ads rules (ads.telegram.org/guidelines) include several points that apply directly to e-commerce:
- Clear purchase terms. Terms for paid products must be explicit; you can’t hide significant details such as fees, deadlines or payment conditions.
- No counterfeits. Fake and replica goods are prohibited, as are products of questionable legality.
- Site availability. The page must open in the countries you target; “under construction” sites, error pages and automatic redirects are prohibited.
- Matching the promise. The landing page must match the ad text, and the language of the ad, the page and the channel where it’s shown must match each other.
- Prohibited categories. Alcohol, tobacco, weapons, uncertified medicines and supplements cannot be advertised.
For ads shown in Russia, the website link must include an erid token — a requirement of Russian ad-labeling law that doesn’t apply elsewhere.
FAQ
Can I advertise an online store’s website in Telegram Ads?
Yes, but only in the euro account, which is opened through resellers. TON and Stars accounts can promote only channels, bots and other destinations inside Telegram.
Is it better for a store to send traffic to the website or a channel?
It depends on the product and the purchase cycle. A website offers a short path to an order and end-to-end analytics; a channel gives repeat touches and a subscriber base, but subscribers don’t always turn into sales. Testing both with separate tags is the safer approach.
How do I know Telegram Ads is driving sales?
Install the pixel with cart and purchase events and tag links with UTM parameters. Then compare revenue by tag in analytics or CRM with each ad’s spend.
How much money do I need to start?
Through resellers, the first top-up is usually €250–500 plus fee and VAT (data as of October 2026). The minimum bid in the euro account is about €1 per 1,000 impressions, and media raises it.
Which creatives work best for products?
In practitioners’ experience, a close-up product photo without text and short, specific copy. Media raises CPM, so compare cost per click and sales for media and text versions.
Can I optimize campaigns for purchases?
According to Kokoc (May 2026), Telegram Ads has no conversion optimization: the pixel only counts events. Bids, channels and budget have to be reallocated manually or with automation tools.
