I've been seeing this debate everywhere: "traffic is king" vs "conversion is king."

I think both sides are missing the point.

They're not opposing forces. You shouldn't chase either one in isolation. The real goal — whether you're trying to lower through scale OR improve keyword ranking — is sales velocity.

Traffic and conversion rate are just means to an end. They're process metrics, not the destination.

Let me give you a concrete example:

Let's say you have a keyword with very low conversion rate. The "conversion is king" crowd would say: "Negate it immediately."

But what if the CPC on that keyword is also very low, and your ACOS ends up being totally fine? I'd keep that keyword. Low CPC can offset low CVR.

Not every category has naturally high conversion rates. You can't compare phone cases (low price) to air conditioners (high price). Within the same category, top 3 sellers might convert at 30%, but the mid-tier might only get 10%. Most sellers aren't hitting high conversion — being above category average is already solid. Most of us are constantly balancing CVR against CPC.

Now, this doesn't mean you can slack on listing optimization. You should always push conversion higher. But if your conversion is below where it should be because of poor optimization, you're just going to burn ad spend to make up the gap.

Would love to hear counter-arguments. What's your take — traffic or conversion? Or something else entirely?