Direct for Delivery Service: How to Triple Orders and Reduce Costs by 50%

Those who don't have leads from Direct simply don't know how to work with it. Often, business owners spend six-figure sums on Yandex Direct and receive only a few orders in return. The problem lies in calibrating this remarkable tool. This is exactly the difficulty faced by the halal food delivery service "Emperor" in Kazan.

The situation in December 2025 looked quite bleak: the budget was draining, and the cost of acquiring a customer was comparable to the order's value. Such cases are not uncommon, and the blame lies in the lack of a professional approach to setting up advertising. 

In such situations, the only way to convince a client to continue using Direct is to clearly show how much can be earned with its proper use.

December 2025

Initially, "Emperor" had one active campaign in YAN (Yandex Advertising Network, banner advertising), which was operating at a loss:

• Expenses: 113,257 RUB
• Number of orders: 72
• Cost per order: 1,573.01 RUB
• Clicks: 3,120

Working with such metrics in food delivery is difficult — the business simply wasn't profitable.

What Was Done

We analyzed the existing campaign, identified growth points, and outlined further steps. Since our main focus is a platform for food and flower delivery businesses, as well as the corresponding infrastructure (websites, apps, CRM, etc.), we understand both the client's and their potential customers' interests. 

The most common task is usually to cut off all unnecessary traffic that consumes the advertising budget. 

How to Fix Yandex Direct:

1. Switch to conversion-based payment: now you only pay Yandex for confirmed orders, not for empty clicks.
2. Cleaning up platforms and devices: campaigns were rid of ineffective mobile apps and unwanted platforms where the budget is often drained.
3. Target audience adjustment: adjustments were made based on age and behavior. Ads stopped being shown to those who don't fit the target audience profile.
4. Working with semantics: extended lists of negative keywords specific to this niche were added.
5. Retargeting: setting up to "push" those who visited the site but didn't complete their cart.
6. Updating creatives: new ads were created that effectively highlighted "Emperor" among competitors in Kazan.
7. Scaling advertising: new search campaigns, a product campaign through the campaign master, and advertising in TG channels were added.

March 2026

After three months of work, the results were evident:

• Expenses: 46,574.63 RUB (a reduction of almost 2.5 times)
• Number of orders: 247 (an increase of more than 3 times)
• Cost per order: 188.56 RUB
• Clicks: 3,429

Final Efficiency in Numbers:

The result of a professional Direct specialist's work is clearly visible in percentage terms:

• Expenses decreased by 58.88% (from 113,257 to 46,574.63 RUB)
• Number of orders increased by 243.06% (from 72 to 247)
• Traffic increased by 9.90% (from 3,120 to 3,429)
• Cost per order decreased by 88.01% (from 1,573.01 to 188.56 RUB)

Summary

The "Emperor" case proves: even in tough competition, you can get cheap orders. The secret to success lies not in the budget size but in the professionalism of the specialist setting up your advertising.

Thanks to the experience of our marketer and Direct specialist Elvira and her developments in the delivery field, we managed not just to tweak the advertising account settings but to create a completely new approach, turning Yandex Direct into a stable and profitable sales channel.

And of course, it was very pleasant to receive such a heartfelt review from the client:

We would like to express our gratitude to the company FoodSoul. We started working with them about two and a half years ago. As a delivery manager, everything is convenient for me, integrations and automations are done. Clients also mention that placing orders in one click is very convenient for them. Recently, we used the services of a marketer, met Elvira - they work very promptly, both the tech support and the marketer, which is very pleasing. So far, everything is very satisfactory. Words cannot express our gratitude: in practice, everyone who collaborates will understand the best side they show.

We continue our cooperation with "Emperor" because Direct cannot be left unattended. And we are very happy to take on new clients for the advertising direction, some of whom we will tell you about in future materials.

Best regards,

Elvira, marketer at FoodSoul