Ecommerce Google Ads that start with your margin.
- Not
“record-breaking revenue”. - Not
“scaling your store”. - Not
“an 800% ROAS”, until someone's checked the margin.
Revenue is the number that goes in the screenshot. I care about what's left once you've paid for the stock and paid Google. That's the bit you actually get to keep.
An 8 ROAS can make you less money than a 4.
Ecommerce PPC gets judged on one number. ROAS: revenue divided by ad spend.
Big number, good. Small number, someone's getting a phone call.
Say you sell at a 50% margin, and run the sum properly.
The “worse” campaign made £7,000 more.
Because ROAS is revenue divided by ad spend, and nowhere in that sum is what the stock cost you.
Now run the same 4 ROAS on a 25% margin. £40,000 of revenue. £10,000 of gross profit. £10,000 to Google.
That's £40,000 of orders picked, packed and posted for sod all.
So when someone tells me their ROAS, I've only got one question. On what margin?
On a 50% margin, 2 ROAS is standing still.
Spend £1,000 on a 50% margin and you need £2,000 of sales just to get the £1,000 back.
That's break-even. Before the packaging, the postage, the returns, the Shopify bill and whatever you were planning to pay yourself.
Break-even ROAS is 1 divided by your margin.
- On a 70% margin, it's about 1.4.
- On 25%, it's 4.
- On 10%, it's 10, and I'd be having a word with your supplier before I touched your Google Ads.
If your margins mean Google Ads can't make you money, I'll tell you on the first call. I'm not taking a fee to prove it slowly.
And if products on different margins are all sharing one budget and one ROAS target, that's one of the five problems I find in nearly every account. One blended ROAS can look fine while part of the shop loses money on every order.
Below that line, you're not advertising. You're paying Google to take your orders.
A 20 ROAS brand campaign is defence, not growth.
It's the easiest number in the account to be proud of. It's also people typing your shop's name into Google.
They already know who you are. You're paying to make sure they end up on your site rather than with whoever's bidding on your name. Worth doing. Not worth a round of applause.
20ROAS
Brand campaign
People who already know you, searching for you.
Defence3.5ROAS
A new territory, on a 70% margin
People who'd never heard of you, buying from you.
GrowthEvery £1,000 on that second campaign brings in £3,500. That's £2,450 of gross profit, and £1,450 left once Google's had its share. From customers who didn't know you existed last month.
And the 3.5 only counts the first order. When they come back for a second, it usually comes through your emails or straight to your site, and the ad doesn't get the credit.
Measurable isn't the same as valuable.
One campaign protects the shop. The other one grows it. Guess which gets switched off first for having a “poor ROAS”.
People who let me near their account
Chris has an exceptionally well-rounded understanding of all things digital marketing and eCommerce. Even better than that, he's got the 'commercial hat' to go with it. Always worth a chat, and if you're lucky, he might even buy the first drink.
Phill LumleyCommercial Director, Finnmark SaunaChris is our secret weapon. ALWAYS working away in the background ensuring we are optimised for maximum profits and minimum head scratching. Money well spent!
Tamsin AnsdellSales and Marketing Director, Eribe KnitwearThings shop owners ask before they hand over the account.
How much does ecommerce Google Ads management cost?
Your ad spend doesn't set the fee. How complicated the account is does.
One range of clothes, all on the same margin, running on three campaigns? Simple. Sixteen campaigns, a different margin on everything and changes every week? More work, so it costs more.
Show me the account and I'll tell you which one you are.
What ROAS should I be aiming for?
Above your break-even, which is 1 divided by your margin. On a 40% margin, that's 2.5.
And higher isn't automatically better. A lower ROAS on more spend can leave you with more money, which is the whole point of this page.
Do you do Google Shopping as well as search?
Yes. It's Google Ads only, and that means search and Shopping. Google Shopping has its own page.
Is there a contract?
No fixed term. It's 30 days at a time. Give it a month, and if you want out, you're more than welcome.
Do I keep my account if we stop working together?
Yes. It's yours.
You give me access through my manager account, and when we part ways you remove my access and keep everything in it: the campaigns, the history, the lot.
Can you just look at it first?
Yes. That's the free Google Ads audit: 20 minutes on a screen share. Bring your margins if you know them. If you don't, that's the first thing I'll ask.
Show me the account.
- You show me your Google Ads.
- I tell you where the problems are.
- You decide whether I should fix it.
If it's fine, I'll say so, and you can go back to ignoring it.