Google ads for e-commerce brands, judged on profit
Search, Shopping, Performance Max and YouTube, bid by product margin.
Who it is for: E-commerce brands with searchable demand or a product catalogue.
Google ads: the formats we run
Each one used where it earns.
Search
These ads show for what people type, from your brand name to category terms.
Shopping
Product ads with image and price, built from your Merchant Center feed.
Performance Max
This is Google's automated campaign across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display and Gmail.
Demand Gen and YouTube
These video and image ads create demand before people search.
How we set up Google ads
Step by step, in the order we do it.
- 1Conversions that match Shopify
We set up Google Ads conversions with enhanced conversions, then check that Google Ads, GA4 and Shopify count roughly the same orders.
- 2A clean Merchant Center feed
We fix feed errors and disapprovals, rewrite product titles with the words people search, and add custom labels for margin and bestsellers.
- 3Brand kept apart
Brand search runs in its own campaign, so it cannot hide weak results elsewhere. Performance Max gets brand exclusions, so it does not claim sales from people already searching your name.
- 4Search built on real queries
Category and product terms run on exact and phrase match. We read the search terms report every week and add negative keywords for searches that do not buy.
- 5Shopping split by margin
Shopping and Performance Max campaigns are split by margin label, so high-margin products are not starved by cheap bestsellers.
- 6YouTube and Demand Gen later
Once search and shopping are profitable, we add YouTube and Demand Gen to create demand rather than only catch it.
What you get each month
- Search terms reviewed and negative keywords added every week
- Feed fixes and new product labels
- A report by campaign type with ROAS and margin
- A monthly plan covering budget, new campaigns and tests
What we need from you
- Admin access to Google Ads, Merchant Center and GA4
- Shopify access to install tags, or a developer who can
- Product cost or margin by product
- A list of products not to push, such as low stock or clearance
Facts we plan Google ads around
Checked in October 2026, with the source for each.
Brand exclusions in Performance Max
Performance Max lets you exclude your own brand terms, so it does not take credit for people already searching your name.
Source: Google Ads Help
Enhanced conversions
Enhanced conversions send hashed first-party data, such as the buyer's email, to recover conversions that cookies miss.
Source: Google Ads Help
What we do every week
Run by a senior marketer with five accounts at most.
- Merchant Center feed fixed: titles, attributes, images
- Campaigns split by product margin
- Brand and non-brand reported separately
- Search terms reviewed weekly
- Enhanced conversions and GA4 set up
Where brands lose money with Google ads
Brand search inflates ROAS
Most Google ROAS comes from people already searching your name. Without splitting it out, growth looks bigger than it is.
Weak product feed
Shopping and Performance Max are only as good as the feed. Missing attributes mean missed searches.
One budget for every product
Low-margin products eat budget that high-margin products could use better.
What you will see in every weekly report
You see ROAS and contribution margin side by side, every week.
In every weekly report
- ROAS
- Contribution margin after ads
- Cost per order
- Impression share
- Brand vs non-brand
- What changed, what is next, and what didn't work
Custom reports, built for how you make money
- Margin by product and size
- ROAS by city and dark store
- Repeat orders by cohort
- RTO by pin code and payment method
- Marketplace vs website profit
Weekly
Report and call
ROAS and margin by channel, what changed, what is next.
Monthly
Report and call
It compares results against your targets and sets next month's roadmap.
Quarterly
Projections and plan
Realistic numbers from your own data, checked against what actually happened.
The first 90 days
How Google ads usually starts, from the free audit to the first quarterly plan.
Week 1
Audit, tracking fixed, break-even ROAS per product
Weeks 2 to 4
Campaigns and creatives live, losers cut weekly
Month 2
Scale every campaign above break-even
Month 3
Review against written targets, next-quarter plan
How we run your account
The same operating rhythm on every account, from the first week.
A senior marketer
Owns your account and your targets, with five ad accounts at most.
Weekly report and call
ROAS next to contribution margin, what changed and what happens next.
Live dashboard
Every channel in one view, so you never wait for the weekly call.
Monthly review
Results against the targets agreed in writing, and next month's plan.
Quarterly plan
Projections built from your own numbers, checked against what happened.
Slack or WhatsApp
Day-to-day questions answered by the person who runs your account.
Agency vs in-house vs Mobile First, for Google ads
| Typical agency | In-house team | Your growth teamMobile First | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget decisions | At the monthly review, on platform ROAS | When someone gets time to check | Every week, on margin after returns and RTO |
| Search terms | Reviewed when results drop | Rarely reviewed | Read every week, with negative keywords added |
| Tracking | Google tag installed at onboarding | Set up once by a freelancer | Enhanced conversions and GA4, checked against your store's orders |
| Who runs it | A junior across 15 or more accounts | One person across every channel | A senior marketer with five accounts at most |
Industries where we run Google ads
Each industry page covers the season, channels and checks for that category.
IndustryFashion and apparelApparel RTO averages 25 to 40%; ethnic wear runs 30 to 45%.IndustryJewelleryJewellery has one of the lowest RTO rates, 4 to 12%, so trust and photography decide conversion.IndustryFootwearSize problems drive over 60% of footwear returns.IndustryEyewearPrescription glasses are about 73% of eyewear sales by value, so the lens and power step decides online sales.IndustryHealth and wellnessSupplement RTO is 6 to 14%, usually flavour or claims mismatch.IndustryHome and kitchenHome furnishing RTO is 10 to 25%, driven by transit damage and size fit.
Also under performance marketing
Google ads: questions brands ask
Is Performance Max good for D2C brands?
It can be, if the product feed is clean and conversion tracking is accurate. On its own it tends to lean on brand searches and retargeting. We split brand from non-brand, group products by margin and compare it against Shopping so you can see where new customers actually come from.
How do Google Shopping ads work?
Shopping ads show your product image, price and store name when someone searches for a product. Google builds them from your Merchant Center feed, so the quality of titles, images and attributes decides how often you appear. Fixing the feed is usually the first win.
Should we bid on our own brand name?
Usually yes, but report it separately. Brand search is cheap and protects you from competitors bidding on your name. It should not be counted as growth, because most of those people were already looking for you.
How long do Google ads take to perform?
Search and Shopping can show results within two to three weeks. Performance Max needs about four to six weeks of data to settle. We judge it on profit after that learning period, not on the first week.
Which Google campaigns do you run?
We run Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Demand Gen and YouTube campaigns.
Do you fix our Merchant Center feed?
Yes. Feed titles, images and attributes decide how often your Shopping ads appear, so we fix them first.
Do you run YouTube ads?
Yes, through Demand Gen and video campaigns, scored on sales as well as reach.
How do you stop wasted spend on search?
We review search terms every week, add negative keywords and move budget to terms that bring profitable orders.
Is there a minimum budget?
No. We set the budget from your break-even ROAS after the audit.
How do you report brand search?
We report it separately, because most people searching your brand name were already looking for you.
60 seconds
Are we a great fit?
Five questions, no email needed. You get an honest answer on screen.
Great fit
Your answers match the brands we help most.
Book 30 minutes and we will read your accounts before the call.
Book a callGood fit
A 30-minute call will show where your profit is leaking.
You keep the findings either way.
Book a callNot yet
A full team may be more than you need right now.
Our free tools will show you where your money goes today. When you cross ₹5 lakh a month, come back and we will read your accounts. If you would like advice before then, we are happy to talk.
Talk to us about Google ads
Tell us about your brand. We read your accounts before the call, so it is about your numbers.
- Free growth audit, yours to keep
- ROAS and profit read for every channel
- WhatsApp reply within one working day