Google Ads ROAS up 178% while daily spend grew 650% in 30 days
A water filter brand came to us with Google Ads losing money. Sending paid traffic straight to the product page was not commercially viable, so we rebuilt acquisition around intent, relevance and a stronger offer, then scaled once the economics worked.
Every figure below is purchase conversion value reported straight from the Google Ads account, expressed as growth against the opening week.
At a Glance
The starting point
In the opening eight days the account returned less in purchase value than it spent. The problem was not simply budget. Standard Search traffic was going straight to the product page on manual CPC, but weak Quality Scores, high CPCs and a low conversion rate meant the economics did not work. Putting more money through the same funnel would only have scaled the loss.
The product page conversion rate could not support the cost of standard Search traffic.
Weak Quality Scores and high CPCs made manual bidding difficult to scale.
The product had little conversion history for Google to work from, so the campaign was effectively running blind.
Positioning, offer competitiveness and the product page all needed attention before paid media could carry them.
What we did
We did not try to force more spend through the same funnel. We changed where Google was getting its signals, how Search traffic was handled, and the proposition people saw after the click.
Refined Performance Max with stronger audience signals
With almost no useful learning data, we added relevant audience signals to give Performance Max a more informed starting point instead of leaving the campaign to guess.
Stopped forcing the obvious direct-to-PDP route
Standard manual-CPC Search to the product page did not work efficiently enough. Low Quality Scores, expensive clicks and a low conversion rate meant scaling that structure would simply scale the loss.
Built an independent advertorial Search funnel
We launched a separate-domain advertorial experience designed around the questions people were actually searching, rather than asking every click to buy immediately from the product page.
Matched the landing experience to high-intent searches
Comparison, “best” and bottom-of-funnel terms were routed into a more relevant pre-sell journey. The aim was to improve ad-to-page relevance, create a better buying context and take the CPC and conversion-rate pressure off the account.
Strengthened the offer, positioning and product page
We pushed for a more competitive offer, refined the brand positioning and audited the product page for conversion so paid media was not being asked to compensate for weaknesses further down the funnel.
Scaled only after the economics improved
Once the new Search path was producing profitable traffic and Performance Max was improving, spend was allowed to rise. Average daily spend grew 650% between the opening week and the final week, and ROAS rose 178% over the same period.
Fix the economics first. Then scale what proves itself.
The numbers
Purchase conversion value against spend, from the Google Ads account, with every period indexed to the opening week. The trend matters more than any single day: efficiency improved as spend increased.
| Period (2026) | Avg daily spend | Avg daily purchase value | ROAS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–8 AugOpening week, eight days | Baseline | Baseline | Loss-making |
| 24 Aug–6 SepFinal fortnight | +525% | +1,490% | +154% |
| 31 Aug–6 SepFinal week | +650% | +1,990% | +178% |
Growth figures compare each period’s daily average with the opening eight days. The opening week returned less in purchase value than it spent.
By the final week the account was no longer being carried by branded demand. Brand Search took 21% of spend and non-brand campaigns took the other 79%, and those non-brand campaigns produced two thirds of the purchase value.
Share of final-week purchase value, from 46% of spend
Share of final-week purchase value, from 33% of spend
Share of final-week purchase value, from 21% of spend
We did not rescue the account by cutting spend. We rebuilt the acquisition path, improved relevance and strengthened the offer, then scaled once the economics worked.
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