Note: This client was through our strategic partnership programme, and has been anonymised to respect their privacy.

This client operates in the homeware space, offering a wide range of furniture and accessories. Their paid search account was already well structured and performing reliably, with no major issues or red flags. They were satisfied with the existing return on ad spend, but wanted to take things further — particularly by increasing sales of their higher-priced, higher-margin products; mainly larger furniture pieces.

At the time of onboarding, the account was using a Maximise Conversions bidding strategy — which tends to favour products with higher conversion rates. This meant ad spend was disproportionately weighted toward lower-cost items that were easier to sell, but brought in less revenue per sale.

To change this, we restructured the account by segmenting the product feed by category, and switched to a Maximise Conversion Value strategy. This allowed us to set more tailored targets across product segments, ensuring budget was prioritised where margins were stronger and revenue potential higher.

Feed optimisation became a regular part of the process, with new product data routinely reviewed to meet best practice standards. This included checking for missing attributes, ensuring eligibility, and highlighting products with performance potential.

A key part of the strategy was identifying and addressing underperforming products — what we called “zombie” items. These were products that had received little to no traction in the past 60 days. We implemented a custom label to flag these automatically, routing them into a lower-priority campaign with broader targeting. This ensured they still had visibility, giving them the chance to prove performance and keeping product rotation aligned with shifting trends.

As expected, shifting focus toward higher-ticket products brought changes in performance metrics. The average cost-per-click rose by 22%, as competition was naturally higher for the higher priced products. Conversion rate dipped by 14%, reflecting the longer decision-making process typical of these types of purchases.

However, these changes were more than offset by a 54% increase in average order value — driving a 64% uplift in overall revenue. Importantly, ROAS remained stable, meaning the additional spend was justified by higher returns.

The revised strategy allowed us to focus on revenue, not just volume. By understanding how different products contribute to profit, we could guide spend more effectively — delivering sustainable growth while keeping performance measurable and controlled. It unlocked growth across under-represented categories, helping to surface more of the client’s product range in a competitive market.

• Switched bidding strategy from volume-based to value-focused to prioritise revenue

• Segmented the product feed by category to allow margin-based targeting

• Carried out ongoing shopping feed optimisation for stronger product visibility

• Introduced a system to detect and revive underperforming “zombie” products

• Balanced higher CPCs and lower conversion rates with stronger average order values

• Maintained stable ROAS while significantly increasing total revenue

• Focused account strategy around profitability, not just lead volume