PPC Case Study: Promoting an Online Cosmetics Store with Google Ads
Online store for exclusive professional Spanish cosmetics in Ukraine
– Get a steady stream of purchases from Google Ads and achieve ROAS of 700%+
March, 2024 - present
Ukraine
Initial data
The client is the official distributor of premium Spanish cosmetics in Ukraine. The company’s products are known worldwide for their innovative solutions and natural ingredients. The product range includes a comprehensive selection of cosmetic products for home and professional skin care, including lines for deep hydration, rejuvenation, and recovery. The products are based on advanced technologies and suitable for all skin types. The online store offers both individual products and gift sets of cosmetics.
Challenges
The team encountered numerous challenges when working with this brand. Significant improvements were required to the website structure and Google advertising campaigns. Furthermore, the lack of an e-commerce setup meant that there were no previous purchase statistics, which further complicated matters. We also spent a lot of time creating a recommendation document that explained to the client and developers what changes needed to be made to the site to achieve the desired results.
The existing campaign structure was suboptimal, making it challenging to optimize it and improve performance. The right campaign structure helps to direct advertising efforts in the right direction and simplifies further optimization to achieve high results.
The audit of advertising campaigns identified the following issues with the settings:
– Goals were not set up in Google Analytics 4 or e-commerce. This made it challenging to gain a comprehensive understanding of the project’s revenue and profitability over its entire operational period.
– The advertising account had search campaigns with Google Display Network (GDN) impressions enabled. It is recommended that you run a separate campaign for more efficient management, as Display Network impressions in search campaigns typically consume budget and do not deliver results. This is especially true in e-commerce, where the focus should be on shopping campaigns.
– The key phrases used a broad type of match without a clear list of negative words, which resulted in a significant expenditure on untargeted requests. Additionally, the key phrases required refinement to ensure greater precision. For instance, the keyword “cream” was utilized in a rather generic manner.
– Items in the ads that increase the credibility of the site and provide more useful information before the click were not finalized: business name, logo, clarification, and structured description. The added images did not meet Google Ads quality standards and needed to be adjusted.
– The Performance Max campaign required a complete relaunch because it included not only products from the feed, but also general automated ads created by the system based on the added objects. Last month, the campaign received 1,266 clicks, of which only 117 were on feed products, while the rest came from automated ads. Furthermore, in Performance Max campaigns, the objects were not grouped correctly, which resulted in advertisements where the photo did not align with the product name or description.
The audit revealed that all campaigns required a comprehensive relaunch from the ground up. The pre-configured database was unable to facilitate the desired outcome for the client.
Team actions
Based on the review of previous campaigns, the following actions were taken:
Audience segmentation
Segmentation is a key element for proper budget allocation and increasing the effectiveness of advertising. For our project, the audience was segmented into the following categories:
– Interests: Targeting an audience interested in cosmetics and skin care. These are users who are looking for anti-aging products or trendy cosmetics, such as glowing skin.
– Purchase intention: We targeted users who were already actively searching for products similar to ours, using keywords with high purchase intent.
– Remarketing: We added a segment of website visitors to the Performance Max audience by offering them products they have already viewed.
Maximize the use of ad extensions
Ad extensions provide the opportunity to enhance your ads with additional information, which can notably boost your click-through rate (CTR). We utilize the following types of extensions:
– Callout extension: Short keywords that highlight unique offers, such as free shipping and a gift with every order.
– Price extensions: To increase user conversion, it is important to show real prices.
– Business name and logo: Displaying a company’s name and logo in ads helps build brand awareness. Users are more likely to remember and trust a brand when they see familiar visuals.
Keyword optimization
When setting up Google Ads for a cosmetics brand, we employed keywords with high purchase intent, including “buy”, “order”, and “order online.” This strategy allowed us to target users who were ready to make a purchase, while also using long-tail keywords for specific products that had less competition but were highly relevant.
Optimization of landing pages
Landing pages play a key role in conversion. Ads and keywords should match the content on the page. To improve efficiency, we have taken the following steps:
– Adapted the website for mobile devices, as there were problems viewing it on smartphones. As you know, 80% of purchases are now made on mobile devices.
– Added customer reviews of products and information about the ingredients used in the products.
– Created a separate page for promotional kits to increase the average purchase check.
Betting strategy
An effective bidding strategy can have a significant impact on campaign profitability. Our approach is to first drive traffic using the Maximum Clicks strategy in search campaigns, and then move on to conversions. In Google Shopping and Performance Max, we begin with an unlimited ROAS strategy. After two to three weeks of data collection, we set a target ROAS, adjusting it to maintain traffic levels. If the results and traffic remain stable, we will gradually increase the ROAS threshold.
Google Shopping and product feed optimization
Google Shopping is an important tool for promoting cosmetic products. To be successful, you need to optimize your product feed:
– Use only high-quality images of products from different angles.
– The name should contain keywords: brand, product type, volume or main ingredient. For example: “L’Oréal Paris Hydrating Face Cream 50ml with Hyaluronic Acid”. This will help Google better understand your product and show it to a relevant audience. Recommended format: [Brand] + [Product Name] + [Feature] + [Volume].
– Specify the correct product categories via Google Product Category. For example, for cosmetics, it could be “Health & Beauty > Personal Care > Cosmetics”. Proper categorization improves relevance and impressions.
– Add all possible attributes: color, size, purpose. For example, “color” for a lipstick and “skin type” for a cream.
Google Shopping and product feed optimization
Performance Max campaigns enable advertisers to reach users across multiple Google platforms by optimizing ad impressions based on historical data and audience signals. For beauty brands, this is an effective way to promote the best products across multiple channels, through both product feeds and banners. We employ both approaches to ensure maximum reach.
Results
As a result of the measures taken, in just 3 months of stable operation of the new advertising campaigns we managed to achieve ROAS of 900% and generate revenues of UAH 706,000 per month.
Summary
To successfully promote a branded online beauty store, it is essential to adopt a comprehensive strategy that encompasses several key elements. These include optimising site pages, accurately segmenting the target audience, setting up product feeds for sales campaigns and monitoring conversions. An important component is setting up goals and e-commerce in Google Analytics 4 for accurate return on advertising spend (ROAS) analysis. Without clear analytics, it is impossible to evaluate the success of campaigns. Proper setup and ongoing optimization of Google Ads will allow you to achieve high results and maximize the return on your advertising investment.
We at Regis Team would be happy to demonstrate similar or better results for your business. Contact us and we will help you set up effective advertising campaigns that will increase your sales and brand awareness.
