Ecommerce Sustainability Practices
Google Ads for Ecommerce
Campaign types: Google Shopping (product listings with images, prices—highest intent), Search (text ads on search results), Display (banner ads across websites), YouTube (video ads), Performance Max (automated across all Google properties). Start with Shopping and Search—highest ROI for ecommerce.
Google Shopping setup: Create Google Merchant Center account, upload product feed (product data including title, description, price, image, availability), link to Google Ads, create Shopping campaign. Product feed quality directly impacts ad performance—optimize titles and descriptions with keywords.
Shopping campaign structure: Segment by product category or margin. High-margin products can afford higher bids. Separate brand vs non-brand campaigns (brand searches convert higher). Use negative keywords to exclude irrelevant searches. Start with Target ROAS or Maximize Conversion Value bidding.
Search campaign best practices: Target buyer-intent keywords (“buy [product]”, “[product] online”, “best [product]”). Use exact and phrase match (avoid broad match initially). Write compelling ad copy highlighting unique value, promotions, free shipping. Include price in ads to pre-qualify clicks. Use all ad extensions (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets).
Facebook/Instagram Ads
Campaign structure: Awareness (reach, brand awareness objectives), Consideration (traffic, engagement), Conversion (purchases, add to cart). Most ecommerce focuses on Conversion campaigns. Use Advantage+ Shopping campaigns for automated optimization.
Audience targeting: Start with retargeting (website visitors 30-180 days, email subscribers, past purchasers). Then lookalike audiences (1-3% of existing customers). Then interest-based prospecting (target interests related to products). Layer demographics as needed.
Ad formats: Single image, video, carousel (multiple products), collection (immersive mobile experience), dynamic product ads (automatically show viewed products). Video consistently outperforms static images. Test multiple formats to find winners.
Creative testing: Test 3-5 ad variations per ad set. Variables: Hook (first 3 seconds of video, headline), visual style (lifestyle vs product shot), offer (discount vs free shipping), copy length (short vs long). Let winning ads run, pause losers quickly. Refresh creative every 2-4 weeks.
Campaign Management
Budget allocation: Start small ($20-50/day per campaign), scale winners. Allocate based on performance—shift budget from underperforming to overperforming campaigns weekly. Reserve 20-30% budget for testing new audiences and creative.
Key metrics: ROAS (return on ad spend)—revenue ÷ ad spend. Target minimum 3:1 for profitability after other costs. CPA (cost per acquisition)—ad spend ÷ purchases. CTR (click-through rate)—clicks ÷ impressions. CPM (cost per thousand impressions). Track daily, optimize weekly.
Optimization process: Daily: Check for anomalies, pause broken ads. Weekly: Adjust bids, reallocate budget, pause underperformers. Bi-weekly: Test new audiences and creative. Monthly: Review overall strategy, analyze trends, plan next month.
Retargeting Strategies
Retargeting tiers: Tier 1 (hottest): Cart abandoners (last 7 days)—highest bids. Tier 2: Product viewers (7-30 days)—medium bids. Tier 3: Site visitors (30-90 days)—lower bids. Tier 4: Past purchasers (cross-sell/upsell)—varies. Tailor messaging to each tier.
Dynamic product ads: Automatically show users the specific products they viewed. Requires product catalog and pixel implementation. Highest performing retargeting format. Works on both Facebook and Google. Essential for any ecommerce advertiser.
Measuring PPC Performance
Attribution considerations: Last-click attribution misses touchpoints. Facebook and Google both claim credit. Use platform reporting for optimization, but Google Analytics for overall performance. Consider 7-day click, 1-day view attribution window.
Profitability calculation: Revenue from ads – ad spend – COGS – shipping – payment processing = profit from ads. Example: $10,000 revenue, $3,000 ad spend, $4,000 COGS, $800 shipping, $300 processing = $1,900 profit. True ROAS accounting for all costs: 1.63:1. Factor in customer lifetime value for full picture.