Case study
From 0.70 to 2.91 ROAS in six months, on 48% less spend
How a national online specialist retailer went from losing money on Google Ads to a profitable account, by fixing tracking first and spending smarter, not bigger.
In plain EnglishBefore, every R1 spent on ads brought back 70c. After, it brought back R2.91, and the monthly bill halved. The biggest fix was tracking that had been counting page views as sales.
Client anonymised
The client
A boutique specialist retailer that had recently moved online with a national delivery footprint. It was competing with Takealot, Woolworths, Makro and established specialist chains, all with far bigger advertising budgets.
It needed a leaner Google Ads strategy that would drive profitable revenue without inflating spend.
The challenge
The team had been running Google Ads in-house with limited success. When I looked under the hood, I found:
- Broken conversion tracking. Page views were being counted as sales, so Google was optimising towards the wrong thing.
- A cluttered campaign structure that spread a small budget too thin.
- No clear KPI targets or benchmarks.
- Free listings switched off in Google Merchant Center.
- Compliance issues blocking some ads from showing.
What I did
1. Audit and diagnosis
A full conversion tracking audit came first. Without accurate data, every optimisation is a guess. I rebuilt tracking from scratch so every purchase was counted once, correctly.
2. Foundations
I cleaned up the Merchant Center product feed, fixed product errors, switched on free listings for extra visibility at no media cost, and sorted out the website compliance issues.
3. Strategic rebuild
With real data in place, I rebuilt the account around product margins, location performance and best sellers, so money went where it earned most.
4. Ongoing optimisation
Weekly budget and bid pacing, negative keyword expansion to cut wasted clicks, and close monitoring of product disapprovals and feed accuracy.
The results
| Before | After (Apr to Sep 2025) | |
|---|---|---|
| Ad spend | R38 000 | R19 843 |
| Sales value | R26 763 | R57 668 |
| ROAS | 0.70 | 2.91 |
A 2.2x improvement in return on ad spend, while spending 48% less.
What ROAS meansReturn on ad spend: how much revenue each R1 of advertising brings back. 0.70 means losing 30c on every rand. 2.91 means getting back R2.91.
The takeaway
This wasn’t won with a bigger budget. It came from sharper tracking, a simpler structure and consistent weekly attention. Most accounts I audit have at least one of the same problems.
Let’s talk
Start with a free discovery call
Thirty minutes, no charge. We look at what is working, what is not, and whether Google Ads is right for you. If I can help, a proposal follows. If I can’t, I’ll tell you.
2 retainer slots open: 20 hours a month each
You’ll speak to me, not a sales rep. And I’m the one who works on your account.