Google Ads for Ecommerce Australia: Shopping, Search & Retargeting Combined

Google Ads for ecommerce is different from every other industry because customers don’t want information—they want the product, with a photo and a price.

That’s why ecommerce is the one industry where Google Shopping (product ads) is often more effective than text ads. People searching “running shoes under $150” don’t want an article about shoes. They want to see products with prices, review ratings, and a “Buy Now” button.

In this guide, we’ll cover the full ecommerce Google Ads stack: Google Shopping campaigns (the most important), Search ads (supplementary), dynamic remarketing (the ROI king), Performance Max (emerging), and realistic benchmarks for Australian ecommerce stores.

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The Ecommerce Google Ads Stack

Successful ecommerce doesn’t run one campaign—it runs three in tandem:

1. Google Shopping (40–50% of budget)

• Shows product images, prices, reviews
• Highest conversion rate
• Best for product discovery and purchase intent

1. Search Ads (30–40% of budget)

• Branded keywords (your own brand)
• Category keywords (product type)
• Comparison keywords (vs competitors)
• Supports Shopping but reaches different intent stages

1. Remarketing / Dynamic Ads (10–20% of budget)

• Reaches people who viewed products but didn’t buy
• Shows exact product they viewed
• Highest ROAS (often 5–15x)

Run all three together. Each feeds into the others.

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Google Shopping: The Ecommerce Hero

Google Shopping is where most ecommerce conversions happen. It works by:

1. You upload a product feed (Merchant Center)
2. Google displays product images, prices, reviews in Search results
3. Customers click → go directly to product page
4. Click-to-purchase is immediate (high conversion rate)

Setting Up Google Shopping

Step 1: Google Merchant Center Setup

1. Go to Google Merchant Center (merchantcenter.google.com)
2. Create account and add your website
3. Verify ownership (HTML tag on website)
4. Link to Google Ads account

Step 2: Upload Product Feed

Your product feed = list of all products with:

• Product ID
• Title
• Description
• Price
• Image URL
• Link to product page
• Availability (in stock/out of stock)
• Category
• Brand

Options to provide feed:

• Direct upload (CSV or XML file)
• Google Sheets
• Integration (if using Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, most have built-in integration)

Step 3: Create Google Shopping Campaign

1. In Google Ads, create new Shopping campaign
2. Link to your Merchant Center feed
3. Set budget and bid strategy (usually Maximize conversions or Target ROAS)
4. Set location (Australia or specific states)
5. Go live

Shopping Campaign Structure

Option 1: Single Shopping Campaign (Simpler)

• One campaign, all products
• Works if you have <500 SKUs

Option 2: Multiple Campaigns (Better for scaling)

• Campaign 1: High-margin products (bid aggressively)
• Campaign 2: Popular/high-volume products
• Campaign 3: Slow-moving inventory (low/no bid)
• Lets you control spending by product profitability

Shopping Ad Copy & Optimization

Your Shopping ads auto-generate based on your product feed. Optimisation happens in the feed:

Product title best practices:

• Include key keyword + product type + key attribute
• Example: “Nike Air Max Running Shoes — Blue — Size 10”
• Bad: “Shoe” (too vague)

Product image:

• High quality (clear product photo, light background)
• Dimensions: Square (typically 600x600px or larger)
• Shows product in context (on model or white background)

Price:

• Current, accurate price in AUD
• Include shipping in “price” field or handle separately
• If discount, show original + sale price

Reviews:

• Google pulls from Google Customer Reviews automatically
• Higher ratings (4.0+) improve CTR by 15–20%

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Shopping Campaign Benchmarks (Australian Ecommerce)

Metric	Low Performer	Average	High Performer
ROAS	1.5–2x	3–4x	6–10x
Conversion Rate	0.5–1%	1–2%	2–4%
CPC	$0.80–$2.00	$0.50–$1.50	$0.30–$1.00
ACoS (Ad Cost / Sales)	50–60%	25–35%	15–25%

ACoS = Ad Cost / Sales

• Example: $1,000 ad spend, $3,000 sales = 33% ACoS
• ACoS target: <35% (means every dollar of ad spend generates $2.85 in revenue)

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Google Search Ads: Supplementary to Shopping

While Shopping is your hero, Search ads serve different parts of the journey:

Brand Search (Your Own Brand)

Keywords:

• “[Your brand name]”
• “[Your brand] + [product type]”
• “[Your brand] discount” or “coupon”

Why: People already know you. Shopping is competition. Brand Search ads capture direct intent.

Bid strategy: Aggressive (brand defense + high conversion rate)

Expected ROAS: 8–15x (branded traffic converts best)

CPC: $0.20–$0.80 (usually cheap because high Quality Score)

Category Search (Product Types)

Keywords:

• “Best [product type]”
• “[Product type] Australia”
• “[Product type] under $[price]”
• “[Attribute] [product type]” (e.g., “waterproof running shoes”)

Why: People shopping for product type, not knowing your brand yet.

Bid strategy: Moderate (lower conversion rate than brand, but wider reach)

Expected ROAS: 2–4x

CPC: $0.50–$2.00

Competitor Search (Competitive Keywords)

Keywords:

• “[Competitor brand] alternative”
• “[Competitor] cheaper”
• “[Competitor] + comparison”

Why: Intercept people comparing your competitors.

Bid strategy: Moderate to aggressive (high intent, lower volume)

Expected ROAS: 3–6x

CPC: $0.80–$2.50

Search Campaign Structure

Create separate campaigns:

• Campaign 1: Brand (100% budget allocated, bid high)
• Campaign 2: Category (60% budget, bid moderate)
• Campaign 3: Competitor (25% budget, bid moderate)
• Campaign 4: Awareness (15% budget, bid low — long-tail keywords, brand awareness)

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Dynamic Remarketing: The ROAS King

Dynamic Remarketing shows the exact product a person viewed to them later.

Example: Someone views your $199 Nike shoes but leaves without buying. Two days later, they see an ad showing… those exact Nike shoes with the price and a “Buy Now” button. CTR 2–5x higher than static ads. Conversion rate 5–10x higher.

Setting Up Dynamic Remarketing

Step 1: Create Dynamic Remarketing Audience

1. In Google Ads, go to Audiences > Audience sources > Website visitors
2. Create audience: “All product viewers — 30 days”
3. Add your Google Ads conversion pixel to your site

Step 2: Create Dynamic Remarketing Campaign

1. Create new Display campaign (or Search campaign, both work)
2. Add your dynamic remarketing audience
3. Link your product feed (Merchant Center)
4. Set bid adjustment (+30–50% for this audience)

Step 3: Google Automatically Creates Ads

Google pulls product images, prices, and descriptions from your feed and creates ads automatically. You don’t write any copy.

Dynamic Remarketing Benchmarks

Metric	Performance
CTR	3–8% (vs 0.5–1% for non-remarketing)
Conversion Rate	5–15% (vs 1–2% for non-remarketing)
ROAS	5–15x (vs 3–4x for Shopping)
CPC	$0.30–$0.80 (lower than cold traffic)

Dynamic remarketing often delivers the highest ROAS in the entire PPC account. Prioritise this.

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Performance Max: Emerging Ecommerce Channel

Performance Max (PMax) is Google’s AI-driven campaign type that runs across Search, Display, Shopping, YouTube, and Gmail automatically.

How It Works

1. You provide product feed + audience + conversion goals
2. Google’s AI runs your ads everywhere
3. Algorithm learns which placements convert best
4. You see results but not granular placement data

When to Use PMax

Use if: You have 50+ conversions per week (algorithm needs data to learn)

Don’t use if: You have <50 conversions per week (insufficient data)

PMax Best Practices

• Let it run for 30 days before judging (algorithm learning phase)
• Set realistic ROAS targets (start at 4x, adjust based on results)
• Don’t over-manage (Google’s algorithm works better with less intervention)
• Provide multiple images/videos for creative variety

PMax for Ecommerce

Many Australian ecommerce stores see solid results with PMax:

• ROAS: 3–6x (good, but not better than optimised Shopping + Search combo)
• Volume: High (reaches everywhere, generates lots of conversions)
• Learning curve: Steep (you need conversion tracking and 50+ weekly conversions to start)

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Ecommerce Conversion Tracking

This is where most ecommerce fails. Without proper tracking, you’re optimising blind.

What to Track

1. Product view (micro-conversion: someone looked at a product)
2. Add to cart (intent signal: considering purchase)
3. Purchase (macro-conversion: the goal)

Setup (Google Analytics 4 + Google Ads)

In GA4:

1. Go to Admin > Events > Create event
2. Create events: “view_item”, “add_to_cart”, “purchase”
3. Most ecommerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce) auto-track these

In Google Ads:

1. Go to Tools > Conversions
2. Import conversion: “purchase” from GA4
3. Set conversion value to transaction value (dollar amount)
4. Set conversion window to 30 days (typical ecommerce purchase window)

Link GA4 to Google Ads:

1. In GA4 Admin > Linked Accounts > Google Ads
2. Link your Google Ads account
3. Enable auto-tagging in Google Ads

Conversion Tracking Test

1. Browse your store (add product to cart)
2. Make a purchase
3. Check GA4 > Real-time > Events for “purchase” event with correct value
4. Check Google Ads > Conversions shows the purchase within 24 hours

If not firing, tracking is broken. Fix before scaling budget.

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Ecommerce ROAS Benchmarks by Category

Product Category	Typical ROAS	Margin	ACoS Target
Fashion	3–5x	40–50%	20–30%
Electronics	2–3x	20–30%	30–40%
Home & Garden	4–6x	50–60%	15–25%
Beauty	5–8x	60–70%	12–20%
Supplements	3–4x	40–50%	20–25%
Luxury Goods	2–4x	70%+	25–35%

How to use these:

• Set ROAS targets based on your category
• If you’re underperforming, there’s optimisation opportunity
• If you’re above target, you can scale budget

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Common Ecommerce PPC Mistakes

1. No Product Feed Optimization

Vague product titles, low-quality images, incomplete data. Shopping ads underperform.

2. Broken Conversion Tracking

Not tracking purchases or conversion values. Optimising blind. Budget wasted.

3. Ignoring Dynamic Remarketing

Failing to remarket to product viewers. Leaving 50%+ potential revenue on the table.

4. Not Separating Campaigns by Intent

Mixing brand + category + competitor keywords in one campaign. No control, no optimization.

5. Over-Relying on Performance Max

Using PMax without having proper Shopping or Search campaigns. PMax works but should supplement, not replace.

6. Seasonal Budget Inflexibility

Same budget year-round when demand is seasonal (Christmas, back-to-school, boxing day, etc.).

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Ecommerce PPC Checklist

• [ ] Google Merchant Center set up and product feed uploaded
• [ ] Product feed optimised (clear titles, high-quality images, accurate pricing)
• [ ] Google Shopping campaign created and linked to feed
• [ ] Search campaigns created (Brand, Category, Competitor)
• [ ] Conversion tracking set up (GA4 linked, purchase events firing)
• [ ] Dynamic remarketing audience created and bid adjusted
• [ ] Campaign structure separated by intent (not all keywords in one campaign)
• [ ] ROAS target set based on category and margin
• [ ] ACoS target <35% (or your category benchmark)
• [ ] Seasonal budget adjustments planned (holidays, sales events)
• [ ] Mobile landing pages tested and optimised (fast loading, easy checkout)

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Summary: The Ecommerce Google Ads Playbook

Successful ecommerce Google Ads isn’t one campaign—it’s a stack:

1. Google Shopping (hero campaign, 40–50% of budget)

• Highest conversion rate
• Show product images, prices, reviews
• Optimise product feed for CTR

1. Search Ads (supplementary, 30–40% of budget)

• Brand keywords (defend your own brand)
• Category keywords (reach shoppers by type)
• Competitor keywords (intercept comparisons)

1. Dynamic Remarketing (high ROAS, 10–20% of budget)

• Show exact products to people who viewed them
• Often 5–15x ROAS (highest in account)
• Essential for profitability

1. Performance Max (optional, 0–20% of budget)

• AI-driven, reaches everywhere
• Good for scale once you have 50+ weekly conversions

Benchmarks:

• Overall ROAS: 3–5x (depending on category and margins)
• ACoS target: <35%
• Dynamic remarketing ROAS: 5–15x (highest ROI channel)

Get this right, and ecommerce Google Ads becomes a predictable, scalable customer acquisition channel.

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Anitech manages Google Ads for Australian ecommerce stores. We optimise product feeds, run Shopping + Search + Remarketing campaigns, and focus on ROAS and ACoS. We know ecommerce economics and bid accordingly. Get an ecommerce PPC audit and see how much is left on the table.

Internal links:

• Google Ads Australia
• PPC Advertising Australia
• Google Shopping Ads Australia