Case study · eCommerce · Google Ads · 2021

A mattress brand losing money on Google Ads, turned into a 10× return.

Before → after · Jan–May vs Jun–Nov 2021

Return on ad spendAug–Nov

0.59×10.1×

Revenue, last click8.8×

$12.1K$106.1K

Ad spend−40%

$20.5K$12.2K

Client: Direct-to-consumer mattress brand, Australia
Channel: Google Ads
Media: $32,706, Jan – Nov 2021
Measured on: Online sales revenue, Google Ads and GA4

The challenge

59 cents back for every dollar.

From January to May 2021 the brand spent $20,461 on Google Ads for $12,065 of tracked sales. A high-consideration purchase, a crowded category, and budget going in before anyone knew what was working.

The goal

Make Google Ads pay for itself first.

Profitable online sales, then more budget only once the return was proven.

What I did

01Stopped the bleeding. Pulled spend back to a minimum in May ($731) instead of funding an account that wasn't returning.
02Rebuilt the account. Restructured the search strategy, optimised campaigns around each promotion, and fixed conversion tracking so bidding optimised to real sales.
03Scaled only on proof. Around $1,000 a month in June to August, $2,000 in September and October, then $4,800 for the November sales peak.
04Reported revenue, not clicks. Monthly reporting from Google Ads and GA4, including assisted sales, so the business saw the full contribution.

The insight that moved the numbers

Less budget, spent right, beat more budget spent hopefully.

June to November used 40% less budget than January to May and brought in nearly nine times the revenue. When November's budget was more than doubled, return per dollar fell from about 14× to 6× while revenue held near its peak: proof that budget should follow evidence, one step at a time.

Ad spend vs revenue by month, 2021Revenue is last-click sales from Google Ads.

Ad spendRevenue