[Breakdown] Search vs Shopping: What's working right now across 160 brands

There's a question I keep getting asked by ecommerce brands:

Search or Shopping: which one should I focus on?

First of all, I think this is somewhat of a pointless question…

Every brand is different, and what works best for one brand might fall flat for another.

On top of that…

It doesn’t really matter which channel “wins”… if both channels are profitable.

Sure, one channel might give you a higher ROI.

But wouldn’t you make more profit overall by running both well?

That said...

I figured it’d be interesting to see what’s performing right now across our client accounts.

So I pulled data from 160 brands to see where each channel delivers the best results.

Here's what I found:

Category 1: Branded Campaigns

This one's straightforward.

Search consistently wins here.

When someone types your brand name, they want to see your website at the top of the results.

Search captures that intent better and usually drives higher CTRs.

Shopping will still give you an insane ROAS, but it pulls in less traffic overall.

Example from 2 of our clients

Category 2: Prospecting Keywords

For product category searches like "men's sneakers" or "collagen powder," Shopping usually wins.

3 reasons why:

1. Shopping ads get the top of the page. They’re often the first thing people see.

2. Visuals matter a lot for these keywords. People want to see the images, pricing, and reviews to compare their options.

3. Shopping scales more easily across a large catalog. You just optimize the feed instead of managing hundreds of keywords and ads.

For a lot of our clients, Shopping placements drive a big chunk of our prospecting revenue.

Search still works here, but it doesn’t deliver the same traffic volume or efficiency as Shopping.

But beyond product category searches...

Search offers an advantage that Shopping can’t match:

It lets you convert different keyword types… many of which come with way more scaling potential.

First, competitor keywords.

When you bid on competitor brand names, Search gives you control over your positioning.

You can write ad copy that directly compares your product to theirs.

Shopping will display your products…

But you can’t clearly show why people should abandon their current brand for yours.

Second, research keywords.

Think searches like "best supplements for energy" or "top running shoes for marathons."

Your Shopping ads can show up for these queries, but the thing is…

They aren't designed for people still in research mode.

For Search, you can align with that intent more effectively using a headline like:

“Top 8 Supplements To Boost Your Energy Naturally | Doctor’s Picks”

Then you direct people to a “reviews” page where you recommend various products (and subtly frame your items as the best)

The same principle applies to informational keywords like “how to reduce bloating" or "why is my skin so dry."

It’s impossible to run Shopping Ads profitably here.

But for Search? It’s a different story.

It lets you answer these questions and introduce your products naturally.

These are areas where Search opens up new revenue streams that Shopping can’t reach.

There’s a caveat though…

These campaigns are harder to execute, and not every brand can make them profitable.

They require deeper keyword research, specialized landing pages, and a well-structured funnel.

But if you crack them, there’s virtually no limit to how far you can scale.

So here’s my recommendation…

Every account should run the following:

• Branded Search & Shopping

• Prospecting Search & Shopping (on their main product category keywords)

Non-negotiable.

Regardless of your industry or product, a substantial portion of your revenue will come from these searches.

Then you can layer on the advanced Search campaigns I just talked about.

I think about scaling Google Ads the same way you stack bricks.

Each profitable campaign is another layer.

The more layers you stack, the more profit you make.

Jackson

CEO & Founder of Echelonn

How we can help:

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