Google Ads changed 3 years ago and most businesses don’t even realize it

Since I was a kid, I’ve always been obsessed with Nike shoes.

There was nothing like unboxing a pair of Jordans… 

The smell of fresh leather. The iconic swoosh. The way they instantly make you feel cooler the moment you slip them on.

Back then, I never thought about why I loved them so much.

It wasn’t logical. It just… happened.

But as I learned more about advertising, I finally understood why.

It wasn’t because of their branding or how the shoes look.

But because they followed a powerful principle - one that I believe can transform any eCom brand's Google Ads.

You see…

Nike wasn’t always Nike.

In the early days, Converse and Adidas owned the market.

Nike didn’t even have a seat at the table.

There was demand for shoes. 

But there was little demand for Nike shoes.

So what did they do?

Create that demand.

They started by partnering with local running athletes and building loyalty in the running community.

From there, they pushed their message to a bigger audience with worldwide advertising campaigns.

Then they signed a rookie named Michael Jordan and became a global brand.

Nike understood that…

When you’re breaking into a new market, you can’t just ride on existing demand.

This is the mistake many brands make with Google Ads.

They jump in and only rely on:

1. The demand they’ve built on other platforms

2. Existing demand for their product type

But they skip the most important part: Creating new demand in the Google ecosystem.

Over the last 2 years, our team has been relentlessly experimenting to achieve that goal.

In 2023, we went heavy on YouTube Short Ads.

Then we discovered blog-style advertorials.

And now, Demand Gen is proving to be more and more reliable at this.

Early last year, we launched a prospecting pMax campaign for a brand’s best-selling products.

At the same time, we ran a Demand Gen campaign with the same products, targeting the same audience.

After 2 months, the Demand Gen campaign wasn’t performing like we’d hoped.

So we slashed its budget by 80%.

Here’s where it gets interesting…

When we cut the Demand Gen budget, the pMax campaign’s performance also dropped.

Clicks fell from 2,700 to 1,100 -  a 60% decrease.

The revenue also took a hit.

That’s when we realized Demand Gen was playing a bigger role than we thought.

It wasn’t the best tool for converting new customers.

But it was feeding cold traffic into the funnel.

In other words, it was creating new demand for our products.

And the pMax campaign was there to capture and convert that demand.

So we relaunched the Demand Gen campaign, optimized it, and brought the budget back up.

And exactly like we expected…

The pMax campaign’s performance followed suit (see the image below).

Ad spend went up 350% and the revenue increased by 160%.

After working with over 500 brands, the biggest problem we face is always the same:

How do you scale when you’ve maxed out existing demand?

Sure, you can try to create more from other platforms and hope they’ll search for you on Google.

But it’s not reliable.

We don’t want our Google Ads performance to depend on Meta or TikTok.

A much better solution is using the tools Google offers:

YouTube. Demand Gen. Advertorials.

These campaigns are like digital billboards promoting your store.

They won’t generate a massive ROAS.

But they’ll make people notice your brand.

They’ll warm up your audience.

And they’ll get more people to your door.

That’s when the sales start flowing.

Jackson

Founder and CEO of Echelonn.

How we can help:

• Get a free Google ads audit: For brands spending more than $20k/mo. or making over 1 million annually, we’ll identify the key bottlenecks in your account, and turn it into a free 90-day scaling plan. Click here.

• Get a 1-time Google ads buildout: For brands that are new to Google or looking to add another revenue model WITHOUT a retainer. We’ll do a one-time buildout over 30 days for you to profit from day 1. Click here for more info.

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