Google Ads, run against business growth.
We plan, run, and measure Google Ads against the business — incremental contribution, new-customer acquisition, and growth — not platform-attributed ROAS alone.
Most Google Ads accounts can't separate brand search from new-customer acquisition.
Brand-keyword search converts at extraordinary rates: a buyer who already knows your brand types it in, sees your ad, clicks, converts. These conversions show up in Google Ads reporting as high-ROAS spend. They look like the program working. They're mostly existing demand, captured at the moment of intent.
Non-brand search is where new customers are acquired — and where ROAS typically looks worse on the dashboard. Most Google Ads accounts optimize toward the high-ROAS brand spend and away from the lower-ROAS non-brand spend, pulling the program toward existing demand and away from new-customer growth.
Three structures that separate incremental Google spend from existing demand.
Separate brand-keyword spend from non-brand spend.
Brand-keyword ROAS reflects existing demand: buyers who already know your brand. Non-brand ROAS — adjusted for incrementality — is what's driving new-customer acquisition. The two should never be reported as one number.
Constrain Performance Max so it doesn't drift back to existing demand.
Performance Max optimizes for the algorithm's idea of efficiency, which usually means buyers who'd have converted anyway. We constrain it with brand-keyword exclusions, audience signals, and asset structure so the spend works for the brand instead of against it.
Measure what Google Ads actually contributed.
Geo holdouts, branded-vs-non-branded query lift analysis, and conversion lift studies measure what the spend produced beyond what would have happened without it. The platform's last-click report isn't the answer to that question.
Our approach
- 01Account architecture built around new-customer acquisition, not just last-click conversions
- 02Bid strategy and campaign type — Search, Performance Max, Shopping, YouTube — chosen for the funnel role each plays
- 03Brand-keyword carve-outs and Performance Max constraints that prevent spend from drifting back to existing demand
- 04Audience signals and intent matching tuned for new-customer prospecting, not retargeting
- 05Measurement structures designed in — geo holdouts, incrementality tests, MMM signal — so Google spend can be evaluated against business contribution
Outcomes
- Google spend held to incremental contribution, not platform-attributed ROAS alone
- New-customer acquisition through Google measured separately from existing-demand spend
- Confidence to scale Google budget on numbers clear enough to defend in a finance review
Common questions about Google Ads.
- What's the difference between brand-keyword ROAS and incremental contribution?
- Brand-keyword ROAS measures the return on spend bidding on your own brand terms. It looks high because buyers searching your brand are already in-market. Incremental contribution is the lift the spend produced above what would have happened without it. On most accounts, the two are very different numbers.
- How do you handle Performance Max?
- Performance Max has a real role in many accounts, but it optimizes for the algorithm's idea of efficiency, which usually means buyers who'd have converted anyway. We constrain PMax with brand-keyword exclusions, audience signal feeds, asset structure, and reporting visibility so spend stays directed at new-customer acquisition.
- How do you measure incrementality on Google Ads?
- Geo holdouts — running Google in some markets and not others, comparing the difference. Branded-vs-non-branded query lift analysis. Conversion lift studies and post-purchase survey attribution. Each method catches what the others miss; we use them together, not in isolation.
- Do you run Search, Shopping, Performance Max, and YouTube together?
- Yes. Each campaign type has a different funnel role: Search catches stated intent, Shopping catches product-research intent, Performance Max sweeps inventory programmatically, YouTube builds demand upstream. The job is to plan and budget them as one program, with measurement that reads across them.
- How is QRY different from a typical Google Ads agency?
- Most Google Ads agencies optimize toward the high-ROAS spend, which is usually brand-keyword and retargeting — existing demand. We organize the account around new-customer acquisition, separate brand from non-brand reporting, constrain Performance Max so it doesn't drift, and measure incrementality directly. The numbers we scale on are the numbers a CMO can defend.
Talk through your Google Ads program.
Start with a short strategy conversation. We'll assess fit and outline how Google Ads could be run against business growth for your brand.