Paid Media & PPC

The Shopify Google Ads agency for Australian stores, built feed-first

For Australian Shopify stores that want Search, Google Shopping and Performance Max run by a senior specialist, not handed to an account junior. You get a clean Merchant Center feed, deliberate campaign structure, and server-side conversion tracking so Smart Bidding optimises on signal you can trust.

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Search + Shopping

And Performance Max

Feed-first

Merchant Center hygiene

GA4 + sGTM

Server-side tracking

AU-based

Shopify specialists

Where Shopify stores lose money on Google

Google can be the most profitable channel for a Shopify store, or the leakiest. Most of the waste traces back to the same handful of issues, and almost all of them sit in the feed, the structure, or the tracking.

Performance Max hiding behind brand

PMax quietly spends on people searching your brand name and customers who were already coming back, then reports their orders as new wins. The headline ROAS looks great while real, incremental growth stalls.

A feed full of disapprovals

A neglected Merchant Center feed throws disapprovals and warnings that silently pull your products out of the Shopping auction. You lose impressions on items that should be selling, and nobody tells you.

Search budget on the wrong queries

Without disciplined negative keywords and match-type control, Search campaigns bleed spend on irrelevant or unprofitable queries. The clicks look like traffic; they convert like noise.

No visibility inside PMax

Performance Max spreads spend across Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube and Gmail with almost no native reporting. Without extra scripts and segmentation you cannot tell what is actually driving the sales.

Tracking that lies to the bidder

When conversion tracking double-counts, misfires, or misses server-side sales, Smart Bidding optimises toward bad data. You end up paying Google to chase the wrong outcomes.

Outbid on your own products

On Shopping, the store with the cleaner feed and better product data wins the impression at the same bid. If competitors have tighter titles and attributes, they take the click you paid to compete for.

What is in scope

A clear split of what we deliver, what we need from you, and what sits with another service, so there are no surprises once we start.

Nexly delivers	Needs your input	Out of scope
Google Search, Shopping and Performance Max managed end to end	Admin access to your Google Ads account, or approval to build a new one you own	Meta, TikTok and Microsoft Ads; Meta runs on our Meta Ads page
Merchant Center setup, feed connection and disapproval remediation	Accurate product titles, pricing, GTINs and stock levels in Shopify	Deep, ongoing feed optimisation as a standalone build, covered on our feed page
Google-side conversion tracking, enhanced conversions and consent mode	Access to GA4, Google Tag Manager and your Shopify theme	Full analytics builds and the Meta Conversions API, handled as separate services
Campaign structure, negative keywords and Smart Bidding management	Target margins, priority products and any brand bidding rules	Landing page design and on-store CRO changes
Monthly reporting through GA4 and the Google Ads account	Revenue targets and a named contact for decisions	Guaranteed ROAS figures promised before any audit

Is Google Ads the right move for your store?

A strong fit if

You already have consistent orders and want to scale Search, Shopping and PMax deliberately.
Your products carry healthy enough margins to absorb a management retainer plus ad spend.
You sell things people actively search for, so there is real demand for Search and Shopping to capture.
You want one senior owner across feed, campaigns and tracking, not three siloed handoffs.
You are ready to give proper access to Shopify, Merchant Center, Google Ads and GA4.

Probably not yet if

You are pre-launch or still finding product-market fit, with no proven repeat orders yet.
Your total monthly budget cannot sustain both spend and management long enough to exit the learning phase.
You sell something with almost no search demand and need pure demand generation, which is more a Meta job.
You want a channel run in isolation, with no access to your feed or tracking data.
You need a guaranteed ROAS number before any audit, which we will not promise.

What we manage across your Google account

Every part of the Google Ads stack for a Shopify store, run by one senior specialist so the feed, the campaigns and the tracking actually talk to each other.

Search, Shopping & Performance Max

Google Search campaigns with brand and non-brand deliberately separated
Google Shopping campaigns run directly from the Merchant Center feed
Performance Max structured with intentional asset groups and search themes
Smart Bidding set to a target ROAS or CPA against clean conversion data
Brand exclusions and audience signals so PMax chases incremental demand

Merchant Center & product feed

Google and YouTube channel or supplemental feed connection for Shopify
Product title, attribute and category optimisation for Shopping eligibility
Disapproval and feed warning remediation fixed at the source
GTIN, brand and identifier hygiene to keep products in the auction
Promotions, sale price and free listings configured in Merchant Center

Conversion tracking & reporting

Google Ads conversion tracking validated and deduplicated end to end
Enhanced conversions layered in for stronger Smart Bidding signal
Server-side tagging where browser-based tracking falls short
Consent mode configured for Australian privacy expectations
GA4 reporting so you judge results beyond platform-reported figures

How a Google Ads engagement runs

A deliberate sequence that fixes the foundations before it spends aggressively. We get the feed and tracking right first, because Shopping and Performance Max only ever spend as well as those let them.

Week 1: Audit and access

We audit your Google Ads account, Merchant Center, feed and conversion tracking, and run Merchant Center diagnostics to surface disapprovals and warnings. You get a clear picture of what is leaking before we change anything.

Weeks 1 to 2: Feed and tracking foundation

We fix feed disapprovals, tighten product titles and attributes, and set up conversion tracking with enhanced conversions and consent mode. Where browser tracking falls short, we move the key events server-side.

Weeks 2 to 3: Structure and build

We separate brand from non-brand, build Shopping around a clean feed, and structure Performance Max with deliberate asset groups and search themes. Budgets are aimed at incremental demand, not customers who were already coming.

Weeks 3 to 4: Launch and learning

Campaigns go live in a controlled way with Smart Bidding and guardrails in place. We hold steady through the learning phase rather than reacting to every daily swing.

Ongoing: Optimise

We work search terms and negatives, iterate the feed, review asset group and search-theme performance, and refine bid strategy against clean conversion data on a weekly cadence.

Monthly: Scale and report

We scale what is proven, protect margins as spend grows, and report through GA4 and the account rather than platform-reported figures alone. You always know what changed and why.

How we keep the account clean and honest

Paid media goes wrong quietly. These are the standing checks that keep spend accountable and the data trustworthy.

Conversion tracking validated end to end and deduplicated, so no sale is counted twice
Enhanced conversions and consent mode configured for Australian privacy expectations
Merchant Center monitored for disapprovals and feed warnings, fixed at the source
Negative keyword lists maintained and search terms reviewed on a regular cadence
Performance Max kept away from brand and existing buyers so it chases new demand
Consistent naming conventions and campaign structure so the account stays legible
Budget pacing watched so there is no runaway spend, with account ownership always yours

What Google Ads management costs

These are typical monthly management retainers for Australian Shopify stores, scoped after an audit. They cover our management only; your ad spend is separate and paid directly to Google.

How many products are in your catalogue and how complex the feed isWhich campaign types you run, from Search only to the full Search, Shopping and PMax stackYour monthly ad spend and how many campaigns need active managementThe state of your tracking and whether server-side needs buildingHow much Merchant Center and feed remediation is required up frontThe depth and cadence of reporting you need

Search and Shopping starter

$1,500-$2,500/month

For stores launching Google or consolidating one to two campaign types, with feed and tracking set up first.

Full Google stack

$2,500-$4,500/month

Search, Shopping and Performance Max managed together with ongoing feed and tracking work. The most common engagement.

Scaling and high-catalogue

$4,500-$7,500+/month

Larger catalogues, higher spend and aggressive scaling, with deeper reporting and multi-market support.

Shopify Google Ads questions, answered

Search puts text ads against high-intent queries. Google Shopping shows your product image, price and title pulled from the Merchant Center feed. Performance Max is Google's automated campaign type that spans Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube and Gmail from a single asset group and the same feed. Most Shopify stores use a mix, with the feed underpinning both Shopping and PMax.

PMax is powerful, but it will happily spend on your brand searches and existing customers if left unchecked, inflating its own reported ROAS. We separate brand traffic, apply account-level brand exclusions where appropriate, feed it real audience signals, and structure asset groups deliberately so it chases incremental demand. We also add reporting to see inside placements rather than trusting the black box.

We connect Shopify to Merchant Center, then work the feed as though it is the campaign: product titles, attributes, categories, GTINs and identifiers all get tightened, and disapprovals are fixed at the source. Deeper, ongoing feed optimisation can run as a dedicated workstream, which we cover in full on our product feed optimisation page.

For most stores the Google and YouTube channel is the cleanest way to sync products into Merchant Center, because it keeps titles, prices and stock in step with Shopify automatically. Where you need custom titles or supplemental data the channel cannot express, we layer a supplemental feed on top rather than replacing it. We decide per store during the audit.

We validate Google Ads conversion tracking end to end so purchases are counted once and only once, then add enhanced conversions to recover signal lost in the browser. Where it matters we move events server-side, and we configure consent mode so tracking respects consent choices while still feeding Smart Bidding. Clean signal in means better automated bidding out.

Sometimes. If competitors are bidding on your brand, or you want to control the message and landing page for brand searches, a lean brand campaign is worth it. But brand and non-brand must be separated and reported apart, so brand conversions never flatter your prospecting numbers. We will always show you both views.

As a rough guide, Google management makes sense once you can commit to around $2,000 to $3,000 a month in ad spend on top of the retainer, enough for campaigns to exit the learning phase. You always own your Google Ads account, Merchant Center and the feed. If we build anything new, it is created under your ownership from day one and stays with you if we ever part ways.

This page is about Google. We also run Meta on a dedicated Meta Ads page, and we are happy to work alongside an existing Meta agency, sharing tracking and blended reporting so the two channels are judged fairly rather than each claiming the same sale. If you want help with the cross-channel budget decision, start with our paid media hub.

Explore the rest of the paid media stack

Let's see what your Google account is really doing

Book a call and we will audit your feed, campaigns and tracking, then tell you honestly where the budget is leaking and what we would change first.

Book a call

Store URL Monthly ad budget Current Google Ads account (if any)