If you're running an e-commerce business and your Google Ads strategy hasn't evolved in the last 12 months, you're almost certainly leaving revenue on the table. The platform has changed significantly, and the tactics that worked in 2024 won't cut it in 2026.
Ben manages Google Ads for e-commerce brands ranging from £5k to £100k+ monthly spend. The strategies below come from real account data, not theory.
Performance Max has matured - but it still needs structure
Performance Max campaigns are no longer the black box they once were. Google has added more reporting transparency, audience signals have become more powerful, and the algorithm has genuinely improved. But PMax still needs human oversight.
Ben structures PMax campaigns with tight asset groups, clear audience signals, and proper exclusions to prevent wasted spend on irrelevant placements. The key differences between a well-structured and poorly-structured PMax campaign:
- Well-structured: Segmented asset groups, custom audience signals, brand exclusions, placement monitoring
- Poorly-structured: Single asset group, no audience signals, no exclusions, zero oversight
- Performance gap: Typically 40-60% difference in ROAS between the two
Standard Shopping still has a place
Despite Google's push towards PMax, standard Shopping campaigns remain incredibly effective for e-commerce. They offer more control over bidding, better search term visibility, and more predictable performance. Ben typically runs both PMax and standard Shopping in parallel, using each for different purposes.
Standard Shopping excels at:
- Products with proven conversion data
- High-margin products that benefit from manual bid control
- Branded product searches where you need maximum visibility
- Categories where you need granular search term insights
Feed quality is everything
Your product feed is the foundation of every Shopping and PMax campaign. Titles, descriptions, images, pricing, and attributes all affect where and how your products appear. Ben optimises feeds at the product level - not just the campaign level - because a mediocre feed will always produce mediocre results regardless of how good the campaign structure is.
Key feed optimisation areas:
- Titles: Include brand, product type, key attributes, and colour/size
- Descriptions: Feature-rich, keyword-relevant, and unique per product
- Images: High-quality, white background primary images with lifestyle secondary images
- Pricing: Competitive pricing with sale price annotations when applicable
- Attributes: Complete GTIN, MPN, brand, and custom labels for segmentation
Profit-based bidding changes everything
The smartest e-commerce advertisers in 2026 are bidding based on profit margins, not just ROAS. A product with a 60% margin and 400% ROAS is far more valuable than a product with a 15% margin and 600% ROAS. Ben builds campaigns that prioritise profit, not just revenue.
Here's the difference in practice:
- Product A: £100 sale price, 60% margin (£60 profit), 400% ROAS = £15 ad cost = £45 net profit
- Product B: £100 sale price, 15% margin (£15 profit), 600% ROAS = £10 ad cost = £5 net profit
Product A generates 9x more profit per sale despite having a lower ROAS. This is why ROAS alone is a misleading metric for e-commerce brands.
The bottom line
E-commerce Google Ads in 2026 rewards sophistication. The days of throwing products into a single Shopping campaign and hoping for the best are over. Structure, feed quality, and profit-focused bidding separate the winners from the rest.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Performance Max better than standard Shopping campaigns?
Performance Max can outperform standard Shopping once you have enough conversion data (typically 30+ conversions per month). For new accounts, Ben often starts with standard Shopping for more control, then transitions to Performance Max.
How much should I spend on Google Shopping ads?
Budget depends on your product catalogue size and competition, but most e-commerce businesses need at least £1,500-£3,000 per month to gather enough data for meaningful optimisation.
What is the most important factor in Google Shopping performance?
Product feed quality. Your titles, descriptions, images, and pricing data directly determine which searches trigger your products and how they appear. A well-optimised feed consistently outperforms a larger budget with a poor feed.
How long does it take for Google Shopping campaigns to work?
Initial data appears within days, but meaningful optimisation requires 2-4 weeks of performance data. Most accounts see their strongest results after 60-90 days of continuous management.
Can I run Google Shopping ads without a website?
No. Google Shopping requires a live e-commerce website with product pages that match your Merchant Centre feed. The product URLs, prices, and availability must match exactly or Google will disapprove your products.
