The 3 Most Important Google PPC Campaigns for eCommerce

Running a profitable Google Ads strategy for an eCommerce business isn’t just about throwing up ads and hoping for conversions. It requires a structured approach with campaigns that target different buyer intents while avoiding unnecessary spend.

Here are the three essential campaigns every eCommerce brand should run:

1. Performance Max (pMax) for All Products (Excluding Cheap Accessories and Your Brand)

Performance Max is the powerhouse of Google Ads. It uses machine learning to optimize across all Google properties—Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Discover, and Gmail.

Why this campaign matters:

• It gives you broad reach across multiple placements
• Google’s automation can optimize bids and placements in real time
• It works well for new customer acquisition

Key setup details:

• Exclude cheap accessories like chargers or other low-margin items. These products can eat up budget without generating significant profit.
• Exclude your brand name to prevent your pMax campaign from cannibalizing branded searches. Branded traffic converts at a much higher rate, and you should control it separately with dedicated campaigns.

By excluding branded terms, you force pMax to focus on reaching new customers rather than simply serving ads to people who would have searched for you anyway.

2. Branded Search Campaign

Even if you rank organically for your brand name, a branded search campaign is still essential.

Why this campaign matters:

• Competitors can bid on your brand name and steal traffic
• You can control the messaging that appears in your ads
• It ensures that when customers search for your brand, they land on the right pages with the best offers

Key setup details:

• Use exact match and phrase match to capture branded queries while avoiding irrelevant searches
• Monitor search terms to ensure competitors aren’t triggering your ads with their names
• Use ad extensions like sitelinks, callouts, and promotions to enhance visibility

A branded search campaign is usually very cost-effective since your quality score for your own brand name will be high.

3. Branded Shopping Campaign (Set Up as Secondary)

A branded shopping campaign is just as important as branded search but should be structured differently.

Why this campaign matters:

• It allows you to show Shopping Ads for your own brand searches
• You can ensure your most profitable products appear first
• If you don’t run one, competitors can bid on your brand and take over the Shopping results

Key setup details:

• Set this campaign to a secondary priority in Google Ads settings
• Exclude generic search terms so this campaign only triggers for branded searches
• Bid strategically—you don’t need to be aggressive since branded traffic is cheaper and converts better

By setting this as a secondary campaign, you ensure that your Performance Max campaign doesn’t take over your branded Shopping searches. This keeps your account structure clean and efficient.

Why This Structure Works

This setup ensures that:
✅ Your Performance Max campaign focuses on acquiring new customers rather than just converting existing brand traffic
✅ You own your brand name in Search and Shopping, preventing competitors from stealing conversions
✅ Your budget is optimized by filtering out low-margin accessory sales

With these three campaigns in place, your Google PPC strategy will be more effective, delivering higher returns while reducing wasted ad spend.