Case Studies

Protein Powder E-Commerce Company Earns 10Xs More Conversions

Do you like drinking a protein shake after a lifting session at the gym?

If the answer is yes, then you’ve probably bought some whey protein powder from the client we’re about to feature in this case study.

The global market for protein supplements is enormous and it continues to grow each year as new companies are formed. It’s anticipated to be worth $32.6 billion by 2027.

Keep reading below to learn how we helped a successful online retailer to get more sales on their website and protect their brand in a highly competitive field. We ended up delivering 10X the number of conversions.

Overview

Campaign Length

2 MO

Monthly Budget

Decrease in ACOS

70.14%

Background

A client who sells protein supplements online reached out to us in September 2020 looking for a way to generate new, first-time customers.

They already were a “Best Seller” of whey protein powder on Amazon. In fact, their product was in the top 10 when they started working with us.

The problem was they were too dependent on Amazon and they wanted to start generating more revenue from direct-to-consumer sales on their website.

As an Amazon seller, their access to customer data was extremely limited. By shifting operations to their website, they could start using what they collected to strategize paid advertising campaigns.

This client previously managed Google Remarketing Campaigns, Search Campaigns, and Standard Shopping Campaigns, but they wanted to stop because their Average Cost of Sale (ACOS) was too high. Their Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) was also too low to continue on their own.

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Challenges

The HOTH PPC team faced a number of challenges working with this client.

First of all, the whey protein powder market is highly competitive. Between giant brands like GNC or Optimum down to more niche competitors like Naked Nutrition, our client was facing IMMENSE pressure from its competitors.

Many of these competitors were also bidding on the client’s branded keywords in an effort to pull sales away from their website.

Google lifted the restrictions on bidding for a competitor’s branded keywords several years ago. These types of campaigns involve the name of a business or variations on that name. Competitors can bid on your branded keywords and siphon off some of your leads or sales.

When we started working with this client we knew we had to help them stand out in a crowded industry and protect the viability of their branded keywords.

Our PPC Strategy

Knowing that this client was seeking new, first-time customers we decided to cover as much real estate as possible by launching Search Campaigns, Smart Shopping Campaigns, and Dynamic Remarketing Campaigns.

Our goal was to cover Google Search, Google Shopping and Google’s Display Network. By casting a broad net, we would start getting more website visits and begin collecting user data for future ad campaigns.

And how would we deal with the branded keywords issue?

Dynamic Remarketing Campaigns were the answer to this problem. Any website visitors who bounced off would be remarketed with display ads of the EXACT products they were just viewing. This prevented them from being tricked into clicking on a competitor’s site down the road.

We also decided to use a Smart Shopping Campaign instead of a Standard Shopping Campaign. This would result in more effective targeting in the Google Shopping platform.

The Results

It didn’t take long for our team to see exciting results once we incorporated these changes.

After switching to HOTH PPC, the client’s ACOS decreased by an average of 70.14%.

Their campaigns had been breaking even before they ever started working with us. We were able to convert cold traffic (individuals who had never heard of the client) into customers as a result of new paid ads. Their ROAS was almost 2X what they had been getting.

The difference in levels between the client's old and updated campaign.

As you can see in the chart below, their ad spend stayed the same before and after working with us. It was their return that doubled.

HOTH PPC metrics before and after.

After some analysis, we also discovered that the number of sales directly attributed to these new Google Ads increased 3,146%!

Want to figure out your own ROAS? Try out our FREE PPC ROAS Calculator to make sure you’re on track.

In addition, the client’s conversion rate increased by 98.87% to a rate of 3.36%. This meant they were getting almost 10X the number of sales with HOTH PPC campaigns as compared to past internal campaigns. Take a look at the report below.

The client’s conversion rate increased by 98.87% to a rate of 3.36%.

When working with new clients we always stress the importance of optimizing their Google Shopping Campaigns. We’ve found that these types of ads drive 76.4% of retail searches and win over 85% of all clicks.

Unlike traditional search ads, Google Shopping ads can include photos, prices, and even customer reviews. Visitors are more likely to buy a product when they see this information included.

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Takeaway

Google Shopping is the best thing to happen to e-commerce businesses! The HOTH PPC team has been working with many clients to ramp up their Google Shopping offerings and get more online sales.

In this case study, we worked with a supplement retailer that was already considered a Top 10 Amazon Best Seller for whey protein powder yet through our innovative approach to paid advertising we secured them an unprecedented amount of sales.

More importantly, by rerouting sales to their website we helped them collect valuable data on their new customers.

Are you looking for help with optimizing your paid ads to get more leads or sales? Our team would love to have a conversation with you. All you have to do is book a PPC strategy session with us and we can discuss your goals.

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