Case Verpakkingswebwinkel

How we helped Verpakkingswebwinkel go from loss to profit with Google Ads

At the end of 2023, Verpakkingswebwinkel was facing a serious problem. Their Google Ads campaigns had been losing money for months, and there was no end in sight. Every euro spent on advertising felt wasted.

This was particularly frustrating because they had everything else in place. As a leading packaging supplier in the Netherlands, they had a strong product range and excellent service – but their paid advertising simply wasn’t delivering results.

In early December 2023, they reached out to Adverge with a clear request: “Help us become profitable first. Once we stop losing money, then we can focus on growth.” They needed a partner who could diagnose the issues, implement practical solutions, and build a foundation for sustainable success.

Turning loss-making campaigns into profitable and Scalable Advertising

Verpakkingswebwinkel is an e-commerce company specializing in the online sale of packaging materials. When the account was handed over, the campaigns were running at a loss, with an average CPA of over €50 and a ROAS between 1 and 2. The goal for the first phase was clear: optimize the foundation and ensure the ad spend delivers results.

The situation at the start of our collaboration

When we took over the account, we identified several fundamental issues:

- Fragmented budget: Too many campaigns with too small a budget, resulting in low data volume per campaign and unreliable optimization.
- Underperforming product feed: The feed was directly imported from WooCommerce without any optimization or enrichment.
- Tracking issues:
  - No Server-Side Tracking
  - No Enhanced Conversions
  - No Dynamic Remarketing
  - Only client-side data, leading to poor input for the algorithm
- Campaign type: Too much focus on Search, while data showed that 70% of sales came from Shopping.

No margin-based steering (POAS): Campaigns were optimized for revenue (ROAS) only, despite large variations in product margins.

Our approach: Profitability first, then growth

Phase 1: Optimizing the fundamentals

We completely revised and optimized the account:

- Campaign structure:
  - Consolidated three non-brand campaigns (1x Shopping, 2x Search) into one targeted Shopping campaign focused on top-performing products.
  - Gradually expanded based on performance.
  - Weekly manual exclusion of irrelevant search terms due to limited data in the early phase.
- Smarter use of data and budget:
  - Bidding strategy: Started with Maximize Clicks, later switched to tROAS with a max CPC using a portfolio strategy.
  - Analysis showed that Sundays were consistently unprofitable: in 5 months, only 2 sales occurred on Sundays, despite similar budget allocation. Sundays were therefore excluded.
- Optimized product feed with AI:
  - Used GPT4Sheets to enrich the product feed.
  - Replaced dull packshots with lifestyle images, making ads more visually appealing in Shopping.

Improved tracking:

- Implemented Server-Side Tracking and Profit Metrics (profit tracking).
- Added Enhanced Conversions.

Switched from ROAS to POAS targeting, allowing us to advertise based on actual product margins instead of revenue.

The results after 6 months

The first phase has been successfully completed. In just half a year, Verpakkingswebwinkel has transformed from running at a loss to becoming profitable:

CPA dropped from > €50 to < €20
ROAS increased from ~1–2 to 4
Shifted from loss to profitable advertising
Solid foundation laid for scalable growth

Thanks to clear choices in targeting, campaign structure, and tracking, we are now ready to move into the next phase: sustainable growth.

The next phase

Now that the foundation is in place, our focus is shifting from efficiency to growth. What’s next?

Further expansion of Search campaigns based on performance
Launch of upper-funnel campaigns such as Display, Video, and Demand Gen
Gradual expansion of the product assortment

Exploring new growth opportunities both within and beyond Shopping

Want results like these too?

Are you enthusiastic about this opportunity to work with a young but experienced agency and shape the future together? We would love to hear from you! Please contact Dominique at dominique@adverge.com.