Paid Search & Google Ads

E-commerce isn't a field of dreams—you can build it, but without the right promotion, they won't come. That's where our paid search programs come in, forming the backbone of our integrated growth plans and serving as a foundational element in customer acquisition and demand capture.

Our PPC approach for Google and Bing, honed since the AdWords days, aligns with our global strategy: build strong foundations, measure, iterate, and refine.

We could geek out about account structures and tactics—check out our e-commerce PPC basics if that's your jam. But let's focus on the essentials:

We manage Google Ad budgets from $4k to $60k per month, all through our First Pier SEM Process. We build campaigns in concentric circles of specificity, from branded search to funnel-specific campaigns tailored to your products, industry, and competitors.

Crucially, we set goals, measure progress, and report transparently. No black box money holes here—just clear, actionable insights.

A quick rundown of what we offer:

Google Ads
From account setup to ongoing optimization, we've got you covered. Our First Pier SEM Process builds campaigns across all funnel stages, ensuring your investment drives measurable growth.

Google Search Ads
We're all about meticulous account structures and data-driven tactics. Advanced techniques like DSAs for query mining? Check. Strategic brand term exclusions? Double-check. We make every dollar work overtime for customer acquisition.

YouTube Ads
Lights, camera, conversion! We create high-impact video campaigns that demand attention. With precise targeting and continuous optimization, we integrate YouTube into your PPC strategy for stronger brand visibility. See our YouTube ad specs guide for current format, sizing and campaign-type requirements.

Bing Ads
Don't overlook Bing! We apply our proven process here too, optimizing for Bing's unique audience. It's all part of a multi-channel approach to comprehensive reach and growth.

Google Ads for Shopify, built around your margins

Paid search for a Shopify store lives or dies on two things the platform won't sort out for you: a clean product feed and an honest read on margin. We structure Shopping and Performance Max around your real product economics — which SKUs can carry ad spend, which can't, and where the profitable new-customer volume actually sits — instead of chasing the tidy blended ROAS number Google likes to show off.

After that it's the unglamorous work: mining search terms for what real buyers type, excluding the queries that drain budget, and keeping branded traffic from taking credit it didn't earn. And because the traffic still has to convert once it lands, we watch the whole path, not just the click.

What ecommerce PPC management covers month to month

Ecommerce PPC management is not a launch and a monthly report. The recurring work is feed hygiene, search-term mining and negative keywords, bid-strategy tuning as conversion volume changes, creative and asset refreshes before fatigue shows up in the numbers, and keeping branded and non-branded performance reported separately so you can see which campaigns are actually finding new customers.

What differs for a store, versus a lead-gen advertiser, is that the catalog is the campaign. Price changes, stockouts, and seasonal ranges all move through the feed and into the auction, so a store with a thousand SKUs needs its ad account maintained on the same rhythm as its merchandising. We report against contribution margin rather than platform-reported ROAS, because a four-to-one return on a thin-margin product is still a loss.

If you'd rather understand the mechanics before hiring anyone, our ecommerce PPC and digital ad management guide covers the auction, match types, bid strategies and measurement in full.

Why work with First Pier on paid search

The people running your account have been at this since the AdWords days, and we optimize for your return, not for spending more — if the numbers say cut budget, that's what we'll tell you. No black-box dashboards, no vanity metrics.

Tell us your numbers and we'll give you a straight answer on whether paid search is worth it for you. Start the conversation here.