In today’s fast-expanding digital era, search is the first touchpoint to make a purchase and 66% of users ranked Google & YouTube as their first choice platforms to research products online.
Why Google Ads? Online Shopping behavior & buying in India is defined by 3 human truths:
Brand experiences for users have search as their entry & exit points.
Shopping should not be just a function, but fun as well. But trust still matters the most.
The use of a single platform, or, an omnichannel approach which can integrate multiple shopping categories.
At the same time, pricing, quality, speed of delivery and reviews heavily influence the buying decision of the user.
Sorting the messy user journey online: Answering what is, which is and many other user questions that inspires users and drives their purchase decisions
Specific Searches: Providing filtered results on user query by gender, age and other filters
Replicating Offline elements: Making visual experiences a lot more appealing than ever before
This leads to shoppable categories that are classified as shock, sticky and new categories based on search terms from users.
A highly accurate calculation from research companies also shows that Indian retail brands have a mammoth $2.64B global opportunity in 2022.
Data Safety and Privacy
Shoppers want more, and the demand for privacy and security of their data and online behavior is something to be taken care of. Owners and founders of browsers, search engines, shopping sites etc have to work at maintaining privacy and security.
Data is vital to the future of online shopping and is handled by advertisers to enhance the audience strategy and create a competitive advantage while understanding user behavior by analyzing web and app visitors.
However, search engines and their respective platforms are becoming smarter to ensure the data collected online is safe and only used by someone who is authorized to do so from the point of view of optimizing user experiences which will further boost online shopping.
This is done not only by machine learning but also with manual intervention which irons out any flaws that may have existed, and this gives us significant results.
An ideal “Retail Business Journey” should adopt the given strategy right from customer research till going global.
However, it’s much more important to evaluate if each touchpoint has been addressed enough, considering all aspects of your business.
It’s important to measure success at every customer touchpoint – but take into account that not all customers are equal and not everyone brings the same value to your business
Now the Question: How does Google Ads Deliver for Your Business?
Sitara Foods, a homemade pickle business from Hyderabad started in 2018 and today, they serve more than 160 countries while upsizing their strength from 4 to 50 employees. 90% of their business is in the form of international orders.
The important statistic here is 80% of their overall business comes from Google ads.
Before running the ad campaigns, it’s important to analyse the 4 objectives of your Retail Business Journey from the point of view of online advertising:
Sales Volume in terms of target Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
Sales Value in terms of Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Profit as Maximum Conversion Value at a specific Return on Ad Spend
Lifetime Value by forecasting based on the historical data of online buyers and conversions
It always makes sense to combine Google recommendations, smart bidding strategies and your own insights for any Google ads campaign. Build an automation strategy slowly, based on the insights and performance of your ads in their initial run of 2-3 weeks.
Opting for Responsive Search Ads provides you better ad performance, more flexibility in terms of device-based advertising, simplicity of your message while giving you more control of your costs and creatives.
Further Dynamic Search Ads help to augment your reach by showing the right content at the right time from your web properties without you needing to define it. This drives more clicks and higher CTR resulting in lower CPA
Performance Max is another type of campaign from Google Ads which helps you in reaching your customers directly on the best of the inventories where they will be available while keeping in mind your goals and objectives.
You can also stay visible to prospects who want to connect with you by being more focused on intent based searches and keywords.
Working on small factors like updated product information, tax numbers, product visibility through titles, descriptions & attributes help to improve Click Through Rates and conversions. Maintaining a clean Google Merchant Account further boosts your ad performance.
You should also make use of Google Merchant center to find reports on price competitiveness about your most important products and services and compare them in the marketplace while deciding the bidding price for the clicks.
Also, learn in detail about best sellers reports and get the right insights on sales by products and locations worldwide.
The Wrap Up
Google Ads is an ever-evolving platform and is widening its reach with each passing day. It is a proven and potent tool to bridge the gap between you and your target audience, provided all parameters to connect with the prospects and customers are well analyzed and researched beforehand.
Watch: How Google Ads Is Driving Growth for Retail Businesses
For Curious Minds
Google Ads addresses core Indian consumer truths by structuring the digital journey to build trust and integrate experiences. It acts as the initial and final touchpoint, guiding users through a complex path with credible, relevant information that mirrors a trusted offline interaction. The platform's ability to replicate visual offline elements and provide a seamless, integrated experience across shopping categories makes it more than just a functional tool, turning product research into an engaging activity. For example, 66% of users rank Google and YouTube as their first choice for product research, proving its central role. By organizing the user journey, answering specific queries, and presenting visually appealing results, Google Ads builds the confidence necessary to convert interest into a purchase. To fully understand how to align your ad strategy with these behavioral truths, exploring the detailed mechanics of the platform is a logical next step.
Sitara Foods exemplifies how targeted digital advertising can unlock massive global markets for niche Indian brands. Their success is a direct result of a well-executed Google Ads strategy, which now accounts for a staggering 80% of their overall business and 90% of their international orders. This transition from a 4-person team to a 50-employee operation demonstrates that the platform provides the tools to reach highly specific, high-intent audiences worldwide, effectively overcoming traditional barriers to entry for small businesses. By leveraging Google's reach, Sitara Foods was able to tap into the $2.64B global opportunity for Indian retail brands. Their story proves that with the right advertising approach, even a traditional product can achieve significant international scale, a topic worth exploring further for any business with global ambitions.
To maximize profitability, your business must adopt a structured approach to campaign objectives that goes beyond surface-level metrics. This involves a clear evaluation of four key performance indicators before launching any campaign, ensuring every dollar spent is optimized for financial return. A well-defined strategy should consider the following:
Sales Volume: Achieving a specific number of sales within a target Cost Per Acquisition (CPA).
Sales Value: Focusing on the total revenue generated against ad spend, measured by Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
Profit: Aiming for the maximum conversion value at a predetermined ROAS target to ensure profitability.
Lifetime Value: Forecasting long-term customer value based on historical conversion and buyer data.
By progressing through these objectives, you can build a sophisticated, profit-driven advertising engine that aligns directly with your core financial goals. Understanding which attribution model best supports these objectives is the next critical piece of this puzzle.
Advertisers must evolve their role from manual managers to strategic overseers in an AI-driven landscape. The key is to combine Google's recommendations and smart bidding strategies with your own proprietary insights rather than relying solely on automation. While AI can process vast amounts of data to optimize bids in real-time, it lacks the nuanced understanding of your specific business margins, inventory levels, or long-term strategic goals. A successful approach involves starting with a base automation strategy and incrementally refining it based on performance data and unique business intelligence. This hybrid model, which blends machine learning with manual oversight, ensures campaigns remain aligned with deeper business objectives, like prioritizing customers with high lifetime value. Mastering this balance is essential for future-proofing your advertising efforts, and the full article provides a deeper look into building this capability.
The decision between a Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) and a Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) target depends entirely on your immediate business goal. A CPA-focused strategy is ideal for growth phases where market penetration and customer acquisition are the primary objectives, as it prioritizes generating a high volume of sales at a controlled cost. In contrast, a ROAS-focused strategy is better suited for businesses aiming for profitability and efficiency, as it measures the revenue earned for every dollar spent on advertising. For example, a new product launch might start with a CPA goal to build a customer base, later shifting to a ROAS goal to maximize profit margins from that established audience. The right choice depends on your product's price point, profit margins, and overall business maturity. A deeper analysis reveals how to effectively transition between these objectives as your business evolves.
Google's search functionality brings order to the chaotic user journey by systematically answering a series of user questions that build purchase intent. It addresses broad queries (what is) to inspire users, followed by comparative queries (which is) to help them evaluate options, effectively replicating the consultative nature of an offline sales experience. The platform further refines this by providing filtered results based on demographics like gender and age, and by making the experience more visual and appealing. This process helps classify user intent into 'shock', 'sticky', and 'new' categories, allowing advertisers to meet customers exactly where they are in their decision-making process. By creating a clear path from discovery to purchase, search turns ambiguity into a structured, shoppable experience. Understanding these journey mechanics is key to capturing sales that might otherwise be lost.
The success of Sitara Foods provides compelling evidence that Google Ads is a crucial engine for capturing international market share. The fact that a local pickle business grew to serve 160 countries, with 90% of their business coming from international orders, directly validates the platform's ability to connect Indian brands with a global audience. This case illustrates how search advertising dismantles geographical barriers, enabling businesses to compete on a global stage. The platform allows them to target specific international corridors where demand for their products exists, turning the theoretical $2.64B opportunity into tangible revenue. This proves that strategic ad spending is not just a marketing expense but a direct investment in global expansion. The strategies they used offer a powerful template for other brands aiming for similar growth.
Search engines are implementing a dual approach that combines advanced technology with human oversight to protect user privacy without eliminating valuable advertising insights. They are moving towards more aggregated and anonymized data models, allowing advertisers to understand user behavior and build audience strategies without accessing personally identifiable information. This is achieved through sophisticated machine learning algorithms that identify trends and patterns, coupled with manual intervention to iron out flaws and ensure compliance with privacy standards. The goal is to use data to optimize user experiences in a secure way, which in turn boosts shopper confidence and online commerce. This careful balance ensures that data remains a vital tool for creating competitive advantage while respecting the growing demand for privacy. A closer look at these evolving data practices is crucial for any modern advertiser.
Retailers can overcome this mistake by shifting their focus from simple conversions to lifetime value (LTV). This is achieved by using historical online buyer and conversion data to forecast the long-term value of different customer segments within Google Ads. Instead of optimizing for a single sale, you can instruct the platform's smart bidding to prioritize acquiring users who exhibit characteristics similar to your most profitable past customers. This involves analyzing purchase frequency, average order value, and repeat business to build a profile of your ideal customer. By setting campaign objectives to maximize conversion value or forecasting LTV, you direct your ad spend towards relationships that yield sustained profitability, not just one-time transactions. The full article explores the specific attribution models that make this advanced targeting possible.
A successful global journey begins with a strategy that maps every customer touchpoint to a specific advertising action. First, you must use search insights to understand international demand and research how potential customers in target countries look for products like yours. Next, build campaigns that guide users through the awareness, consideration, and decision stages, using visual and targeted ads. The crucial step is to evaluate and measure the success at each touchpoint, recognizing that not all interactions hold the same value. For example, success for Sitara Foods was not just a local sale but an international order, which became their primary metric. By defining clear objectives, from CPA for new markets to ROAS for established ones, you create a scalable model for global expansion. This detailed journey mapping is the foundation of a sustainable international business.
This classification framework provides a lens to understand user intent and purchase readiness. 'Shock' categories may represent sudden, high-volume trend searches, 'sticky' categories refer to consistent, evergreen demand for staple products, and 'new' categories are emerging areas of interest. By analyzing which category their products fall into, advertisers can tailor their messaging and budget allocation more effectively. For instance, a 'sticky' product like homemade pickles from Sitara Foods requires a consistent presence, while a 'shock' trend might demand a rapid, high-intensity campaign. In the dynamic Indian retail market, where consumer trends can shift quickly, this framework allows businesses to be more agile and responsive, ensuring their ad spend is aligned with real-time search behavior. A deeper dive into this concept can help you better anticipate and capitalize on market movements.
Visuals are critical because they bridge the gap between the functional nature of online search and the fun, sensory experience of offline shopping. As platforms become more sophisticated, they are moving beyond simple text ads to offer rich, visually appealing results like Shopping ads, video showcases, and interactive 3D models that more closely replicate the act of seeing and handling a product in a store. This addresses the human truth that shopping should be an enjoyable experience, not just a transaction. For the 66% of users starting their journey on these platforms, compelling visuals can be the deciding factor that captures their attention and builds the trust needed to make a purchase. By making the digital storefront more tangible and engaging, advertisers can significantly drive purchase decisions. Exploring the latest visual ad formats is essential for any retailer looking to compete effectively.
Amol has helped catalyse business growth with his strategic & data-driven methodologies. With a decade of experience in the field of marketing, he has donned multiple hats, from channel optimization, data analytics and creative brand positioning to growth engineering and sales.
Growth Strategy and Planning
