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Google’s Constant Push For Merchants To Have Lower ROAS
Hi all, I just wanted to get a discussion piece going on this if possible.
We recently had a call with a google rep, and we couldn’t help but notice on their presentation for a future discussion point for the Christmas period was “consider reducing your ROAS target”.
Now I get that around Christmas it’s competitive (just like the rest of the year) – but surely this is the time of year us merchants/brands should be expecting higher ROAS! If not the busiest period of the year, then when?
I think it’s important for all brands who use google to remember that when you reduce a ROAS target you are saying to google – “yes google please take a greater share of our revenue”….it’s always going to be in Google’s interest for brands and merchants to reduce their ROAS targets.
Anyone else had or seen this from google?
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1 Reply
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Google has been moving towards hoovering up more of the surplus generated from their advertising for a long time. It’s practically the rule book for a monopoly business.
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I think heading into those conversations with a specific goal is best. Lead the conversation and bring what’s required instead of reacting to their pov. If you do that, you’ll get a tone deaf answer.
Tell them what the business needs to do during the holiday. I think it’s important to understand Google is a business trying to make money, so is the customer and the agency. This is always the case and shouldn’t surprise anyone. Whenever I’m at odds with a vendor or customer I assume good intentions. Some don’t and that’s fine. You’ll uncover how much they care after you provide context and pushback. Do they stop and consider or do they push; then you can safely say their help should be taken are face value. “thank you, well consider this” then move on.
If you have a ROAS you must hit, challenge them and ask them based on projections and trends, what can I get for this ROAS and when should I start (timing is important too because people start too late and pull back too soon on holiday). Ask them what will I get in these multiple scenarios. That way you get good Intel, they have context and aren’t telling you the best way to grow is to turn everything up.
The more you know about your business, the more impractical rep help can be.
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The reason for lowering ROAS targets is to capture the increase in demand you’ll see during the holiday season. If merchant A and merchant B sell the same product/service, the merchant with the lower ROAS target is more likely to capture the conversion (all things equal)
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