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RPM Agency · Google Ads for automotive shops
The previous agency had built six campaigns, none of them tightly measured against booked installs. Conversion definitions were inconsistent. Budget was spreading across campaigns that weren't producing.
Phone clicks, email clicks and form submissions weren't feeding bid strategies properly. Every optimisation decision was being made blind.
Without clean tracking and disciplined targeting, the operator couldn't tell whether each ad dollar was translating to a workshop booking.
Most agencies inherit a messy account and try to optimise inside the constraints they're given, tweaking bids, never touching the architecture. We reset the account three times, each reset cutting deeper into what wasn't working.
Our first move was removing the previous agency's users and auditing the mess. Six legacy campaigns were bleeding budget into loose match types and broad targeting. Through Q4 2024 we paused every non-performing ad group, rebuilt the Website Phone Call conversion (attribution switched to data-driven, call length tuned), turned OFF Final URL expansion on PMax so traffic went only to validated landing pages, and rewrote conversion definitions so primary actions were genuine commercial signals.
We rebuilt the account from the ground up. A new Performance Max campaign launched on Maximize Conversion Value with Target ROAS, the right bid strategy for a product-plus-install business. Geo-tuned to 10km Dandenong and 15km Burwood with Frankston and Mentone layers. A shopping product feed integrated with 182 TJM-specific SKUs.
We built a standalone Branded Search campaign for direct brand defence, 35+ Complete 4x4 keyword variants as exact match at a $0.75 bid cap. Through July and August, 200+ competitor negative keywords were added: Road Runner Offroad, Ocam 4x4, 4WD Supacentre, Man 4x4, Kings 4x4, Dobinsons, Pedders.
We launched a tightly scoped new campaign: Search – Installation. Purpose-built for bullbar and 4WD installation buyers. Started at $5/day to validate search term quality, scaled to $50/day within hours once the signal looked clean. Within a week we had data showing Performance Max was outperforming Search on CPA, but Search-Installation was capturing the installation-specific buyer we couldn't get otherwise.
We applied an 824-keyword negative exact-match list to Performance Max, the most aggressive cleanup in the account's history. Every wrecker search, every used parts query, every competitor location, every DIY tutorial intent, 824 non-buyer terms excluded in a single upload. PMax spend started landing only on genuine bullbar, suspension and 4x4 installation buyer searches.
Asset groups rebuilt. Search themes shifted from brand-specific ("TJM bullbars") to buyer-intent focused ("bullbar installation", "bullbar for 4x4", "nudge bars"). 14 new phrase-match keywords added on dominant buyer intent, ARB bullbar, MCC bullbar, TJM bullbar, Hilux bullbar, Ford Ranger bull bar. Proximity tightened to 5km around Burwood.
Cost per enquiry on Performance Max, the primary growth channel. 770 tracked conversions in 7 months.
The willingness to reset. Most agencies inherit a messy account and try to optimise inside the constraints they're given. We reset three times over 18 months, each reset cutting deeper into what wasn't working. By the end, PMax was delivering enquiries at $5.42, the keyword universe was clean, every campaign had a clear commercial role, and the business could scale spend with confidence instead of hope.
Three clean resets and the account finally makes sense. We know exactly where every dollar is going, and what it's buying.Owner, Complete 4x4