How Gift Card Store Grew PPC Sales

Challenges

Internal

1. Google CPCs are too high for a low-margin product. Microsoft Ads runs 20-30% cheaper for the same keywords. On thin gift card margins, that goes straight to profit.

2. Pressure from the executives to validate the effectiveness of paid search (including both Google and CPC)

External

1. Google is getting much more competition, while there is less competition on Bing. The banks and supermarkets dominate Google but under-invest in Microsoft. Easier to win top positions.

2. Google has a bigger pool of audience, yet Microsoft’s audience is the ideal buyer. Older, corporate, higher income. The default browser on every work laptop. These people buy gift cards at higher denominations for employee rewards and milestones.

3. Shopping ad restrictions are looser on Microsoft. Microsoft can be more lenient with prepaid card product listings, potentially unlocking a format that’s restricted on Google.

Our Approach

Primary: Reduce CPA by ~30% vs. the Jan–Apr 2025 baseline, without sacrificing conversion volume, to bring Microsoft in line with Google’s CPA target.
Secondary: Grow revenue 40%+ YoY on less spend – proving smarter allocation, not more budget, was the path to growth.

Strategy & Execution

1. Campaign restructure around buyer intent
Rebuilt the account into five campaigns, each mapped to a distinct stage of purchase intent:

• Branded – capturing existing demand. Highest CVR, protected with max impression share bidding.
• Visa Gift Cards – the most searched prepaid card type in Australia.
• Mastercard Gift Cards – a brand-new campaign. Mastercard searches had been lumped into generic campaigns and underperforming. Broken out with dedicated budgets, bids, and ad copy.
• Egift Cards – targeting the digital/mobile segment wanting instant delivery and mobile wallet compatibility.
• Gift Card Generic – broad category terms managed with tighter ROAS targets to avoid waste.

2. Full ad copy rewrite
Replaced generic messaging with benefit-led, intent-matched copy:

• Visa: “Visa Gift Card, Use at 37M+ Stores”
• Egift: “Same-Day Email Delivery”
• Generic: “From $25 to $1,000, Any Occasion”
• Branded: “Australia’s #1 Gift Card Provider Since 2005”

3. Bid strategy overhaul
Multiple rounds of campaign-level bid adjustments across February and March. Shifted from manual CPC to target ROAS where volume supported it, and pulled spend from underperforming generic terms into high-converting Visa, Mastercard, and branded queries.

4. Audience layering
Launched audience campaigns alongside search, driving a +558% YoY lift in audience impressions

Key Results

Every efficiency metric improved on a reduced budget:

• CPA: down 34% YoY (beat target by 7%)
• CVR: nearly doubled
• ROAS: doubled
• Spend: down 19% YoY
• Revenue: up 40%+ YoY

The bottom line: Microsoft is delivering near-identical revenue efficiency to Google (within ~5% on ROAS) at a fraction of the monthly investment. With impression share under 10% on both platforms, the marginal return on the next dollar into Microsoft is almost certainly higher than the next dollar into Google.

Both Targets: Achieved

• Primary: Beat target by 7% (-34% YoY).
• Secondary: Revenue +40% YoY on less spend