Complete Care Shop: £100k Monthly Savings Through PPC Efficiency

Overview

When Complete Care Shop hired me in September 2016, they had a crisis: spending £150,000 monthly on Google Ads to generate £450,000 in revenue. Within two weeks, I cut their ad spend to £50,000 while maintaining the same revenue - saving them £100,000 per month (£1.2M annually).

That was just the beginning. Over the next five years, I helped grow their monthly revenue from £450k to over £2 million, improved ROAS from 3.0 to 13.3+, and maintained their market dominance through a business acquisition and ownership change.

This case study examines how to rapidly identify waste in PPC accounts, implement emergency cost controls, then build long-term efficiency and growth.

The Challenge

Client: Complete Care Shop - UK healthcare and mobility aids e-commerce retailer

Market: Highly competitive healthcare sector dominated by large retailers (Boots, Lloyds Pharmacy) and specialist suppliers

Starting situation (September 2016):
- Monthly revenue: £450,000
- Monthly ad spend: £150,000
- ROAS: 3.0 (£3 revenue per £1 spent)
- Problem: Massive overspending with poor efficiency

Immediate priority: Stop the bleeding - reduce costs without losing revenue

Secondary goal: Build sustainable growth and efficiency

Additional complexity: Business was sold in 2018, requiring smooth transition to new ownership

The Three-Phase Journey

Phase 1: Emergency Surgery (First 2 Weeks - September 2016)

When I audited the account, the waste was obvious:

What I found:
- Campaigns targeting irrelevant searches (people looking for jobs, free products, repairs)
- Broad match keywords with no negative keyword lists
- Single campaign structure with no segmentation by intent or product type
- No shopping campaigns (product ads)
- Poor quality score (5-6 average, meaning higher CPCs)
- Bidding the same amount for high-margin and low-margin products
- No mobile bid adjustments (mobile traffic converting poorly but getting same bids)
- Ad schedule running 24/7 despite poor overnight performance

Immediate actions taken:

Week 1:
1. Negative keyword blitz - Added 500+ negative keywords to stop waste immediately:
- "free" "second hand" "used" "repair" "parts" "jobs" "NHS free" "charity"
- This alone saved ~£30k/month in irrelevant clicks

2. Paused underperformers - Identified campaigns with terrible ROAS (<2.0) and paused them
   - Stopped spending on proven losers
   - Saved ~£25k/month

3. Bid reductions - Reduced bids by 40-60% across most campaigns
   - CPCs were inflated due to poor quality scores and overbidding
   - Immediate cost reduction with minimal traffic loss

4. Ad schedule adjustments - Stopped ads during low-performing hours
   - Healthcare customers don't shop at 3am
   - Saved ~£8k/month

Week 2:
1. Campaign restructuring - Rebuilt account with proper segmentation:
- Brand campaigns (high intent, high ROAS)
- Generic product campaigns (medium intent)
- Shopping campaigns (product-level targeting)
- Remarketing (re-engage visitors)

2. Match type optimization - Changed broad match keywords to phrase and exact match
   - Better control over what searches triggered ads
   - Improved relevance and quality scores

3. Mobile bid adjustments - Reduced mobile bids by 30-40%
   - Mobile traffic wasn't converting well for healthcare (older demographic preferred desktop)
   - Saved ~£12k/month

Results after 2 weeks:
- Monthly ad spend: £50,000 (down from £150k - a 67% reduction)
- Monthly revenue: £450,000 (maintained - no revenue loss)
- ROAS: 9.0 (up from 3.0 - a 200% improvement)
- Annual savings: £1.2 million

Why it worked so fast:
The account had so much waste that fixing obvious problems delivered immediate results. This wasn't magic - it was identifying inefficiency and fixing it systematically.

Phase 2: Strategic Growth (October 2016 - October 2018)

With costs under control, I focused on efficient growth.

Account optimization:

Campaign structure refinement:
- Separate campaigns by product margin (high/medium/low)
- Different ROAS targets based on profitability
- Seasonal campaigns (winter = high demand, summer = lower)

Quality score improvement:
- Rewrote ad copy for better relevance (quality score 5-6 → 8-9)
- Created tightly themed ad groups
- Improved landing pages
- Result: Lower CPCs despite increasing competition

Shopping campaign expansion:
- Initially basic product feeds
- Enhanced with custom labels (margin, performance, stock level)
- High/medium/low priority structure for bid control
- Product-specific ROAS targets

Smart bidding adoption:
- Started with manual bidding (needed control during restructuring)
- Gradually shifted to Target ROAS for brand campaigns
- Used Target CPA for generic campaigns
- Maximize conversion value for remarketing

Seasonal strategy:
- Healthcare demand spikes in winter (mobility concerns, cold weather)
- Increased budgets and bids November-February
- Reduced spend June-August
- Added winter-specific products (ice grips, non-slip footwear)

Growth milestones (illustrative progression):

Q4 2016 (3 months in):
- Monthly revenue: ~£600,000 (up from £450k)
- Monthly ad spend: ~£60,000
- ROAS: ~10.0

Q2 2017 (9 months in):
- Monthly revenue: ~£900,000
- Monthly ad spend: ~£85,000
- ROAS: ~10.6

Q4 2017 (15 months in):
- Monthly revenue: ~£1,200,000
- Monthly ad spend: ~£105,000
- ROAS: ~11.4

Q2 2018 (21 months in):
- Monthly revenue: ~£1,600,000
- Monthly ad spend: ~£130,000
- ROAS: ~12.3

October 2018 (Peak - 24 months in):
- Monthly revenue: £2,000,000+
- Monthly ad spend: <£150,000
- ROAS: 13.3+
- Total growth: 344% revenue increase from baseline
- Efficiency improvement: 443% ROAS improvement from baseline

Key tactics during growth phase:

1. Conversion rate optimization:
- Simplified checkout (reduced abandonment by ~18%)
- Added trust signals (NHS supplier badge, reviews)
- Improved product images and descriptions
- Live chat support for elderly customers

2. Remarketing sophistication:
- Segmented by cart value (higher bids for larger carts)
- Separate campaigns for product viewers vs cart abandoners
- Dynamic remarketing showing exact products viewed
- Email remarketing integration

3. Competitor defense:
- Protected brand searches aggressively
- Monitored competitor ads and matched strong offers
- Bid higher on branded searches to maintain top position

4. Expanding product range:
- Tested new product categories via PPC first
- Identified winners, then expanded inventory
- Paused losers quickly (data-driven decisions)

5. Customer lifetime value focus:
- Tracked which acquisition channels brought best long-term customers
- Willing to accept lower ROAS for channels with high repeat rates
- Email marketing to drive repeat purchases

Phase 3: Post-Acquisition Stability (2018 - October 2021)

In 2018, Complete Care Shop was acquired by new owners. This added significant complexity.

Transition challenges:
- New owners questioning existing strategy
- Internal team changes
- Different reporting requirements
- Pressure to maintain performance during ownership change

How I managed the transition:

1. Maintained performance throughout:
- Continued delivering consistent results
- No performance dip during acquisition
- Proved value to new ownership

2. Educated new stakeholders:
- Explained PPC strategy clearly
- Demonstrated ROI and profitability
- Built trust through transparency

3. Adapted to new requirements:
- Implemented new reporting systems
- Integrated with new analytics tools
- Adjusted to different decision-making processes

4. Long-term partnership:
- New owners retained my services
- Continued for additional 3 years post-acquisition
- Maintained market-leading position

Performance during post-acquisition phase (2019-2021):
- Sustained high ROAS (12-13+ range)
- Continued revenue growth
- Market dominance maintained
- Adapted to increasing competition and rising CPCs

Why the relationship lasted 5 years:
- Consistent results delivery
- Transparent reporting and communication
- Adaptability to business changes
- Deep healthcare sector expertise
- Long-term strategic thinking, not just short-term wins

The Results: Complete Picture

Immediate impact (First 2 weeks):
- Cost savings: £100,000/month (£1.2M annually)
- Revenue maintained: £450,000/month
- ROAS improvement: 3.0 → 9.0 (200% increase)

Peak performance (October 2018):
- Revenue growth: £450k → £2M+ monthly (344% increase)
- Ad spend: <£150k monthly (efficiency maintained)
- ROAS: 13.3+ (443% improvement from baseline)

Long-term success (2016-2021):
- Engagement duration: 5 years
- Survived ownership change: Continued 3 years post-acquisition
- Market position: Maintained dominance throughout
- Cumulative savings: £1.2M+ annually from cost optimization alone

Efficiency metrics progression:

Why This Approach Works

1. Quick wins build trust
Delivering £100k monthly savings in two weeks established credibility immediately. This bought time and budget for longer-term improvements.

2. Efficiency before growth
Fixing waste first created a solid foundation. Growing from an efficient base is better than scaling inefficiency.

3. Data beats assumptions
Every decision was backed by data. I didn't guess - I tested, measured, and optimised based on evidence.

4. Systematic approach
Success wasn't luck. It came from methodical analysis, prioritised fixes, and continuous optimization.

5. Long-term thinking
Quick wins are great, but sustainable performance requires ongoing refinement. Five years of partnership created compounding value.

Key Takeaways

For Businesses Overspending on PPC:

Waste is usually obvious if you look:
- Irrelevant search terms
- Poor account structure
- No negative keywords
- Equal bids for different product margins
- No mobile adjustments
- Running ads 24/7 regardless of performance

Quick wins are possible:
- Proper account audit identifies problems fast
- Basic fixes (negatives, bids, scheduling) deliver immediate savings
- You don't need to sacrifice revenue to cut costs

Quality score matters:
- Better relevance = lower CPCs
- Tight ad groups, relevant ads, good landing pages
- Compound savings over time

For Long-term PPC Success:

Continuous optimization beats big campaigns:
- Hundreds of small improvements compound
- Weekly reviews and adjustments
- Test constantly

Adapt to platform changes:
- Google Ads evolves constantly
- Smart bidding improved over time
- Early adopters gain advantages

Understand your business:
- Product margins dictate bidding strategy
- Seasonal patterns require different approaches
- Customer lifetime value informs acquisition costs

Build partnerships:
- Long-term relationships allow deep expertise development
- Trust enables strategic experimentation
- Surviving ownership changes requires proven value

For Healthcare E-commerce Specifically:

Trust is critical:
- Healthcare customers need reassurance
- NHS supplier status matters
- Reviews and testimonials essential

Demographics matter:
- Older audience prefers desktop and phone
- Live chat and phone support crucial
- Clear, simple website (no complexity)

Seasonality is significant:
- Winter demand spike (mobility concerns)
- Summer slowdown (better weather)
- Budget accordingly

Technologies and Tools Used

PPC platforms:
- Google Ads (primary revenue driver)
- Google Merchant Center (shopping campaigns)
- Google Analytics (conversion tracking, attribution)

Bidding and optimization:
- Manual bidding initially (control during restructuring)
- Target ROAS (brand campaigns)
- Target CPA (generic campaigns)
- Maximize conversion value (remarketing)

Research and analysis:
- Google Search Console (search query analysis)
- SEMrush (competitor intelligence)
- Google Keyword Planner (keyword research)

Tracking and reporting:
- Google Analytics (customer journeys, revenue attribution)
- Google Data Studio (automated reporting dashboards)
- Custom spreadsheets (margin analysis, profitability tracking)

Conversion optimization:
- Hotjar (user behavior analysis)
- A/B testing tools (checkout optimization)
- Live chat software (customer support)

Need help optimizing your PPC campaigns? I specialize in identifying waste, improving efficiency, and building sustainable growth strategies. With 20+ years managing digital marketing budgets - from emergency cost reduction to long-term scaling - I can help you maximize ROI. Get in touch to discuss your PPC challenges.