(Proven Strategies Australian Businesses Are Using Right Now to Lower Costs and Boost Sales)
Google Ads is still the fastest way for Australian businesses to get in front of red-hot buyers — but only if you stop wasting money like 80% of advertisers do.
Here are the 12 highest-ROI tweaks and strategies we implement for Netstripes clients that routinely turn break-even or losing campaigns into 5–15× ROAS machines.
1. Stop Using Broad Match Alone – Switch to Phrase + Exact Match First
Broad match burns budget on irrelevant searches like “free”, “jobs”, “training”.
rule: Launch every campaign with Phrase and Exact match keywords only. Add proven broad-match keywords later with negative lists already in place.
2. Build “Audience-First” Campaigns (Not Keyword-First)
Google now cares more about WHO is searching than WHAT they type.
Layer these audiences on every Search campaign (Observation mode first, then Bid Only):
- In-market audiences (e.g., “Residential Solar Systems”, “Business Banking”)
- High-income earners ($150k+ household)
- Your own remarketing lists (website visitors, customer list uploads)
- Customer Match + Similar Audiences
Result: 40–120% higher conversion rates at the same CPC.
3. Use Performance Max the Right Way (Don’t Just “Set and Forget”)
P-Max now drives 60%+ of many clients’ revenue — but only when you feed it the right signals:
- Upload your top 50–100 converting customer emails (Customer Match)
- Give it 15+ headlines, 5 long headlines, 10+ images, 3 videos
- Add first-party data segments (high-LTV customers)
- Use conversion value tracking (not just leads)
4. Track Revenue, Not Just Leads
If you only track form fills or phone calls, Google’s algorithm optimises for quantity, not quality.
Fix: Set up proper value-based bidding:
- E-commerce → Google Analytics 4 + purchase value import
- Lead gen → assign different values (e.g., consultation booking = $150, quote request = $50)
Switch to Maximise Conversion Value + target ROAS once you have 30+ conversions.
5. Write Ads That Actually Get Clicked in Australia
Australian searchers hate hype.
Winning ad formula:
Headline 1: [Main Keyword] + Year or Location
Headline 2: Benefit or Social Proof
Description: Features → Benefit → CTA + Urgency
Display URL: YourBrand.com.au/Exact-Keyword
Example:
Electrician Northern Beaches
24/7 Emergency – 250+ 5-Star Reviews
Same-day service across Manly to Palm Beach. Licensed & insured. Call now – we answer 24 hrs.
6. Steal Your Competitors’ Best Keywords with Auction Insights + Search Terms Report
Every week:
- Export Search Terms Report → add 20–30 converting terms as Exact match
- Add 50+ junk terms as negatives
- Check Auction Insights → bid higher on the 2–3 competitors who overlap most
7. Use Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) + Pinning Correctly
Always create 3–4 RSAs per ad group with:
- 12–15 headlines
- 4 descriptions Pin your best-performing headline to Headline 1 or 2 (Google still favours pinned assets).
8. Schedule Ads When Your Customers Actually Buy
Most Australian B2B enquiries happen at 7 am–6 pm weekdays.
Most home services peak 7–10 am and 4–8 pm.
Use ad scheduling + bid adjustments:
+80% during peak hours
−50–100% overnight
9. Dominate with Call-Only Campaigns (Mobile Gold for Tradies & Services)
Australian mobile searchers love tapping to call.
Create separate Call-Only campaigns:
- Only run on mobile
- Bid 30–50% higher
- Use “Call for same-day booking” in headlines Average client result: 40–60% lower cost per lead than standard Search
10. Add All 7 Ad Extensions (Now Called “Assets”)
Sites with all extensions turned on get 15–25% higher CTR on average:
- Sitelinks (with pricing or offers)
- Callouts (e.g., “Australian Owned”, “Same-Day Service”)
- Structured snippets
- Call extension
- Location + Location (for local)
- Price assets
- Promotion assets (Black Friday, EOFY, etc.)
11. Use Smart Bidding – But Only After 50+ Conversions
Google’s Target ROAS and Maximise Conversion Value bidding are scary good in — but they need data.
Don’t switch until you have at least 50 conversions in the last 30 days, or you’ll get terrible results.
12. Run Remarketing Everywhere (Most Ignored Goldmine)
80% of Australian shoppers need 7+ touches before buying.
Set up:
- Search remarketing (RLSA) – bid 2–3× higher on past visitors
- YouTube remarketing
- Display & Gmail remarketing to customer list
- Dynamic remarketing (show the exact product/service they viewed)
Real Australian Client Result
Sydney solar installer spending $18k/month → losing money
After applying the 12 tips above:
- Cost per lead dropped from $340 → $96
- Conversion rate jumped from 3.8% → 11.2%
- Monthly revenue from Google Ads went from −$4k profit → +$87k profit
- ROAS improved from 1.1× → 9.8×
Your Google Ads Checklist
- Tracking revenue/values (not just leads)
- Performance Max with first-party data
- Exact + Phrase match foundation
- All 7 ad assets live
- Remarketing running on Search + Display + YouTube
- Weekly negative keyword additions
Ready to Stop Wasting Money and Start Making Serious Profit with Google Ads?
At Netstripes, we manage over $1 million in annual Google Ads spend for Australian businesses every year — with an average client ROAS of 3.7×.
No lock-in contracts. Full transparency. Real revenue growth.
Book your free Google Ads Performance Audit today and discover exactly how many extra sales you’re leaving on the table.
