Product cost
SKU-level costs are the foundation and the place most attempts come unstuck, so we check yours before building anything on top.
Bid on what you keep, not what you bill
Passing margin as the conversion value makes Target ROAS effectively a target return on profit. We calculate it per order from your own data and send that to Google Ads, so a low-margin order stops looking like a triumph.
From £2,500 ex VATWhat goes into the margin figure
Shipping
Delivery can turn a healthy-looking order into a break-even one, so it belongs in the sum.
Payment fees
Card and payment provider fees come off every order and are remarkably easy to forget.
Returns
A returned order made no profit, so returns are either adjusted afterwards or allowed for in the calculation.
Scaled values
Sharing true margin with an ad platform is a commercial decision, and some businesses send a scaled value and keep the real one to themselves.
A new target to match
Once the values change, your old Target ROAS stops meaning what it did, so we talk through a new one before you switch.
How does bidding on profit work in Google Ads?
One order, worked through
Take the revenue on an order, subtract product cost, shipping and fees, and what’s left is what Google Ads gets told. A big order on thin margin stops outranking a smaller one that pays better.
- Revenue, costs and margin per order
- Calculated from your ERP data
- Sent as the conversion value
Reporting on profit and bidding on profit are different jobs
Google can report gross profit using “conversions with cart data” plus cost of goods sold in Merchant Center. That tells you what happened afterwards, and the bidding still runs on whatever value you passed in.
- Merchant Center cost data is for reporting
- Bidding follows the conversion value
- So the value is what we change
Is your cost data good enough?
SKU-level cost accuracy, returns, shipping and payment fees are the usual failure points. We grade yours first, and if the numbers are too patchy, we’ll suggest starting with order values and coming back to margin later.
- Cost data graded before we build
- Gaps listed plainly
- Order values as a stepping stone
What’s involved
Not many people offer this, so we take care to scope it before quoting. Expect a fixed figure from £2,500 ex VAT, depending on the systems involved and how tidy your cost data is.
What’s included
- Margin calculated per order from your ERP data
- Margin or a scaled value sent as the conversion value
- A review of Target ROAS before you switch over
What we’ll need from you
- Product costs held at SKU level
- How shipping, returns and fees are recorded
- A decision on true or scaled margin
Often paired with
Order values from your ERP
Send real order values from Linnworks, Unleashed, Brightpearl or Sage 200 into Google Ads, including the phone and offline orders your website never sees.
Tracking Monitoring
Monthly tracking monitoring for Google Ads: automated checks that warn when conversions drop, a tag breaks or your website and CRM stop matching.