Google Performance Max Campaign @ Primstop
Google Performance Max Campaign @ Primstop
Digital Marketer
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How do you ensure your car servicing ads reach local drivers just when they need to change their tyres or recharge their air con?
That was the challenge when I ran a Google Performance Max campaign for Primstop, a car servicing and repair company in Romania.
Spring is a crucial period for car maintenance, drivers are swapping winter tyres for summer ones and ensuring their air conditioning is in top shape before the heat kicks in.
I knew I had to capture drivers’ attention right when they were most likely to switch tyres or prep their cars for summer. That’s how the Google Performance Max campaign, running from 1 March to 1 June, kicked off.
Brief:
Increase online bookings for tyre changes and air con recharge services by 30% compared to the previous spring using Google PMax, optimised targeting and asset testing while achieving a minimum ROAS of 4.
Challenges:
High competition
Many local garages were competing for the same seasonal customers.
User Behaviour
Drivers often delay car maintenance until absolutely necessary, making conversion unpredictable.
Budget allocation
Performance Max requires a data-driven approach to ensure efficient spend across Google’s ecosystem.
Creative variation
The campaign needed to test different ad formats, including search, display, and YouTube, to drive conversions.
Data feed limitations
Without a structured product feed, Performance Max had to rely more on audience signals and high-performing creatives.
Strategy:
To ensure success, I focused on three pillars:
Segmentation & intent-based targeting
Leveraged past booking data, website visitors, and lookalike audiences to refine targeting. Enhanced audience signals using first-party data and Google’s predictive modelling.
Ad creative tailored to urgency
Emphasised limited availability, importance of pre-summer maintenance, and service benefits using high-converting ad copy and visuals.
Automation with control
While Performance Max automates placements, I closely monitored search term insights, adjusted budgets based on audience performance, and refined creative assets based on engagement trends.
Implementation:
Landing pages were optimised for conversion with clear CTAs and detailed service descriptions. Ad creatives combined search-responsive ads, display banners, and short video clips to highlight seasonal urgency.
A mix of static and video creatives ensured maximum engagement, with emotion-driven visuals reinforcing the importance of comfort and safety.
The air con recharge ads featured happy passengers, including children and pets, to evoke the importance of a comfortable and safe driving experience before summer heatwaves.
Split testing was used to compare multiple creative variations, such as different angles of tyre changes and service environments. This allowed the campaign to determine which visuals resonated most with potential customers, leading to higher engagement.
Brand consistency was maintained across all assets, with Primstop’s yellow and black branding ensuring strong brand recall and recognition in a competitive space.
Placement-specific optimisation ensured that display and YouTube ads focused on video storytelling, while search ads used high-intent keywords combined with responsive search assets to maintain relevance across different search queries.
CTAs like "Programare Online" (Online Booking) were consistently placed in a prominent position across all creatives, reinforcing the ease of scheduling an appointment digitally.
Cross-service promotion was also leveraged, targeting users who might be interested in both tyre changes and air con recharge services to encourage bundled bookings and improve customer retention.
The bidding strategy was structured to maximise conversions while maintaining efficiency. A mix of Target ROAS and CPA adjustments allowed the campaign to optimise spend and prioritise high-value conversions.
Automated bidding was closely monitored, ensuring budget reallocation towards best-performing asset groups while minimising wasted ad spend.
- Related project: FluentCRM Product Education Series @ Primstop
Tracking & Reporting:
Online tracking
To measure performance accurately, GA4 tracking was implemented, allowing for detailed insights into user journeys and engagement. This helped assess how visitors interacted with the landing pages and at which points they dropped off or converted.
Offline tracking
Additionally, offline conversion tracking was set up to capture bookings made via phone calls and in-person visits, ensuring that all touchpoints were accounted for, particularly as many customers preferred speaking with a representative before confirming their service.
Optimisation:
The insights from tracking helped shape key optimisation efforts. Audience signals were continuously monitored to identify high-intent users, refining targeting strategies and improving bid adjustments.
Evaluating user engagement patterns revealed areas where bid strategies needed to be adjusted, leading to more efficient budget allocation and prioritisation of high-performing ad assets.
Microsoft Clarity was used to analyse on-page behaviour, providing insights into user interactions. Heatmaps and session recordings showed where visitors engaged most and where drop-offs occurred, leading to improvements in CTA placements and content structure.
Negative keyword filtering was implemented to refine traffic quality, ensuring budget was spent on the most relevant users.
Bid adjustments for mobile users increased efficiency, while continuous ad asset testing improved engagement.
Budget reallocation prioritised top-performing asset groups, ensuring maximum conversion impact. YouTube and Display insights helped fine-tune creative strategy, with optimised video placements improving engagement rates and lowering cost per conversion.
Results:
273
online bookings
5.2
return on ad spend
42%
increase / prev year
- The campaign led to a 42% increase in online bookings compared to the previous spring.
- ROAS exceeded expectations, reaching 5.2.
- Mobile users accounted for over 60% of total conversions, confirming that bid adjustments for mobile targeting were effective in driving bookings.
- Ads featuring human-centric visuals (families, pets, and happy drivers) resulted in a 30% higher engagement rate than purely service-focused ads. This indicates that emotional connection played a role in conversion uplift.
- YouTube and Display video ads had a 35% higher click-through rate (CTR) than static display ads, reinforcing the role of video storytelling in improving engagement.
- Heatmaps and session recordings helped reduce bounce rates by 18%, particularly by repositioning CTAs and simplifying the booking form.
- The strategic push for bundled services resulted in a 20% uplift in users booking both tyre change and air con recharge services in one session, demonstrating the effectiveness of cross-service promotion.
Takeaways:
Performance Max requires ongoing optimisation to deliver results. Creative diversity improves engagement, while seasonal timing improves urgency-driven conversions.
Emotion-driven ads, particularly those featuring people and comfort-focused messaging, drive higher engagement and conversions.
Video storytelling is more effective than static creatives, as demonstrated by the higher CTR on YouTube and Display.
Offline conversions remain crucial, and first-party data strengthens audience targeting for better results. A well-monitored bidding strategy is key to maximising efficiency and improving return on investment.
Skills:
- Paid Media Strategy
- Data-driven
- Budget allocation
- Campaign Management
- A/B testing & optimisation
- Audience segmentation