The Vitgrass online store, a leading provider of premium wheatgrass and other superfood products, had experienced stagnant sales and declining customer engagement throughout most of 2022. Despite the growing trend toward health and wellness, Vitgrass found itself struggling to maintain market share in the increasingly competitive niche of plant-based and natural supplements. Customer acquisition costs had risen by 18% compared to the previous year, and the store's conversion rates had fallen from 2.7% in mid-2021 to just 1.9% by the end of 2022.

At the same time, Vitgrass’ existing customer base showed signs of dwindling loyalty. The rate of returning customers dropped from 28% in the first quarter of 2022 to 21% by the end of the year. Meanwhile, email open rates declined from an already underwhelming 16.2% to 12.7%, and click-through rates (CTR) from email campaigns hovered below 1.5%, limiting the effectiveness of any promotional efforts.

The company relied heavily on its Google Ads campaigns to drive traffic, but its performance metrics were discouraging. Cost-per-click (CPC) had increased by 14% from $0.83 to $0.95 over the past year, while cost-per-conversion (CPCONV) jumped from $12.50 to $16.75. Vitgrass needed to find a way to optimize these campaigns, reduce the CPC, and increase the number of qualified leads that translated into sales.

As the last quarter of 2022 approached, Vitgrass management knew they had to take immediate action to reverse these negative trends. They partnered with a marketing and advertising agency with expertise in Google Ads optimization, email marketing, and integrated digital strategies to devise a comprehensive solution. The agency’s goal was to increase overall sales, improve return on ad spend (ROAS), and significantly enhance customer retention and engagement.

This case details the strategic actions taken from December 2022 to April 2023, the implementation process, and the quantifiable results achieved at every stage.

The first step of the project was to conduct a comprehensive audit of Vitgrass’ existing Google Ads account. The agency thoroughly reviewed each campaign, including targeting settings, keyword choices, ad copy, bidding strategies, and overall account structure. The key findings included:

• Non-Performing Keywords: Nearly 38% of the total budget was being spent on keywords that had a conversion rate of less than 0.5%.
• Overly Broad Targeting: Approximately 62% of impressions were generated from broad-match keywords that attracted a large volume of irrelevant traffic.
• Underutilized Negative Keywords: Vitgrass had minimal use of negative keywords, leading to unnecessary ad spend on unrelated queries.

To address these issues, the agency implemented the following actions:

• Keyword Optimization: The team shifted the focus to high-intent, long-tail keywords that were more specific to Vitgrass’ core products, which reduced CPC from $0.95 to $0.76 (a 20% reduction).
• Negative Keyword Implementation: 134 negative keywords were added, blocking irrelevant traffic and decreasing wasted spend by 16%.
• Ad Copy Testing: Over 18 new ad variations were created, specifically highlighting customer benefits such as “100% Organic Wheatgrass” and “Free Shipping on Orders Over $50.” The CTR for ads improved by 21%, from 4.2% to 5.1%.

The next step involved refining Vitgrass’ bidding strategy and implementing advanced audience segmentation. Instead of relying solely on manual CPC bidding, the agency implemented automated bid strategies such as Target CPA (Cost-Per-Acquisition) and Enhanced CPC, allowing Google to adjust bids based on the likelihood of conversion.

At the same time, the agency segmented Vitgrass’ target audience into more specific categories based on user behavior, demographics, and purchase history:

• High-Value Customers: Customers who had purchased more than $100 worth of products in the last six months were segmented into a separate campaign with an aggressive bidding strategy, increasing bids by 25% to ensure greater visibility.
• New vs. Returning Customers: Separate campaigns were created for new and returning visitors, with the latter seeing remarketing ads promoting loyalty discounts.

Alongside the Google Ads optimization, the agency completely restructured Vitgrass' email marketing approach. The existing email list of 32,000 subscribers was segmented based on customer behavior, including purchase frequency, product preference, and engagement history. The following strategies were employed:

• Personalized Product Recommendations: The agency implemented dynamic content in emails, recommending specific products based on previous purchase behavior. This led to a 35% higher click-through rate compared to generic emails.
• Abandoned Cart Series: A three-part email series was introduced for abandoned carts, incentivizing users with a 10% discount on their first reminder and free shipping on the final reminder. This increased the abandoned cart recovery rate from 6.4% to 11.9%.
• Reactivation Campaigns: Inactive customers who hadn’t purchased in the last 12 months were sent a series of reactivation emails offering exclusive discounts, resulting in the re-engagement of 4,200 subscribers (13.1% of the inactive list).

A detailed conversion rate optimization (CRO) audit was conducted for Vitgrass’ website. Through user behavior analysis, heatmaps, and A/B testing, several key areas of improvement were identified:

• Improved Checkout Process: The number of steps in the checkout process was reduced from five to three, simplifying the experience for users and lowering the cart abandonment rate.
• Product Page Enhancements: Additional product images, customer testimonials, and "Frequently Bought Together" sections were added to key product pages.
• Mobile Optimization: Since 68% of traffic came from mobile devices, the site’s mobile loading speed was improved from 3.7 seconds to 2.4 seconds, leading to a 22% increase in mobile conversions.

The agency also launched a series of remarketing and display ad campaigns to re-engage users who had visited the Vitgrass website without converting. This was done through both Google Display Network and remarketing ads on social platforms, which targeted users who had viewed specific product pages or added items to their carts.

To further grow the business, the agency recommended expanding Vitgrass' reach through localized Google Ads campaigns in new regions. By analyzing geographic performance data, the agency identified untapped areas where demand for health and wellness products was growing.

Localized ad copy and landing pages were created to cater to specific regions, emphasizing faster shipping times and regional promotions. The result was a successful market expansion that saw:

• Regional Revenue Growth: An 18.5% increase in sales from newly targeted regions, contributing an additional $6,300 in monthly revenue.
• Cost-Per-Click (CPC): In new regions, CPC was 22% lower than the national average, leading to greater cost efficiency.
• Conversion Rate in New Markets: Averaged 3.4%, exceeding the company’s previous benchmark of 2.6%.

The combination of Google Ads optimization, email marketing segmentation, website conversion improvements, and strategic remarketing transformed Vitgrass’ online performance. From December 2022 to April 2023, the store’s overall revenue grew by 32%, from $125,000 per month to $165,000, surpassing the company’s initial growth targets.

• Increased Revenue: An additional $40,000 in monthly sales.
• Improved ROAS: From 2.3x to 3.5x, signifying a much more profitable ad spend.
• Enhanced Customer Retention: The percentage of repeat customers rose from 21% to 28.7%.

Beyond the quantitative gains, Vitgrass also saw a qualitative improvement in brand perception and customer loyalty. Feedback from post-purchase surveys indicated that 87% of customers appreciated the improvements to the shopping experience, while 73% said they would likely recommend Vitgrass to a friend.

By focusing on data-driven strategies, the agency not only helped Vitgrass recover from stagnation but also positioned the brand for sustainable growth in a highly competitive market. The partnership between Vitgrass and the marketing agency demonstrated the power of targeted, efficient digital advertising and engagement strategies in transforming an eCommerce business.