Google Ads — full audit (long-form)

TYDI — Google Ads Opportunity Audit & 6-Month Budget

Data: Ahrefs Keywords Explorer (NZ) + Site Explorer · 11 Jun 2026 · structured per the google-ads-new-account skill · The visual summary is the Google Ads plan deck.

Verdict

Paid search is greenfield with a genuinely attractive, cheap, high-intent demand pool — led by "refurbished". TYDI currently runs no Google Ads (0 paid keywords; a brief, tiny paid burst ran Dec 2025–May 2026 then stopped). Unlike the broken organic channel, paid is independent of the migration mess and can be switched on quickly once tracking + a clean product feed are in place. Recommended 6-month build: ~NZD $27,500, ramping $2k → $6.5k/mo, test → prove → scale. Breakeven ROAS ≈ 2.2× (46% GM); the keyword economics suggest a realistic 3–6× is achievable.

Validate before spending. Ahrefs CPCs are directional and tend to understate live Google Ads/Shopping CPCs. AOV and conversion rate below are assumptions until the vendor's GA4/Shopify data is shared (DD ask). Treat this as a costed plan to verify, not a guarantee.
Paid follows the foundation — never precedes it. Google paid launches only once tracking (GA4 + Stape) and a clean product feed are live and the site converts. The site currently converts <0.1% — you do not pay for traffic into a broken site. Sequence: fix tracking + feed + conversion + Trade Me first; free Merchant Center listings can go on early; paid Shopping/Search scales only once the foundation holds.

1. The opportunity — "refurbished" is the wedge

NZ search demand for refurbished consumer tech is large, low-difficulty and commercially intent-rich — and it's exactly what TYDI sells.

Cluster~Searches/mo (NZ)CPC (US$ est.)Why it matters
Refurbished Apple/mobile (iPhone, iPad, MacBook, Watch, Samsung)~12,000+$0.20–0.45Highest-intent, lowest-difficulty, on-brand. The headline wedge.
Dyson (vacuum, v8, v11, v15, refurbished dyson)~13,000$0.25–0.90Lead product + a genuine supplier moat (Dyson exclusivity).
Category (vacuum cleaner nz, robot vacuum nz)~8,000$0.09–0.20Cheap clicks; best via Shopping/PMax feed.
Laptops (refurbished/cheap/gaming laptop nz)~2,400$0.20–0.30Solid secondary line.

Standouts: refurbished iphone nz 3,200 (KD 0), dyson vacuum 6,500, dyson v8 3,300, vacuum cleaner nz 5,000, robot vacuum nz 3,000, refurbished phones 1,000, refurbished ipad 800, apple refurbished nz 700, refurbished macbook 500. Most carry difficulty 0–19 and US$0.20–0.50 CPCs — cheap, motivated traffic.

Strategic read: TYDI should own the word "refurbished" in NZ paid search. The differentiator competitors (PB Tech, Harvey Norman, Noel Leeming) don't lead with, the demand is real, and the Dyson exclusivity lets it advertise genuine refurbished Dyson — a defensible angle.

2. Proposed campaign architecture

Naming follows the brain default [Brand]_[Network]_[Geo]_[Funnel]_[Theme].

CampaignTypePurposeDay-1 bidding
Tydi_Search_NZ_Brand_CoreSearchBrand defenceMax clicks → Impr. share
Tydi_PMax_NZ_RefurbApplePerf. MaxFeed-led refurbished AppleMax Conversion Value
Tydi_PMax_NZ_VacuumsPerf. MaxFeed-led Dyson + robot vacuumsMax Conversion Value
Tydi_Search_NZ_BOFU_RefurbAppleSearchHigh-intent refurb AppleManual / Max Conv
Tydi_Search_NZ_BOFU_VacuumsSearchDyson model + refurbManual / Max Conv
Tydi_Search_NZ_BOFU_LaptopsSearchRefurb/cheap/gaming laptopsManual / Max Conv
Tydi_DemandGen_NZ_Retargeting (mth 5+)Demand GenRe-engage visitors/cartMax Conv
Shared negative list Tydi Auto-Negatives: repair, parts, manual, fix, "battery replacement", review, vs, rental, hire, jobs, free, "how to". Refurb retail bleeds budget on repair/parts/info queries — block from day 1.

For e-comm, Shopping/PMax is the workhorse — the feed captures the long tail of model+condition queries (e.g. "iphone 13 refurbished", "dyson v8 animal") that you'd never build out as keywords. Search campaigns cover the high-value head terms and the "refurbished [x] nz" intent.

IP counsel before bidding on "dyson" (and other brand) keywords. Bidding on brand terms like dyson v8 needs the trademark / IP position confirmed first — and here it's not abstract: the trademark owner is also the supply-contract counterparty, so a keyword dispute can put the supply line at risk. Confirm the position before any brand-keyword spend goes live. See brand-strategy.html for the full trademark/reseller analysis and the NZ IP counsel sign-off it calls for.

3. Sample keyword → ad-group mapping (Search)

RSAs per ad group via google-ads-creation (15 headlines / 4 descriptions; lead with Refurbished · NZ Warranty · Trade-in Welcome · NZ Owned). Sitelinks: Refurbished iPhones, Dyson Deals, Refurbished Laptops, Warranty & Returns.

4. The 6-month budget — test → prove → scale

MonthPhaseBudget (NZD)Focus
1Test$2,000Brand + PMax RefurbApple + BOFU RefurbApple. Tracking shakedown.
2Test$3,000Add PMax Vacuums + BOFU Vacuums. Mine search terms → negatives.
3Prove$4,500Scale winners; add BOFU Laptops; first tROAS test on PMax.
4Prove$5,000Graduate PMax/Search to Target ROAS; expand asset groups.
5Scale$6,500Add DemandGen retargeting; broaden converting themes.
6Scale$6,500Optimised scale; lock the efficient frontier.
Total≈ $27,500avg ≈ $4,600/mo (≈ 5–8% of ~$66k/mo revenue)

Plus a one-off setup (conversion tracking + Merchant Center feed + build): your time if DIY, or ~NZD $1,500–3,000 if outsourced.

5. Unit economics & ROAS model

Assumptions (to confirm in DD): AOV NZD $300, gross margin 46% (from dossier FY26A), breakeven ROAS ≈ 2.2×.

ScenarioBlended CPCConv. rateROASRead
Conservative$1.501.5%2.8×Just above breakeven — fine while learning.
Target$1.102.0%5.5×Realistic once feed + negatives mature.
Stretch$0.852.5%9.4×If feed quality + CR are strong.

ROAS = (Conv. rate × AOV) ÷ CPC. At the Target scenario, $5,000/mo → ~90 orders → ~$27k revenue → ~$12.5k gross profit − $5k ad spend = ~$7.5k/mo contribution, CPA ≈ $55 vs gross profit/order ≈ $138. The model only fails if real CPCs are 2–3× Ahrefs and CR is <1.5% and AOV is low — hence the DD validation.

Channel potential, not additive. The ~$7.5k/mo contribution and ROAS targets above are paid search's own potential — not new revenue stacked on top of email, SEO and Trade Me. The same customer is reachable across all of them, so these figures are netted into the single integrated forecast in the business plan (which removes overlap and cannibalisation), not summed alongside the other channels.

6. Pre-launch requirements (don't spend a dollar until these are done)

  1. Conversion tracking: GA4 purchase event + Google Ads conversion import, enhanced conversions on. Verify a test purchase fires before launch (the #1 failure point on new accounts).
  2. Merchant Center + product feed: clean feed with condition = refurbished, GTIN/MPN, price, availability, images. The single biggest lever for refurb e-comm.
  3. Landing pages: ensure clean collection pages exist for Refurbished iPhones, Refurbished Laptops, Dyson, Robot Vacuums (these double as SEO assets).
  4. Negatives + brand campaign live first, then layer non-brand.
  5. Bidding: start Manual CPC / Max Clicks (Search) and Max Conversion Value (PMax); graduate to Target ROAS after ~30 conversions (≈ 30 days). Don't panic at early CPA during learning.

7. House gates (per google-ads-new-account)

8. Recommendation & DD asks

Recommendation: budget ~NZD $27,500 over 6 months ($2k→$6.5k ramp), refurbished-Apple-led, PMax + tight high-intent Search, on a clean feed with verified tracking. Self-funding once ROAS clears ~2.2× (likely month 2–3). Treat the spend as growth capital that should pay for itself, not a sunk marketing cost — and it's a channel a generic buyer couldn't stand up as fast.

Confirm in due diligence (add to broker list):

  1. Shopify + GA4 data: real AOV, conversion rate, and existing organic-vs-Trade Me-vs-paid revenue split.
  2. The Dec 2025–May 2026 paid burst: Google Ads account access, what was spent, what it returned.
  3. Product feed readiness: is there a Merchant Center account / feed already? Condition + GTIN coverage?
  4. Margin by category: Dyson vs Apple-refurb vs laptops — to weight budget toward the most profitable lines.
Ahrefs CPC = indicative (often below live Google Ads CPC for competitive retail/Shopping). AOV (NZD $300) and CR (2%) are planning assumptions; the whole budget model re-prices on the real numbers from DD. Paid is independent of the SEO collapse — but fix the product feed and key collection pages first.
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