Launching Ads for an Online Store of Pool Equipment
In addition, the client also sells hot tubs and small ready-made pools that don’t require construction.
Preparation and analytics setup
Today we’ll talk about launching advertising for online stores with specific products. Our client sells pool equipment: both professional swimming (for businesses and public facilities) and for personal use (home pools, etc.). In addition, the client also sells hot tubs and small ready-made pools that don’t require construction.
Important detail: the client didn’t just have “business” products but also household solutions. So you could buy both professional equipment and, say, a hot tub for your home.
Two Client Websites
The client had two websites:
- the first one on the Prom.ua platform (in Kazakhstan, that’s Satu.kz),
- the second — a custom-built site.
First, we needed to place the CMS site on a separate domain and gain access to set up Search Console, confirm domain ownership, etc. It turned out this couldn’t be done directly since the site belonged to the Satu platform. We had to contact their support. Luckily, they quickly guided us and helped confirm ownership.
Honestly, we thought this would take ages, but Satu support turned out surprisingly helpful — everything was sorted in a couple of days.
This was important to register the store in Google Merchant Center, upload the catalog, and launch Shopping ads. Since the site was on CMS, generating a feed for Google Ads was quite easy.
We also set up analytics: Google Analytics and Yandex Metrica — using the standard CMS tools. Initially, we tracked all micro-conversions (clicks on phone number, viewing the Contacts page, copying email, etc.), but later we kept only calls and sales.
With the custom-built site, some things were easier: confirming domain ownership and adding DNS records. But, as often with custom-built websites, we had to set up analytics and events manually. We asked the developer (who built the site) to finalize it. We set up a funnel: product view → add to cart → checkout → purchase.
Here’s the nuance: custom sites are always a bit trickier, but much more flexible. You can tweak anything — as long as the developer is available.
The client also used dynamic call tracking via Ringostat, which allowed tracking calls and callback requests.
Ad Campaigns Setup
We started with Google Ads (the main traffic source in Kazakhstan). We decided to test all campaign types:
- Shopping ads (back then the classic Shopping campaigns, now mostly Performance Max),
- Search campaigns: category ads, brand ads, brand + category, product group ads, individual product ads (by SKU or name).
Since there were two websites, we launched ads in two accounts in parallel and compared results. The priority was the custom-built site: no commission fees and more flexibility in development.
We also tested display ads: Demand Gen and GDN. Regular display worked slightly better than expected, but the budget was small, and efficiency was lower compared to Shopping campaigns.
Search ads worked too: we ran targeted campaigns by categories and high-margin products. They generated conversions, but the volume was small — limited by the number of searches. The main flow of leads and sales came from the Shopping campaign (PMax).
It felt like PMax was eating all the oxygen — 90% of the budget went there, and the rest just coexisted. But that’s what delivered the main results.
Optimization & Nuances
Gradually, we:
- excluded accessories and low-cost items,
- focused on in-stock and high-margin products,
- split products by average price into 4 groups to see efficiency and ROI per price range.
There was also a nuance with “made-to-order” products. For example, a hot tub costing $5000 can’t be marked as “in stock”. Google doesn’t allow that. We reviewed the entire catalog, set realistic prices and “in stock” status so the ads would run. Then the client clarified delivery and payment details over the phone.
We really had to work around this: Google doesn’t like “made-to-order,” but the business partly relies on them. The solution — mark as “in stock” with a placeholder price, then finalize details on a call.
Analytics
Working
with feed
PMax
Shopping
ROAS
Bidding
Website Analysis
We noticed that the custom-built site generated more calls (which is even better since the products are specific and require consultation). The CMS site was standard e-commerce, with a focus on online payments. Eventually, we allocated 70% of the budget to the custom-built site, keeping the second as an additional channel.
Another key insight: in this niche, a phone call is often more valuable than a website lead. People call to clarify details, discuss delivery, installation, configuration. This immediately filters out real customers.
Results
If you run an online store with a limited budget:
- start with Performance Max,
- upload a product feed,
- filter out accessories and low-priced items,
- group products by price categories,
- check statuses (avoid “made-to-order”),
- improve product photos — critically important.
And of course, analyze your feed and campaign results.
In our case, we fixed about 30% of product listings: photos were bad or missing. After that, products started showing in ads and bringing sales.
If you need to set up ads for your online store — reach out, we’ve got plenty of experience.
