Google Ads in 2025: A 3-Level Framework
Sam Piliero condenses his learnings from managing over $500M in ad spend and $1B+ in revenue into a simple three-level Google Ads system. This framework works for beginners, intermediates, and advanced advertisers alike.
Level 1: Just Go (Foundation)
- Tracking: Set up native Shopify/Google Ads integrations, then test thoroughly with Pixel Tag Helper and test purchases.
- Google Merchant Center: Non-negotiable — connect feed from Shopify/eCom platform to Merchant Center to unlock Shopping + Performance Max.
- Simple Structure: Launch one Performance Max (PMAX) campaign with your top 20% of products (or flagship product). Avoid flooding with 100+ SKUs.
- Budget: Start small with what you can afford to lose. Goal is breaking even quickly as the algorithm learns.
- Go Live: Get campaigns active, confirm products appear in the Shopping feed, and compare placement against competitors.
Level 2: Optimize
- Deep Dive Data: After ~2 weeks, analyze spend distribution, search terms, conversions, CTR, and add-to-carts. Document everything.
- Exclusions: Remove poor-performing keywords and irrelevant traffic sources.
- Expand Campaigns: Launch non-branded search campaigns (and branded if relevant) alongside PMAX.
- Target ROAS: Set your first tROAS equal to the last 14–30 day actual average (e.g., 2.5x → set 250%). Avoid overshooting with unrealistic numbers.
- Scaling Paths: If campaigns spend fully while hitting tROAS, either increase spend at same target, or increase target while holding spend.
Level 3: Scale & Iterate
- Creative Iterations: Audit every ad. Kill underperformers and duplicate top ads with variations in copy, creative, and angles.
- Feed Optimization: Refine product titles/images/descriptions. Descriptive, keyword-rich titles outperform vague branded ones.
- Manual Bidding: Leverage demographic, time-of-day, age, and gender adjustments. Exclude low-performing segments and double down on the profitable 20%.
- Reporting Systems: Build consolidated daily, weekly, monthly trackers in Google Sheets (via SuperMetrics or similar). Essential for scaling beyond $1k+/day while keeping clarity.
This system — Just Go → Optimize → Scale — gives a roadmap from $50/day testing budgets to multi-thousand daily ad spend while avoiding common Google Ads pitfalls.
How Aimerce Enhances The 3-Level Google Ads Framework for 2025 Success (Sam Piliero)
How Aimerce Supercharges This Framework
Sam’s approach hinges on accurate tracking, feed optimization, and profitable scaling. Aimerce strengthens each of these levers with precision data and attribution.
Aimerce Advantages
- Enhanced Conversion Tracking – Ensures 99%+ accuracy on purchases and key events, solving common signal gaps in PMAX campaigns.
- Feed Intelligence – Provides automated title/attribute suggestions to improve Shopping visibility and win search term auctions.
- Attribution Alignment – Keeps Google’s algorithm trained on true incremental revenue, preventing over-crediting of branded searches.
- Iterative Insights – Identifies which creative, keyword, or feed changes actually drive incremental lift.
- Scaling Clarity – Consolidates cross-platform reporting (Google + Meta) for confident budget allocation and ROAS optimization.
Combined with Sam’s 3-level framework, Aimerce helps brands accelerate through setup, optimization, and scaling with fewer wasted dollars and faster learning cycles.