Running a retail business in Brisbane or across Australia means facing a hyper-competitive digital landscape. If you’ve launched a Google Shopping campaign only to see a high click-through rate but a dismal Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), you aren’t alone. Most Australian SMEs are currently making critical errors that prioritise Google’s algorithms over their own bottom line.
In 2026, the 'set and forget' mentality is the quickest way to drain your marketing budget. To help you protect your margins, we’ve identified the most common Shopping Ads pitfalls and the direct actions you can take to pivot toward profitability.
1. Treating Your Product Feed as a Spreadsheet, Not Sales Copy
The biggest mistake we see at Local Marketing Group is business owners treating their Google Merchant Center feed as a purely technical requirement. Your product title is your headline; if it lacks the specific keywords customers use, you’re invisible.The Mistake: Using internal SKU names or generic titles like "Summer Dress - Blue." The Fix: Optimise for search intent. A Brisbane boutique selling coastal wear should use: "Navy Blue Linen Maxi Dress – Breathable Summer Style – Size 8-16."
Remember, your feed quality dictates your ad rank far more than your bid does. If the data is messy, Google will show your product to the wrong people.
2. Neglecting Negative Keyword Lists in PMax
With the rise of Performance Max (PMax), many retailers have handed the steering wheel entirely to Google’s AI. While the AI is powerful, it doesn’t understand your business nuances or brand exclusions unless you tell it.The Mistake: Allowing your Shopping ads to trigger for irrelevant searches or low-intent queries that eat up your daily budget. The Fix: Regularly audit your search term insights. If you sell premium, high-end furniture in Fortitude Valley, you should be excluding terms like "cheap," "second hand," or "hire." To get the best results, you need to be steering Google’s AI with specific signal data rather than letting it guess your target audience.
3. The 'All Products' Campaign Trap
Grouping every single product into one campaign with a single ROAS target is a recipe for mediocrity. Your $15 socks do not have the same margins or conversion cycles as your $300 leather boots.The Mistake: Using a "catch-all" campaign structure. The Fix: Segment your products by performance and margin. Use a "Zombie" campaign for products that haven't received clicks in 30 days, and a "Top Sellers" campaign for your high-margin heroes. This allows you to allocate more budget to the items that actually keep the lights on.
4. Failing to Account for Australian Seasonality
We often see Australian retailers blindly following international advice that suggests ramping up spend in October for a Northern Hemisphere winter. In Queensland, our peak retail triggers are different.The Mistake: Reacting to seasonal shifts too late. The Fix: You need to prepare for the humidity and the heatwaves well in advance. Winning the summer peak starts months earlier by building audience data and testing creative assets. Ensure your shipping policies reflect local public holidays (like the Ekka Wednesday in Brisbane) to manage customer expectations and maintain your seller rating.
5. Low-Quality Imagery in a Visual Auction
Google Shopping is a visual-first medium. If your image looks like a grainy smartphone snap taken in a dark warehouse, users will scroll right past it to your competitor who invested in professional photography.The Mistake: Using manufacturer stock photos that every other reseller is also using. The Fix: Use high-resolution, lifestyle imagery that stands out. For Australian retailers, this often means bright, natural lighting that reflects our local aesthetic. Test 'lifestyle' shots versus 'white background' shots to see which resonates specifically with your demographic.
Immediate Action Plan for SMB Owners
1. Audit your Titles: Ensure the most important keyword is in the first 15 characters. 2. Check your GTINs: Missing barcodes (GTINs) can lead to your products not being shown for high-intent searches. 3. Review Price Competitiveness: If you are 20% more expensive than the shop next door in the Google Shopping carousel, your click-through rate will suffer regardless of your ad quality.Stop Guessing and Start Growing
Optimising Google Shopping isn't about spending more; it's about spending smarter. By cleaning up your feed, segmenting your products, and providing the right signals to the AI, you can transform your Shopping ads from a cost centre into a revenue engine.Ready to stop the budget leak? Contact Local Marketing Group today for a professional audit of your Google Ads account.