Paid search without the wasted spend
A huge number of consumer brands overspend on paid search. It is the channel that overattributes most heavily and always looks better than it actually is. But it has a place in all consumer strategy, but a proper approach that's outcome-orientated is usually missed. We're anti-brand spend, incrementality focused, and honest about what Google can and can't do.
Too many brands pour money into Google without questioning whether it's actually driving growth. Brand search looks great in reports — high ROAS, low CPAs — but it's often a tax, not an investment. Those customers were coming anyway.
The problem is measurement. Google's attribution is generous to Google. Without proper incrementality testing, you're crediting the channel for revenue it didn't create. You're scaling spend that feels safe but isn't actually moving the needle.
We take a different approach. We're sceptical by default, rigorous about measurement, and focused on the spend that genuinely drives new customers — not the spend that just captures existing demand.
Anti-brand spend
We see brand spend as a tax you should minimise, not a channel you should scale. If a customer is searching your brand name, they're already sold. We protect brand terms where necessary but we don't pretend it's growth.
Shopping and generics
Where we do run search, the focus is Shopping, Performance Max, and generic terms — the spend that actually reaches new customers. We build campaigns around incremental revenue, not inflated ROAS.
Incrementality at the core
We validate everything. Geo lifts, conversion lift studies, correlation models against other channels. If Google spend isn't showing up in the blended numbers, we cut it. No sacred cows.
One team, not two agencies
Most of our clients don't want to manage two agencies. We run paid search so you don't have to — with the same rigour and transparency we bring to paid social.
Right-sized for DTC
For most DTC brands, search is a secondary channel. We treat it that way. For ecom brands with large catalogues, it becomes more central — and we scale accordingly.
Ex-in-house talent
Every strategist has managed search budgets in-house and knows how easy it is to waste money on Google. We've felt the pressure when CACs don't make sense and built this approach to fix it.
Incrementality-focused
We don't trust platform attribution. We measure what Google actually contributes, not what it claims. If it's not incremental, we reallocate.
Experiment engine
Same weekly sprints as every other channel. Clear hypotheses, rigorous testing, learnings that compound. Search feeds into the same system — no silos.
Consumer brands who want search run properly without taking the hit on incrementality. You want rigour, not inflated numbers. You want spend that actually drives growth. Note that we only work with paid search as a secondary part of a paid social service.
