Case study · Model Railway and Hobby Retail
Gaugemaster: 66.5% more conversion value on 10.4% more ad spend
Ongoing
- Attributed conversion value, £173.3k to £288.6k
- +66.5%
- Google Ads spend, to £15.8k for the quarter
- +10.4%
- Attributed ROAS, 1 Jul to 30 Sep 2026
- 18.26x
- Period
- 1 July to 30 September 2026 compared with 1 April to 30 June 2026 (UK).
- Basis
- Google Ads attributed conversion value, excluding VAT, by conversion time, across Search, Shopping and Performance Max. Quarter comparison, not a controlled test.
- Source
- JudeLuxe quarterly review of Google Ads performance.
01
Situation
The challenge: optimisation needed a commercial purpose
Gaugemaster came to JudeLuxe because they felt their account was being optimised without enough connection to commercial outcomes.
For a specialist retailer with a broad catalogue, a healthy account average wasn’t enough. Different products, manufacturers and campaign types were competing for investment. The useful question was which activity deserved more budget, what supported that decision, and where a strong headline return might conceal weaker performance.
02
Diagnosis
What the review revealed
The quarterly review showed that spend and reported returns were distributed very differently across the account. Performance Max received most of the budget, while Search contributed a substantial share of the modelled contribution after advertising.
Within those channels, the differences were equally important. Several stronger-returning campaigns were constrained by budget, while some lower-returning campaigns were not.
Why we looked beyond Brand Search
The new Brand Search campaign contributed to the quarter’s uplift. Presenting the overall ROAS without that context would have overstated what the result demonstrated.
The report therefore examined performance excluding the dedicated Brand campaign and found improvement there too. That provided a broader view of the account, although it was not a clean measure of newly generated demand: Performance Max and Dynamic Search Ads could still capture brand searches.
03
Decision
The callCommercial allocation judgement
That did not mean moving money automatically to whichever campaign had the highest historical ROAS. Brand demand, product mix and the opportunity to spend more all needed consideration. It meant that budget allocation deserved scrutiny beyond the overall account result.
04
Execution
What changed in the account
Shopping activity shifted towards segmented Performance Max campaigns, allowing different parts of the catalogue to be reviewed separately. A dedicated Brand Search campaign also launched in late June.
Those changes gave the review distinct areas to assess: demand from people already searching for Gaugemaster, product-led activity, and the performance of different catalogue segments.
The review also recognised trade-offs. Some campaigns that had contributed in the previous quarter were paused. The assessment therefore considered both where reported performance improved and what contribution had been lost elsewhere.
05
Result
The result, with its context
From 1 July to 30 September 2026, attributed conversion value reached £288.6k, compared with £173.3k in April–June. That was 66.5% growth on a 10.4% increase in spend, with reported ROAS of 18.26×.
These are Google Ads attribution results, not proof of incremental sales or company profit. The commercial value of the review was in connecting those results to specific investment questions rather than stopping at the percentage increase.
06
Principle
What the stronger quarter made us question next
July was the strongest month, with performance softening through August and September. The next decision was therefore not simply to extrapolate the quarter and raise every budget.
Ahead of the Christmas trading period, the review identified where additional investment warranted consideration, where budget constraints needed investigation, and which product and campaign differences should inform the plan.
That is the distinction Gaugemaster wanted: account optimisation that leads to a clearer commercial decision.
Measurement basis
How to read these figures
Conversion value is reported excluding VAT, by conversion time. Results cover Google Ads Search, Shopping and Performance Max. They compare two calendar quarters and are not a controlled test.
Methodology and limits
Periods: 1 July to 30 September 2026 compared with 1 April to 30 June 2026, UK. Figures are the rounded values from the JudeLuxe quarterly review and are published as reported.
Conversion value is what Google Ads attributes to ads. It is not revenue in the client's accounts, not profit and not incremental sales. Product costs, fulfilment, returns and fees are not deducted, so contribution is not established here.
The new Brand Search campaign contributed to the quarter's growth. Performance Max and Dynamic Search Ads can still pick up brand searches, so a separate brand campaign is not a perfect split between brand and non-brand demand, and it does not measure incrementality.
Seasonality, pricing, promotions and demand were not held constant. We do not attribute the whole change to our work, and past results do not guarantee future sales.
This is a mixed-channel case. See how we approach Performance Max management, Google Shopping management and wider ecommerce PPC management.
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