From January to October 2026, Vitamin G's Google Ads returned 7.36x on platform-reported purchase value, with 1,459 conversions, a 1.07% click-through rate and a 5.0% conversion rate. That sits above the minimum 5x return the account works to. Syte runs Google Ads and Meta for Vitamin G Nutraceuticals (vitaming.net), a South African supplement brand on Shopify. Brand search and a focused Gut Shield Performance Max campaign do the efficient work; Meta adds purchase volume at a lower return.
| Client | Vitamin G Nutraceuticals |
| Vertical | Nutraceuticals / supplements (e-commerce) |
| Market | South Africa (Shopify) |
| Channels | Google Ads (brand search, Performance Max, Shopping); Meta |
| Period | 1 January – 31 October 2026 |
| Google Ads | 7.36x ROAS · 1,459 conversions · 5.0% CVR |
| Brand search | 10.43x ROAS · 447 conversions · 23.2% CTR |
| Meta | 3.82x ROAS · 1,939 purchases |
The challenge
Supplement buyers compare ingredients, prices and reviews across many brands, and marketplace sellers bid on the same terms. Vitamin G needs paid traffic that clears a clear return floor. From 1 November 2026 the written Google target is a minimum 5:1 return on Shopify-attributed Google revenue, with under-delivering campaigns cut and brand search protected. Before that, the account already had to keep Shopping and Performance Max efficient across a condition-led catalogue (gut, thyroid and related products) without letting broad non-brand search waste budget.
Approach
We structure Google around brand defence and product intent:
- Brand search owns Vitamin G name queries. It returned 10.43x with 447 conversions and a 23.2% CTR in this window.
- Performance Max — Gut Shield focuses on a hero product line and returned 11.92x with 276 conversions.
- Catch-all and broader PMax / Shopping cover the rest of the catalogue at lower returns (catch-all about 4.8x in the period campaign list); under-5x work is cut or paused under Mike's standing rules.
- Meta runs catalogue and funnel sales campaigns. Across January–October 2026 Meta recorded 1,939 purchases at 3.82x platform-reported return (spend up 17% year on year; purchases up from 1,874).
Channels used
- Google brand search: protects and converts brand demand.
- Google Performance Max (product-focused and catch-all): Shopping and Discovery coverage off the Merchant Center feed.
- Google Shopping (legacy standard Shopping): present in the period campaign history.
- Meta (Facebook and Instagram): purchase campaigns for volume alongside Google.
What we changed
- Account run with brand search separated from Performance Max / Shopping through 2026 so brand return is visible on its own.
- 1 November 2026: KPI confirmed as minimum 5:1 ROAS on Shopify-attributed Google revenue; standing rule to pause or cut campaigns under that floor.
- Early November 2026: removed own-brand exclusion from the Gut Shield PMax campaign so brand queries could serve there; raised Gut Shield daily budget after it cleared the floor; paused a zero-converting non-brand health-themes search campaign. Exact card IDs live in client notes.
Results (platform-reported)
| Measure | Jan – Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| Google ROAS | 7.36x |
| Google conversions | 1,459 |
| Google CTR | 1.07% |
| Google conversion rate | 5.0% |
| Meta ROAS | 3.82x (was 4.32x YoY) |
| Meta purchases | 1,939 (was 1,874 YoY) |
| Meta spend | +17% year on year |
| Google campaign | ROAS | Conversions | CTR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand Search +Phrase | 10.43x | 447 | 23.2% |
| Performance Max Gut Shield | 11.92x | 276 | 1.7% |
| PMax Catch All | 4.77x | 198 | 0.9% |
| Standard Shopping (paused) | 5.05x | 193 | 0.7% |
Google cleared the 5x floor at 7.36x across the ten months. Brand search and Gut Shield PMax both ran above 10x. Meta bought slightly more purchases year on year on 17% more spend, but return slipped from 4.32x to 3.82x, so Meta stays a volume channel rather than the efficiency headline. Catch-all PMax under 5x is the main Google cleanup item.
Methodology. Figures are platform-reported (Google Ads / Meta) for 1 January to 31 October 2026 unless stated. Meta year-on-year uses 1 January to 31 October 2025 from the same Report BOT pull. The client KPI from 1 November 2026 is Shopify-attributed Google ROAS; the numbers on this page are Ads/Meta platform ROAS and have not been re-matched to Shopify order exports here. No revenue or spend amounts are published.
What's next
Keep cutting Google campaigns that sit under 5x once Shopify attribution is checked against Ads. Protect brand search impression share. On Meta, improve return toward 5x with creative and catalogue hygiene rather than only adding spend. Match a sample of Google purchases to Shopify so the platform 7.36x and the Shopify-attributed KPI can be read side by side.
FAQ
What Google Ads return is realistic for a supplement brand?
Vitamin G works to a minimum 5x on Shopify-attributed Google revenue. Platform-reported Google ROAS for January to October 2026 was 7.36x across 1,459 conversions.
Should a nutraceutical brand run brand search separately?
Yes. Vitamin G's brand search returned 10.43x with a 23.2% CTR in that window. Keeping it separate shows whether Performance Max is helping or hitchhiking on brand demand.
Is Performance Max useful for hero supplement products?
It can be. Vitamin G's Gut Shield Performance Max campaign returned 11.92x with 276 conversions from January to October 2026.
Do Meta ads work for supplement e-commerce?
They can add volume. Vitamin G's Meta ads produced 1,939 purchases at 3.82x in 2026, below the 5x Google floor, so Meta is managed for purchases and creative tests rather than as the ROAS leader.
How do you handle Google campaigns under the ROAS target?
For Vitamin G, campaigns under the 5x floor are paused or cut under a standing rule, while brand search and proven product PMax campaigns are protected.
Related
- Google Ads service: /services/google-ads
- Meta Ads service: /services/meta-ads
- E-commerce case studies: Gym Gear (/case-studies/gym-gear), Freddy Hirsch (/case-studies/freddy-hirsch)
- Contact: /contact
