Slow Roads - ROAS from 5.32x to 9.08x

Slow Roads — How We Scaled Google Ads ROAS by 141% in 12 Months

Slow Roads, a handcrafted lifestyle and apparel brand, sought to scale their Google Ads performance responsibly while maintaining strong return on ad spend (ROAS). When they partnered with Acorn Strategy on June 24, 2024, their account was performing at a solid 5.32x ROAS, but lacked the structure required for large-scale growth.

Over the next 12 months, Acorn Strategy implemented a high-intent scaling strategy that increased ROAS to 9.08x, representing a 141% improvement. Conversion value increased by 735%, driven by stronger match quality, optimized Shopping feeds, and strategically expanding budgets in profitable campaign groups.

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Client Background

About Slow Roads

Slow Roads offers thoughtfully designed apparel and lifestyle goods with an emphasis on craftsmanship, natural materials, and timeless design. Their customer base responds strongly to curated collections and high-quality product storytelling.

Industry Category

• Industry: Lifestyle Apparel & Accessories

• Product Type: Clothing, lifestyle goods, accessories

• Business Model: DTC eCommerce

• Region: North America

• Platform: Shopify + Google Ads

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The Challenge

Although Slow Roads had a healthy ROAS, their Google Ads program was not structured to scale. The brand wanted to grow online revenue but needed to avoid the common pitfalls of scaling—such as CPC inflation, irrelevant traffic, or ROAS erosion.

Key issues included:

• Overly broad campaign structures

• Underutilized Shopping and Performance Max segmentation

• Limited high-intent targeting

• Seasonal demand fluctuations unmanaged

• Inconsistent audience signaling

Additionally, while the budget increased by 246%, past scaling attempts did not yield proportional revenue growth—until Acorn rebuilt the system.

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Goals & KPIs

Primary Objectives

• Scale Google Ads profitably without reducing ROAS

• Strengthen Shopping and Performance Max category performance

• Improve conversion efficiency at higher budgets

• Increase total conversion value through high-intent traffic

• Build an architecture capable of long-term scaling

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Our Solution

High-Intent Scaling Framework for Google Ads

Key strategic actions:

1. Campaign Architecture Redesign

• Rebuilt Search into tightly themed, intent-based segments

• Introduced new Performance Max structures aligned to collections

• Separated brand, non-brand, and category-driven queries

2. Shopping Feed Enhancement

• Optimized titles, descriptions, and categorization

• Added custom labels to prioritize margin and bestsellers

• Strengthened feed quality for better query matching

3. Strategic Budget Expansion

• Increased spending only in profitable categories

• Scaled budgets gradually under ROAS-controlled bidding

• Reduced exposure to low-intent and non-converting terms

4. Smart Bidding Optimization

• Transitioned campaigns to Target ROAS models

• Fed algorithms cleaner, more reliable conversion events

• Stabilized learning cycles for consistent performance

5. Audience Refinement

• Layered first-party audiences into PMax

• Built custom-intent audiences around Slow Roads’ bestsellers

• Strengthened remarketing pools for bottom-funnel conversion

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Implementation Process

1. Full account audit + funnel mapping

2. Rebuild Search + Shopping architecture

3. Feed optimization & Performance Max segmentation

4. Conversion architecture cleanup

5. Bid strategy refinement

6. Controlled scaling based on ROAS thresholds

7. Weekly optimization & quarterly strategic scaling

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Results

ROAS Performance (12 Months)

• Before: 5.32x

• After: 9.08x

• Increase: 141%

Conversion Value

• Improved by 735%, driven by:

  • Higher quality traffic

  • Improved Shopping visibility

  • Better feed alignment

  • Controlled scaling with strong ROAS

Budget Efficiency

• Despite a 246% increase in budget, ROAS improved—a strong indicator of efficient scaling and quality matching.

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Qualitative Results

• Greater visibility for high-intent buyers

• Stronger funnel consistency across all product categories

• Higher-volume revenue at a lower cost per conversion

• Reduced wasted spend from irrelevant queries

• Stable performance across all seasonal cycles

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Client Testimonial

"We’ve enjoyed working with Acorn. Their team is highly communicative, and completes projects quickly, on time and to the level we request. Their marketing services make the process both analytical and creative- We’re already seeing great results."

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Why the Strategy Worked

• Intent-first segmentation created stronger traffic alignment

• Feed optimization maximized Shopping efficiency

• Smart Bidding leveraged clean conversion data

• Controlled budget scaling ensured ROAS improvement

• PMax segmentation allowed for category-level performance control

This structured, data-driven approach allowed the brand to grow profitably without sacrificing return.

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Key Takeaways

• Proper segmentation is essential for scaling fashion/lifestyle brands

• Shopping feed strength directly impacts campaign success

• Scaling budget does not need to reduce ROAS when done strategically

• Performance Max works best with curated audience signals

• High-intent traffic is the foundation of efficient growth

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Next Steps

• Expand scaling to new product lines

• Introduce YouTube for storytelling-driven top-of-funnel growth

• Build advanced remarketing flows

• Increase seasonal campaign automation

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Work With Us

If you want to scale your Google Ads revenue the way Slow Roads did—profitably and predictably—Acorn Strategy can help. Book a call today to get started.