Online sales from five figures to seven.
I fixed Mainland Furniture's website first, then turned up the ads. Five years on, the store sells 41 times as much online.
41x
online sales in five years
Sales kept climbing as the budget went up.
- 41xonline sales, 2020 vs 2025Shopify Analytics
- 12.6xreturn on Google Ads spendGoogle Ads, Sep 2022 to Sep 2026
- 646Google reviews at 4.9 stars, up from 44Google Business Profile, Oct 2026
Shown as a multiple of 2020 online sales. Dollar figures withheld at the client's request.
The short version
- The problem
- Mainland is a family-run solid wood furniture store in Christchurch with loyal walk-in customers. Online, it was a different story. The website sold a handful of pieces a month, so more ad spend would only have bought more visitors who left.
- What I did
- I fixed the website before turning on the ads: two rebuilds, flat-rate delivery shown up front, a steady flow of reviews and tracking that counts sales. Then I scaled Google Ads, and I've kept improving the site and the ads every month since.
- The result
- Five years on, the store sells 41 times as much online, with 27 times more orders a year and a 62% higher average order. Since September 2022, Google Ads has returned 12.6 times its cost.
Got a website that isn't selling?
Book a free 20-minute call and I'll tell you where I'd start, even if it's not with me.
How I did it
Feb to Sep 2021
Fix the website first
For the first three months there were no ads at all. Every dollar went into making the website sell.
- Two rebuilds: clearer product pages, a simpler checkout, faster pages and tracking that counts sales
- Delivery at one flat rate, shown up front instead of at checkout
- Every customer asked for a review, taking Google reviews from 44 to 646 at 4.9 stars
From May 2021
Then turn up the ads
With the site converting, the ads went on. Sales jumped through the second half of 2021, and the return held up as the budget grew.
- Google Shopping, Search and remarketing first
- Product reviews fed to Google, so star ratings show on Shopping ads
- Then brand awareness on Display, Performance Max, and Meta on a small budget
- Feb 2021: new website
- May 2021: ads on
Shown as a multiple of the 2020 monthly average.
Every month since
Keep improving
The year-on-year growth didn't come from one big fix. Every month brings another round of improvements to the website and the ads.
What a typical month covers
- Product pages tested and improved constantly
- SEO pages for the searches furniture buyers make
- Website refreshes and drop-off analysis
- Google Ads campaigns, bids and budgets
- Merchant Center feed titles, prices and ratings
- Abandoned carts winning back shoppers before checkout
- Retargeting reminders for recent visitors
Three things that made the difference.
Fix the site before buying traffic
I held off on ads for three months. When they went on, every click landed on a website that could actually sell.
Show delivery up front
A shopper doesn't see a bed plus a delivery fee. They see a dearer bed than they expected. One flat rate, shown early, fixed that.
Ask every customer for a review
It costs nothing, and it lifts the website, Google Maps and the ads all at once.
Got a budget that isn't pulling its weight?
Book a free 20-minute call. I'll tell you where I'd start, even if it's not with me.
