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7 Google Ads Mistakes Killing Your BigCommerce ROAS

The average bigcommerce store wastes 31% of their Google Ads budget on these preventable mistakes. Here's what to avoid—and how to fix it.

BigCommerce-Specific Google Ads Problems

Mistake #1: Multi-Storefront Attribution Chaos

BigCommerce's multi-storefront capability creates tracking nightmares. Different storefronts, currencies, and customer segments all bleed into aggregate metrics.

$1,500-5,000/monthBigCommerce-specific

Example: B2B storefront conversions attributed to B2C campaigns, skewing optimization

Mistake #2: Native Channel Manager Conflicts

BigCommerce's built-in channel manager pushes products to Google Shopping, but conflicts with dedicated feed apps create duplicate listings and disapprovals.

$800-2,500/monthBigCommerce-specific

Example: Same products listed twice with different prices, both getting disapproved

Mistake #3: B2B Pricing Visibility Issues

Customer group pricing shows different prices to different users, but your feed shows retail prices. B2B customers see mismatched pricing and bounce.

$1,000-4,000/monthBigCommerce-specific

Example: Wholesale customer clicks ad showing $100, lands on page showing $150 (their tier)

Mistake #4: Headless Commerce Tracking Gaps

Headless BigCommerce implementations often break standard tracking. Custom frontends need custom tracking, and most agencies miss this.

$2,000-6,000/monthBigCommerce-specific

Example: Headless checkout losing 40% of conversion events due to SPA routing

Mistake #5: Complex Catalog Structure Mismanagement

BigCommerce handles complex catalogs well, but that complexity doesn't translate cleanly to Google Shopping. Variant relationships, option sets, and modifiers break feed structure.

$1,200-3,500/monthBigCommerce-specific

Example: 500 SKUs in BigCommerce becoming 50 in Shopping feed due to variant misconfiguration

More Ecommerce Google Ads Mistakes

4

Running All Products in One PMax Asset Group

With a single asset group, Google optimizes for aggregate ROAS by heavily favoring your top 5-10 products. The rest of your catalog gets almost no impressions. Worse, low-margin products drag down profitability while appearing successful in aggregate.

$1860 wasted on non-performing products

Fix: Segment products by performance tier: Winners (scale), Potentials (test), Underperformers (cut or fix). Create separate asset groups for each.

5

No Brand Exclusions in Performance Max

PMax claims credit for brand searches that would've cost $0.30 through a dedicated brand campaign. Without exclusions, you're paying 3-5x more for customers already looking for you.

30% of PMax 'conversions' may be cannibalized brand traffic

Fix: Add brand exclusions to PMax and run a separate Brand Search campaign with exact match keywords.

6

Poor Product Feed Quality

Missing GTINs, generic titles, no custom labels, and missing sale prices hurt your Shopping ad performance. Channel manager + app conflict

35% lost impression share

Fix: Disable native channel manager, use dedicated feed app

7

Ignoring New vs Returning Customer Split

Your 5x ROAS might look great until you realize 70% of sales are repeat customers who would've bought anyway. You're paying to acquire customers you already have.

Overstated true acquisition ROAS by 2-3x

Fix: Segment reporting by new vs returning customers. Set up customer match lists and analyze true CAC.

Campaign Types to Avoid for BigCommerce

Not all campaign types work for bigcommerce stores. Here's what to skip:

PMax across storefronts

Mixes B2B/B2C signals disastrously

Broad match for B2B

Attracts consumer queries

Generic display prospecting

B2B needs targeted approach

What to Do Instead

Follow these best practices to maximize your BigCommerce Google Ads performance:

Standard Shopping

Budget: 40-50% • Target ROAS: 4-6x

Branded Search

Budget: 10-15% • Target ROAS: 6-12x

B2B Audience Campaigns

Budget: 20-25% • Target ROAS: 3-5x

Remarketing

Budget: 15-20% • Target ROAS: 5-8x

How Many of These Mistakes Are You Making?

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