Search for people who already decided

Goodbowl was paying Google to show up for every "best dog food" search. We cut that to the people already comparing brands, and new customers got a third cheaper.

Cost per new customer

−34%

Over 4 months

Past results, not a promise.

Client

Goodbowl

Dog food, DTC

Channels

Google, Meta

Monthly spend

$41k

The brief

Goodbowl ships fresh-cooked dog food by subscription, priced by the dog's weight. Two-thirds of their $41k budget went to Google search, on broad keywords like "healthy dog food" and "best dog food for picky eaters." Lots of clicks, few trials, and Raj, the CEO, couldn't tell which searches were worth paying for.

What we made

We rebuilt search around intent. Broad "best dog food" terms went to a small, capped campaign; most of the budget moved to people who were already comparing: searches naming competitors, "fresh dog food delivery," "[breed] food subscription." Each group got its own ads and its own landing section, with the price for a 30-pound dog in the headline.

On Meta we stopped prospecting and only retargeted visitors with the strongest ad from the store, a retriever finishing a bowl ("He used to leave half. Not anymore."). Cost per new customer fell 34% in four months, mostly because we stopped paying for curious clicks.

What didn’t work

Price-led search ads ("From $2.40 a day") won clicks and lost money: they pulled people who left at the size quiz once their own dog's price appeared. A treats bundle for first orders ("Sit. Stay. Treat.") is still testing; early numbers look good, but it's only had $520 behind it.