Google Ads for Shopify stores

Short answer

In LocaliQ's 2026 benchmarks, retail search clicks cost $3.97 to $4.44, and the cost per conversion runs from $49.40 for shopping and gifts to $106.70 for furniture. What a Shopify store can afford depends on its margin: Google Ads pays off when ROAS stays above 1 divided by gross margin, which is 2.0x for a store with 50% margins.

Updated Nov 6, 2026By Caleb Canales, Founder, RunAdsSources (5)

Retail cost per click and per sale

$4.14Cost per click, shopping, collectibles and gifts

$49.40Cost per conversion, shopping, collectibles and gifts

4.5%Clicks that converted, apparel and jewelry

$106.70Cost per conversion, furniture

LocaliQ 2026 Search Advertising Benchmarks, US search campaigns, April 2025 to March 2026. LocaliQ reports cost per lead; for a store, read it as cost per conversion, which may include actions other than purchases.
Category	Data period	Cost per click	Click-through rate	Conversion rate	Cost per conversion
Shopping, Collectibles & Gifts^[1]	Apr 2025 to Mar 2026	$4.14	8.28%	4.01%	$49.40
Apparel / Fashion & Jewelry^[1]	Apr 2025 to Mar 2026	$4.44	6.64%	4.50%	$97.51
Furniture^[1]	Apr 2025 to Mar 2026	$3.97	6.57%	2.99%	$106.70
All industries^[1]	Apr 2025 to Mar 2026	$5.42	6.64%	8.18%	$66.69

These are Search campaign figures.^[1] Shopping and Performance Max run on your product feed and price differently, and no public benchmark we could read at the source breaks them out by store category.

Cost drivers for Shopify stores

Margin. It sets the ROAS you need, and so how much you can pay for each sale.
Feed quality. Titles, images, prices and product categories in Merchant Center decide which searches your products show for.
Category. Apparel clicks cost more than gift or furniture clicks in the 2026 report, and furniture converted the least often.
Brand searches. People who already know your store cost little to convert. Mixing them into product campaigns makes ROAS look better than it is.
Conversion tracking. If purchases aren't tracked accurately, the bidding has nothing reliable to work from.

Break-even ROAS and CAC for a sample store

A made-up store sells bedding with a $90 average order and a 50% gross margin. Before spending anything, it works out what a sale can cost.

Illustration, not a quote

$90 average order, 50% margin

Break-even ROAS: 1 / 50%2.00x

Highest CAC that breaks even: $90 x 50%$45.00

ROAS at the gifts cost per conversion: $90 / $49.401.82x

ROAS at the apparel cost per conversion: $90 / $97.510.92x

At the gifts benchmark the store sits just below break-even on the first order, and at the apparel benchmark it loses money. The levers are a larger order, a higher margin, repeat purchases, or a lower cost per sale from better feed and search-term work. Once there's data, set a target ROAS above 2.00x; Google's own example of a 500% target means $5 of sales for each $1 of spend.^[3]

Campaign structure for a Shopify store

Connect the store to Merchant Center first. Shopify's Google & YouTube app syncs products and store details, and lets you update listings from the Shopify admin.^[2]

Starting structure. Split or merge campaigns once each one has a month of its own data.
Campaign	Ad groups	Notes
Performance Max (feed)	Asset groups by product category or margin tier	The main sales campaign. Split best sellers from the long tail so budget follows what sells.
Standard Shopping	Best sellers, or one product group per category	Optional. Shows more search terms than Performance Max, which helps with negatives.
Brand search	Store name and product line names	Cheap sales. Keep it separate so it doesn't inflate ROAS elsewhere.
Category search	Category plus attribute terms (material, size, use)	Phrase and exact match. Send each ad group to the matching collection page.
Demand Gen or YouTube	Product videos and lifestyle images	For reach once the sales campaigns are profitable. Judge it on new customers.

Search keywords for a sample bedding store

For Search campaigns, category plus attribute beats the bare category word. Swap in your own products.

Attributes

breathable sheets for hot sleepers
queen linen sheets
organic linen bedding

Gifting

linen bedding gift
housewarming gift bedding

Brand

[store name]
[store name] sheets
[store name] reviews

Negative keywords for Shopify stores

Add these to Search and Standard Shopping, then grow the list from the search terms report. Negatives don't match close variants, so add plurals.^[4]

free
diy
how to
pattern
sewing
wholesale
bulk
used
secondhand
repair
jobs
careers
manufacturer
supplier
fabric by the yard

Ad copy examples

Responsive search ad assets for the sample bedding store. Use your real return policy and product facts.

Category search

Headlines (up to 30 characters)

Washed Linen Sheet Sets23
Breathable Linen Bedding24
Twelve Natural Colors21
100-Night Trial15
Linen Duvet Covers18

Descriptions (up to 90 characters)

Stonewashed European linen sheets that get softer every wash. Sizes twin through king.86
Sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases in twelve colors. Try them for 100 nights.79

Brand search

Headlines (up to 30 characters)

[Store Name] Official Site26
Shop the Linen Collection25
New Colors This Season22
Gift Cards Available20

Descriptions (up to 90 characters)

Shop the full linen collection direct from [Store Name]. Easy returns on every order.85
Sheets, duvets and throws in washed linen. Find your size and color in two clicks.82

Keep prices and offers out of image assets and put them in the copy and on the product page, where they can be kept current.

How RunAds runs Google Ads for Shopify stores

What the agent does for you

Builds Shopping, Performance Max and Search campaigns from your store and product feed.
Writes the ads and creates images for them, and shows you the full launch before anything goes live.
Watches the account every day and flags search terms with spend and no orders.
Tracks purchases server-side with Smart Pixel so bidding works from real sales.

See the DTC brands guide, the ROAS calculator, or the pricing section.

Create your free account

Credit packs from $25, 5 credits per $1 of ad spend.

Common questions

How much does Google Ads cost for a Shopify store?

You set the budget. For planning, LocaliQ's 2026 search benchmarks show $4.14 per click and $49.40 per conversion for shopping, collectibles and gifts, $4.44 and $97.51 for apparel and jewelry, and $3.97 and $106.70 for furniture. These are Search campaign figures; Shopping and Performance Max costs differ.

What ROAS does a Shopify store need on Google Ads?

At least break-even ROAS, which is 1 divided by your gross margin. A 50% margin needs 2.0x, a 40% margin needs 2.5x and a 25% margin needs 4.0x. Above that, each sale makes a profit on the first order.

Do I need the Google & YouTube app for Shopify?

It's the simplest way to get products into Google Merchant Center. Shopify's help center says the app syncs your products and store details to Merchant Center and lets you update listings from the Shopify admin. Eligible US stores can also show synced products in free Shopping tab listings.

Should a Shopify store start with Performance Max or Shopping?

Most stores start with a feed-based Performance Max or Standard Shopping campaign for product searches and a branded Search campaign to protect their name. Standard Shopping shows you more of the search terms; Performance Max reaches more Google surfaces from the same feed.

Can RunAds run Google Ads for my Shopify store?

Yes. RunAds is an AI agent that builds Shopping, Performance Max and Search campaigns, writes the ads and watches the account daily. You approve the launch and any budget change. Signing up is free.

Sources

NEW 2026 Search Advertising Benchmarks (+Tips), LocaliQ (with WordStream), by Stephanie Heitman. Last updated June 1, 2026.Google Ads and Microsoft Ads search campaigns across 23 industries. The page labels each figure an average.
Google & YouTube, Shopify Help Center. Checked Nov 6, 2026.The app syncs products and store details to Google Merchant Center; eligible US stores can show synced products in free Shopping tab listings.
About Target ROAS bidding, Google Ads Help. Checked Oct 30, 2026.Google's example: $5 of sales for each $1 of ad spend is a 500% target ROAS.
About negative keywords, Google Ads Help. Checked Nov 6, 2026.Negative keywords don't match close variants, so synonyms and singular or plural forms have to be added separately. Casing and misspellings are covered automatically.
About average daily budgets, Google Ads Help. Checked Oct 30, 2026.A campaign can spend up to 2x its average daily budget on a given day, and up to 30.4x it in a month.

Every outside number on this page links to its source above, with the date we checked it. RunAds has not published its own account data here.

Google Ads for DTC brandsAdding Google to a Meta-first brand: Search, Shopping, PMax and YouTube.ROAS calculatorBreak-even and target ROAS from your margin.What is a good ROASWorked examples and how to set target ROAS.Google Ads cost by industryAll 23 industries from the 2026 benchmarks.

More sales at a lower CAC.

RunAds builds your store's campaigns, writes the ads and watches the account every day. 1,500+ businesses have signed up.

Create your free account Credit packs from $25, 5 credits per $1 of ad spend. No contracts.