PPC for a luxury pre-owned watch store in Germany

The task from the client was to set up Google Ads, increase the number of inquiries, and optimize their cost.

Contextual advertising is generally a key tool for attracting the target audience. Given the specifics of the luxury pre-owned goods niche our client operates in, advertising campaigns must be highly targeted, focusing on users who are actively searching for specific brands, models, or services.

Conversion paths in the luxury niche are diverse: many conversions happen quickly, which applies to contextual advertising channels and direct website visits. However, some users require a longer decision-making cycle that includes several touchpoints. This fact fully corresponds to the niche of expensive goods, where the purchase decision is not made instantly. Therefore, the advertising campaigns we configured had to comprehensively cover the target audience at all stages of the decision-making process.

About the Client

The online store offers a wide selection of high-quality watches at competitive prices, including the sale, purchase, repair, and servicing of Swiss pre-owned watches in Germany.

Client guarantees:

• Availability: the ability to pick up the watch in person from the physical store in Munich.
• Realistic photos: only original photographs of each watch are used, without catalogs or retouching. The customer receives exactly what they see.
• High quality: the company’s experts thoroughly check each watch, preparing it manually before the items go on sale.
• Honest pricing: the company pays exactly the amount it offers for a watch, with no hidden conditions or “what if” proposals.

The store team constantly analyzes the market and pricing dynamics, thereby guaranteeing the best prices with excellent quality.

Client advantages:

• Favorable prices: watches offered at the best market prices.
• Extended warranty: a 24-month warranty on every watch.
• Fast and secure shipping/pick-up: free and insured express delivery, with the option of in-store pickup.
• Prompt and honest offer: a guaranteed response within 24 hours with a concrete and serious direct purchase offer for the watch.
• Instant payments: funds for the watch are transferred directly to the bank account.
• No hidden costs: transparent cooperation with no unexpected fees or charges.
• Individual approach: personal consultation with a specialist and customized solutions tailored to the needs of the company’s clients.
• Offline store in Munich.

The client contacted the agency to request contextual promotion through our website.

Our goal was to generate inquiries in the following directions:

• Watch purchase requests through the website form sellwatch_form (Ads)
• Watch sales through the website (Buy now button) website form - chronocash.eu GA4 (web) buy_button
• Gaining views + YouTube subscriptions
• Watch repair/service.

Currently, the main tracking focus in the project is the completion and submission of website forms. Transaction (purchase) tracking is not implemented within the project.

The overall goal of the promotion is to increase conversions within the allocated budget while optimizing its cost.

Market specifics

1. Target audience

The target audience in this market is quite specific and demanding:

• Experienced buyers/sellers: these are often people who are already knowledgeable about Swiss watches, understand their value, and recognize the differences between models. They seek authenticity, quality of service, and reliability.
• High income: typically affluent users who are willing to invest in luxury items or maintain them in perfect condition.
• Connoisseurs of quality and history: for them, a watch is not just a timekeeping device but an investment and a part of history.

2. Key differences of contextual advertising

Focus on high-quality keywords: instead of general queries, focus on specific phrases such as “buy Breitling pre-owned Germany”, “Cartier repair Munich”, “Patek Philippe appraisal Würzburg,” and so on. It is important to use keywords that indicate specific brands, models, the condition of the watch, and the type of service.

Audience segmentation:

• By interests: targeting users interested in luxury accessories, investments in art objects, and collecting.
• By behavior: advertising to those who have previously visited competitors’ websites or websites of brand watch.
• By demographics: targeting specific age groups and income levels.

Visual component: high-quality images of the watches are critically important for advertising. For contextual campaigns in Google Ads (especially Performance Max and the Display Network), visual elements must showcase the details and condition of the watch.

Emphasis on trust and reputation: since the focus is on high-value items and services, the ads must highlight:

• Authenticity: it should be clearly stated that all watches are authentic and undergo thorough expert inspection.
• Expertise: important to emphasize the experience and qualifications of the specialists and appraisers.
• Guarantees: all items must necessarily include guarantees, including for the services performed.

Geographic targeting: precise targeting of Germany, specific cities, and regions with a high concentration of potential clients, as well as individual cities with physical offices.

Language aspect: ads and landing pages must be in German, taking into account the specifics of the linguistic environment.

Since the client works with expensive luxury watch brands, their buyers often require an in-person visit to the store to make a final decision. Therefore, launching a local campaign to drive store visits is appropriate.

Work progress

The setup work began in July 2023: we created the Google Ads account and the Google Analytics 4 property, configured the goals, and launched Performance Max, Search, and DSA campaigns.

The list of events transmitted to the GA4 property:

• click to navigate to messengers and social networks;
• click on the phone number and email address;
• newsletter subscription/form submission on the Contact page;
• completion of the form for selling a watch;
• registration form;
• click to navigate to Google Maps;
• click to proceed to payment;
• click on the “buy” button on the product page + click to order via chat/quick order.

At the beginning of our cooperation, the client provided a list of brands they work with, which was taken into account during the keyword collection process. Later, when the client prepared the corresponding page on the website, we added ads and campaigns for the watch servicing direction.

We set up the competitor-branded search campaign in August 2023. The client provided the list of competitors during the campaign management process. We regularly expand the campaigns by adding new keywords based on search queries, in coordination with the client. In April 2024, the campaigns were paused due to unsatisfactory performance. At the end of May through early July 2024, the campaigns were temporarily disabled at the client’s request. However, after resuming impressions, the campaigns are back up and running again, generating conversions.

Categories/Services for contextual promotion:

• Urgent purchase of a Swiss watch.
• Sale of Swiss pre-owned watches.
• Consignment sale.
• Watch servicing.
• Watch repair.
• Watch polishing.
• Watch restoration.

Geo: the client is focused on promotion in Germany. We place particular emphasis on local advertising campaigns in Munich to promote the brand and the new store.

In the ads, we use German, with the client providing comprehensive support to ensure accurate and relevant translation. The ad schedule is set to run around the clock, ensuring the brand's online presence remains continuous. The target devices for displaying ads are mobile and desktop, enabling maximum reach of the potential audience across all major platforms.

Video campaigns

Since December 2023, we have been actively using video campaigns to attract new subscribers. We regularly update the videos: adding new ones and pausing older ones that have already gained sufficient views, while testing different bidding strategies and ad formats. Since December 2023, our task has been to increase the number of subscribers on the YouTube channel, as well as the views of specific videos. To achieve this goal, we decided to launch advertising across the entire German-speaking YouTube without GEO restrictions.

Once the subscriber target was achieved, we moved on to narrowing the GEO to German-speaking countries.

The main objective for our client from video advertising is to generate inquiries and submissions, as well as channel subscriptions. Based on this, in October 2024, we approved a new strategy for video campaigns. First, we attempted to return to serving ads across the entire German-speaking YouTube, as experience showed that this approach brings more views. However, we noticed that among subscribers and commenters from the broader audience, many did not meet the qualities of a target client. Therefore, to attract higher-quality subscribers, we decided to show ads only in Germany. This step resulted in a significant decrease in views, especially for new videos compared to older ones. To address this issue and balance the view count, we decided to relaunch the older videos across the entire German-speaking YouTube.

Thus, we were working with two different audiences and campaigns:

• Campaign for high-quality subscribers: new video clips are launched only in Germany. In this campaign, we track the number of subscribers.
• Campaign for increasing views: older videos are launched across the entire German-speaking YouTube. The goal of this campaign is to reach and increase the number of views, which helps balance the view count and expand overall visibility.

This strategy allows us to simultaneously achieve two key objectives: attract high-quality potential clients and maintain a high level of engagement and video content views.

In March 2025, we configured the transmission of conversion events directly from the x website:

• Contact form;
• Sale form;
• Repair form;
• Click on the email address;
• Click on the phone number;
• Click on Telegram;
• Click on WhatsApp.

General optimization work

Work with keywords and search queries

• Processing search queries.
• Expanding the list of keywords (including those based on search queries).
• Adding negative keywords.
• Pausing ineffective keywords/ad groups with high costs and no conversions.

Optimization of bids and budgets

• Adjustment of bidding strategies.
  Analysis and optimization of strategies.
  Adjustment/redistribution of campaign budgets.

Work with ads

• Updating texts and images.
• Improving the ad quality score.
• Removing or replacing outdated/ineffective ads.
• Adding or updating ad extensions.

Audiences and targeting

• Adding audiences to Observation (including those recommended by the system).
• Updating GEO and language targeting.
• Updating Performance Max audience signals.

Campaign and ad group management

• Pausing ineffective/irrelevant campaigns and ad groups.
• Configuring and launching new campaigns/ad groups (as agreed).
• Pausing video ads that have reached the desired number of views and/or those that have become outdated.
• Updating video campaign settings (GEO, budgets, ads).

Checks and technical diagnostics

• Checking conversion data transmission and updating settings.
• Checking the website for compliance with Merchant Center requirements.
• Diagnosing disapprovals/issues in the account.
• Removing unnecessary tags.
• Configuring the transmission of conversion events from the website.

Interaction with support and appeals

• Submitting appeals for ads that were disapproved or limited in serving.
• Communication with support.

Other

• Generating and processing system recommendations.

We continuously expand the list of keywords by adding new ones based on relevant and conversion-generating search queries.

The client actively collaborates and follows recommendations. For example, a connection with Google My Business was established, though the client declined the proposal to add Promotion extensions due to the specifics of the business. Therefore, all further strategies and campaign optimizations are adapted based on direct feedback from the client and their deep understanding of the luxury watch market.

Results

It is important to note that the client does not provide generalized information about the cost of their services, as it is calculated individually for each specific case. This ensures a flexible approach and accounts for the unique needs of every order. In addition, some services, such as watch appraisal, are offered free of charge, which is an additional advantage for potential clients.

The financial aspects of the cooperation and the details of commercial activity are the client’s trade secret. This means that the assessment of the effectiveness of advertising campaigns and their direct impact on financial performance is based solely on the available metrics of Google services, without access to the client’s internal data on profit from the sale of specific products.

So let's look at the traffic gained, user attribution paths, and conversions in the client's account. We will also compare the periods of effectiveness of the advertising campaign.

Traffic acquisition

December 2024 – April 2025:

• 89,412 total sessions;
• 53,784 total engaged sessions;
• 60,15% overall engagement rate;
• 0,49 min average engagement time per session;
• 7,35 average number of events per session;
• 657,062 total events;
• 1,042 total key events;
• 14,37% session key event rate.

Organic Search and Direct are the primary sources of traffic to the client’s website, accounting for 57.98% and 26.1% of total sessions, respectively. This indicates a successful SEO strategy and strong brand recognition among the target audience, who actively search for the products or return to the website directly. Contextual advertising channels (Paid Search, Cross-network, Paid Video, Paid Other) serve as a secondary traffic source for the client’s website - 11.79% of total visitors. However, contextual advertising should not be underestimated - its function also includes introducing the audience to the offers for the first time, which is confirmed later in the Attribution Paths report. Thanks to contextual advertising, users initially discover the brand, remember it, and later, as a result of this recognition, visit the website directly, becoming loyal visitors.

In terms of key events, the CPC channel is the primary one - 42.8%. Paid Search is the most effective in conversions, showing the highest percentage of sessions with a key event (4.19%) and the largest number of key events among all channels (38.29%). This highlights that investments in contextual advertising are well-targeted and attract a high-quality audience that is ready to convert. The high engagement rate (69.65%) further demonstrates the relevance of the ads.

Overall, paid advertising is highly conversion-oriented: the Paid Search channel contributes 38.29% of conversions (more than Organic Search), indicating effective use of the advertising budget to attract subscribers and targeted clients.

Attribution paths

Paid Search is the primary channel that initiates conversions (24.66%). Paid search ads also frequently serve as the first touchpoint with the client’s website. The average time to conversion for the first Paid Search interaction is 0.47 days, which is very fast - the decision is made literally on the same day. This channel often serves as the initial contact after which users need time to consider their decision and return for another interaction (Paid Search x 2). Cross-network, as a single touchpoint, has an average time of 0.42 days, indicating a high-speed conversion.

Direct traffic confirms brand recognition and loyalty: a significant share of Direct (16.51%) as a single touchpoint indicates that many users already know the client’s company and visit the website directly to perform a target action. The report shows that some conversions occur after multiple interactions with different channels. This highlights the importance of a comprehensive marketing strategy in which each channel interacts with the user at different stages of their journey.

Conversions

Overall campaign data (December 2024 – April 2025):

• 15,260,032 total impressions (including Video Campaigns for YouTube Subscriptions - nearly 95%);
• 598,040 total interactions (website visits + YouTube visits);
• €0.61 overall average cost per click (CPC);
• 15,187 total conversions (of which nearly 97% are YouTube Subscription conversions);
• 2.54% average conversion rate;
• €1.36 average cost per conversion across the account.

The average interaction rate is approximately 3.92%, which is a high indicator and demonstrates the relevance and attractiveness of the ads. The large number of interactions for the Video Campaign (96.6%) indicates exceptionally strong audience interest in the video content and, accordingly, in the brand and its offerings. This is critically important for the luxury watch niche, where video helps build trust and awareness among users. The number of interactions for the Video Campaign confirms that this format is key to building the upper part of the sales funnel (creating awareness and interest among the audience) for the client’s product niche. 2.5% of impressions resulted in a click to the website, which is a good result for the niche of high-value goods. This metric demonstrates that the ads are sufficiently appealing and the offers are relevant to potential clients. For luxury watches, where the purchasing decision is not made immediately, such a CTR indicates effective initial engagement. Campaigns with a high interaction-to-click ratio (such as PMax and DSA) show that users actively explore the ads even if they do not click right away, which is beneficial for branding (as confirmed in the Attribution Paths report).

In terms of conversions, the video campaign is the clear leader (97% of the total, and we recall that these are YouTube Subscription conversions, with audience expansion as the primary goal of the campaign). Overall, the available data from all active campaigns indicates that the general traffic acquisition strategy is effective. Still, there is potential for optimizing less productive campaigns, especially those related to local services and in-store visits.

Let us focus on the Demand Gen campaign, as it is a relatively new campaign type and is still running in the client’s account with measurable effectiveness.

Demand Gen has a very low cost per click (€0.20), which is a positive indicator for attracting traffic. However, the number of key events (13) is quite small compared to other campaigns. The cost per key event is €28.58. The campaign generates conversions from time to time, although its cost remains relatively high. Overall, Demand Gen primarily serves to increase reach, as the goal of Demand Gen is to create demand for the client’s products.

In general, contextual advertising campaigns are successful in achieving the set goals, especially in attracting audiences to YouTube. This forms a strong foundation for further nurturing the audience and converting them into customers.

Comparison with the previous period

Traffic-generating channels

Traffic quality has improved significantly - we have more sessions with deeper engagement, more events, and higher engagement metrics. Paid Search is performing effectively, traffic is increasing (+11.82%), and the channel’s conversion performance is the highest (+20.18% key events). The increase in the number of sessions, the substantial improvement in engagement rate, and the particularly significant growth in key events indicate the high effectiveness of the advertising campaigns. This confirms that investments in this channel are bringing high-quality, targeted traffic that actively converts. The Cross-network channel shows growth across all metrics, especially in key events (+58.62%), indicating the exceptional effectiveness of the campaigns that successfully attract and convert the audience.

Overall, the paid advertising channels, Paid Search and Cross-network, demonstrate the strongest performance.

Conversions

Comparative account data:

• -25,26% impressions;
• -19,86% clicks;
• +5,49% costs;
• +31,64% average CPC;
• +8,49% conversions;
• +15,27% average cost per conversion;
• +109,06% conversion rate.

We have four particularly effective campaigns, with the most successful being DemGen, showing +333.33% conversions (the conversion being a purchase request through the website form). Although the number of ad impressions decreased, the total number of conversions increased by 8.49%. This is a key positive outcome indicating that the advertising campaigns are targeting an audience genuinely interested in the client’s product/service and ready to convert. The ads and, likely, the landing pages have become more relevant to user needs.

The increase in costs (+5.49%) combined with a decrease in clicks led to a rise in the average CPC (+31.64%), which in turn resulted in a higher average cost per conversion (+15.27%). This is a natural consequence of focusing on high-quality traffic, as highly targeted keywords and audiences are often more competitive and therefore more expensive. The most striking metric is the 109.06% increase in conversion rate. This means that the percentage of visitors completing a target action has more than doubled.

The overall picture indicates a shift from a broad-reach strategy to one focused on more targeted and higher-quality traffic. Although the website receives less traffic, the client obtains more targeted actions, which was the primary goal of setting up contextual advertising. In this niche, lead quality is more important than quantity. In other words, overall advertising effectiveness has increased. We continue to optimize the campaigns further.