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In this episode of the DTC Podcast, Eric speaks with Dougie, lead of the Google team at Pilothouse, about what happens when DTC brands try to scale on Google Ads and hit a ceiling. The conversation digs into impression share limits, ad rank, new customer acquisition, product mix, and how demand generation must be part of the strategy—not just search & shopping.

Why you’ll want to listen:

Learn when you’re maxed out on impression share and what to do about it.
How to use Google’s new customer acquisition settings & prioritize hero SKUs to improve incrementality.
When & how to build upper funnel demand (YouTube, content, ingredient‑based content) to feed your capture channels.

This episode is essential for growth‑stage DTC marketers and eCommerce owners who want to scale Google Ads profitably without just increasing budget and sacrificing efficiency.

Timestamps

00:00 Scaling on Google Ads and hitting ceilings

02:00 Understanding impression share and ad rank

04:30 Creating demand through content and upper funnel tactics

07:00 Avoiding bidding mistakes and ensuring incrementality

09:00 Product distribution misalignment and hero product strategy

12:00 Shopping campaigns vs Performance Max for new customer growth

14:00 Using search terms and AI insights for keyword strategy

16:00 Preparing Google Ads accounts for Black Friday and Q4

18:00 How Pilothouse runs audits and identifies growth opportunities

Hashtags

#GoogleAds #DTC #Pilothouse #AdStrategy #DigitalMarketing #EcommerceGrowth #PerformanceMax #ScalingAds #MarketingPodcast #PPCStrategy

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Advancing Care Through Connection and Digital Innovation with Matthew Harinstein, MD, MBA