Deus Google: Our Google Ads Playbook for Luxury and Heritage Brands

Why Google still matters for premium categories

Search is where people go to confirm a feeling. Luxury buyers arrive with a picture in their minds. They type the brand name, the specific piece, or a careful phrase that signals intention. If the first result looks considered and the landing reads like the brand, the conversation starts on second base. If the page is generic, the buyer hesitates. Our playbook exists to remove that hesitation.

Reading intent the way buyers express it

We separate the field into three lanes. Brand terms are your front door. They deserve precise copy, exact sitelinks, and a landing that feels like walking into the store. High intent non brand terms are the aisle that leads to a decision. These are category phrases that show someone is close to choosing. They need product truths and proof. Broad exploration is a scouting lane for ideas you will bring into control later. It should be contained. Each lane has a job. When you keep their jobs clean, your spend tells a clear story.

Example, condensed

A heritage watchmaker might run brand terms like “Maison X” and “Maison X service.” High intent non brand terms look like “hand finished dress watch” or “calatrava style steel.” Exploration might test “best wedding gift watch” or “quiet luxury watch brand.” The first two lanes carry the brand voice. The third is there to listen and then hand off what it finds.

Writing ads that sound like your site

Good search copy reads like a person. Short lines. Clear idea. A promise you intend to keep. If your page leads with craft, the ad names the craft. If your service shines, the ad opens the door to speak with someone who knows. Sitelinks should be actions, not random labels. Book a fitting. See studio notes. Care and repair. Store hours. If a sitelink would be silly on a hand written note to a client, it does not belong in the ad.

A simple test
Print one ad and the hero section of the landing. Place them side by side. If they feel like different brands, fix the page. The ad is not a separate performance. It is the first line in a conversation the landing continues.

Asset kits that look premium in every slot

Google assembles ads from what you feed it. We give it fewer, stronger pieces. Stills that show true color and texture. A short loop that reveals something useful in six to ten seconds. Headlines that end cleanly without slogans. Descriptions that read like an editor wrote them. We check everything on a normal phone in daylight. If it reads there, it will read inside a responsive unit. We group assets by collection or service so the machine does not mix worlds that should not mix.

Landing alignment in practice

Most wastage on Google happens after the click. The promise shifts. The tone drops. The first scroll looks like a catalogue rather than an editorial. We prevent this by writing the first scroll at the same time as the headline. If the ad mentions hand finishing, the hero shows it. If it invites a fitting, the page shows the calendar and a name. If it raises care, the block below explains how service works. The first scroll either confirms intention or breaks trust. Treat it like the most important asset in the account.

Performance Max, used as a scout not a master

We place Performance Max in a contained role. It is there to discover surfaces and queries you should later own with control. We feed it the same premium assets and we set audience signals that reflect real intent, not wishful thinking. We exclude placements that do not fit a premium world and we review search themes weekly. When PMax surfaces a phrase that belongs in high intent search, we pull it into the correct lane and take over. The point is to learn without letting the tool decide your posture.

International nuance without tone drift

Many luxury brands sell across borders. You want reach without losing character. Keep the visual posture the same everywhere and localize examples rather than voice. Serve the right language and currency. Make sure store pages read like invitations, not like directories. Avoid mixing markets inside a single campaign. Geography should follow how you sell, not how the platform defaults.

Brand safety that protects posture

Premium brands cannot afford ill fitting surfaces. Maintain a living negative list and update it weekly. Exclude categories that do not belong. Use language and location rules with intention. Write down what you will never buy and keep the list visible in the account notes so decisions are consistent even when staff changes. Safety is not an afterthought. It is part of the brand.

Measurement that mirrors considered purchases

Attribution will never be perfect. That is not a problem if you watch the right signals. We track the quiet indicators that predict revenue. Returning to the same product page. Time with galleries and short films. Shortlists and wishlists. Consultation or appointment requests. Store locator taps that turn into visits. When these rise in step with spend, the account is working. When they do not, the fix is almost always creative or landing, not bid strategy.

A monthly rhythm teams can keep

Week one opens with a one page review of signals and drift. What stayed on brand. Which asset moved a depth metric. Which landing lost trust. We set one improvement for creative and one for pages. Mid month we ship a fresh asset set built from the same codes and we tighten one landing. End of month is a brand safety pass that updates negatives, language, and placements. The tempo is steady. The work gets cleaner. Results follow.

Mini vignette, anonymized

A leather goods house had rising click costs and flat sales. The ads were loud. The pages were busy. We split the account into three lanes and rewrote copy to match the site voice. We reshot one still and one loop that showed hand burnishing in natural light. We rebuilt the first scroll with a close photograph, a maker note, and a small care block. Depth metrics moved first. Revisit rate rose. Time with the loop climbed. Shortlists doubled. Within two months, appointments and store taps picked up. Sales followed without a single price tactic.

The Deus view

Google can be premium when you treat it like part of the brand. Build fewer campaigns. Feed them better assets. Keep the promise after the click. Measure depth first. The numbers will follow because the posture is right.

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