Google Ads Restaurant Case Study: Raising the Bar… Literally! How we Fixed a Pub’s Fortunes with Google Ads

In the cutthroat world of hospitality, just having a great product isn’t enough. You can serve the best pint and have the most talented musicians, but if no one knows you exist, you’re just another quiet storefront. This was the exact challenge facing a client of ours. A pub that had just opened its second location in Reno. 

Despite the owners pouring their heart and soul into creating an incredible experience, the numbers just weren't adding up. The new spot was barely making it, struggling to attract the foot traffic needed to thrive. They were facing a classic brick-and-mortar dilemma: how do you translate online visibility into tangible, real-world business?

The answer was a strategic investment in Google Ads. We recognized that the solution wasn't a magic trick, but a focused, data-driven effort to connect the right message with the right people at the right time. The goal was to move beyond simply existing and start actively pulling customers in from the digital world to the physical one.

The "What" - The Strategy: A Precise and Powerful Approach

Our strategy wasn't about "throwing money at the problem." It was a carefully planned, two-pronged attack designed to capture both existing demand and create new potential customers. We knew that for a local business with a modest budget, every dollar had to work hard, and every ad had to have a purpose.

See my related post on how to build this strategy, Google Ads for Restaurants. 

Google Search Ads: Capturing the Bottom of the Funnel

We started with the foundation of any strong digital strategy: Google Search Ads. This is about capturing intent—targeting people who are already actively in the market for what you offer. These customers are at the very bottom of the marketing funnel, ready to make a decision. We meticulously researched high-intent keywords and crafted compelling ad copy designed to resonate with locals. When someone in Reno was on their phone searching for "pubs with patios near me," "happy hour specials Reno," or "best live music venue downtown," our ads were there, front and center, ready to answer their query.

This put the pub in direct competition with established venues and instantly positioned it as a top contender. We weren't just guessing; we were intercepting a customer's decision-making process at the most critical moment, guiding them directly to the pub's front door with a single click.

Performance Max (PMax) Campaigns: Expanding the Top and Middle of the Funnel

Next, we layered on a Performance Max (PMax) campaign. This is where the real power of Google’s machine learning comes into play. While Search Ads are reactive, capturing existing demand, PMax is proactive and expansive. It uses Google’s AI to automatically find high-value customers across all of its advertising channels, including YouTube, Gmail, and the Display Network. PMax isn't just about showing an ad; it's about finding the right person at the right time, even if they aren't actively searching.

PMax finds customers who might not have been actively searching but whose online behavior—like watching a video about local breweries or frequenting food blogs—indicates they would be the perfect fit for the pub. This allowed us to cast a wide, yet highly targeted, net and introduce the brand to people who didn't even know they were looking for a new favorite spot.

Creating a Full-Funnel Strategy

By combining these two powerful campaign types, we created a full-funnel marketing strategy that covered every stage of the customer journey.

• Top of Funnel (Awareness): The PMax campaign introduced the pub to a new audience, building brand awareness and recognition. It planted the seed in the minds of potential customers who were simply browsing or consuming related content.
• Middle of Funnel (Consideration): PMax continued to nurture these leads by showing them more engaging content on various platforms, reinforcing the brand and its unique offerings.
• Bottom of Funnel (Conversion): The Search Ads were the final, crucial step. They captured the high-intent traffic ready to convert, directly guiding them to the pub when they made the final decision.

This seamless integration of campaigns ensured we weren’t just reaching people; we were building a relationship and guiding them toward a visit, making our ad spend far more efficient and effective.

The "Where" - Targeting the Right Audience: Location, Location, Location

For a local business like a pub, "where" is just as crucial as "what." Our campaigns were built on a foundation of hyper-local targeting. We created a tight geographic radius around the pub in Reno, ensuring that our ad budget was spent on reaching people who could actually walk through the door. This prevented wasted ad spend and maximized the impact of every impression. We didn't want to show ads to people in Las Vegas; we wanted to reach the person five blocks away who was deciding where to go for dinner.

Beyond geography, we leveraged Google's audience insights to get even more precise. We targeted people with interests in craft beer, fine dining, live entertainment, and local community events. This ensured our ads were seen by the most relevant audience, increasing the likelihood of turning a digital impression into a physical visit.

The "When" - The Results and Impact: From Struggle to Success

The proof is in the data. The impact was not just a one-time spike but a consistent, accelerating trend of growth that completely changed the pub's trajectory.

Driving Directions & New Visitors: A Direct Line to the Pub The most compelling metrics came from the direct link between our ads and customer behavior.

• 952 Google Ads Direction Requests: Our campaigns generated an incredible amount of foot traffic intent. In August 2025 alone, the pub's Google Business Profile saw 952 direction requests originating from Google Ads. This represents a staggering 85.2% increase compared to August 2024. This wasn't a fluke; it was clear evidence that people were seeing the ads, getting intrigued, and physically asking their phones for a direct path to the pub.

• 945 First-Time Visitors: This digital interest translated directly into new business. The pub's point-of-sale (POS) system confirmed that, over a 30-day period, they welcomed 945 new guests. With an average order of $20 for these new customers, that’s almost $19,100 in new sales—all driven by a modest ad spend. The ROI was not just positive; it was spectacular.

These two data points, in tandem, paint a powerful picture. They show a clear and measurable relationship between our online efforts and the real-world results. We were able to quantify the exact value of our digital advertising, proving that every dollar spent was working to bring new, paying customers through the door.

Sales Growth: A Consistent Upward Trend The ultimate measure of success was the sales data, which showed a clear and powerful upward trend of year-over-year (YOY) growth.

• July: The first signs of success appeared with a modest but promising 8% YOY increase in sales.
• August: The momentum built rapidly. August 2025 sales reached $83,818, a significant 22% YOY increase over the $70,773 from August 2024. This single month saw a total sales increase of $13,045 from the previous year.

•  September: The growth continued to accelerate, proving this was a sustainable trend, not a temporary fix. For the first half of September, sales hit $39,082, representing an even more robust 35% YOY increase over the $29,728 recorded during the same period in 2024. This mid-month increase alone accounted for an additional $9,354 in sales YOY.

These numbers tell the story of a business that went from barely surviving to truly thriving. The initial 8% jump in July was proof of concept, the 22% spike in August showed a strategy gaining steam, and the impressive 35% jump in September demonstrated the full, compounding power of a well-executed digital campaign. The pub's sales weren't just up; they were accelerating month over month, creating a solid foundation for future growth.

The Takeaway: Google Ads Can Make a Huge Impact

This case study is a powerful reminder that a struggling local business can be completely turned around with the right digital strategy. For a pub that was barely making it, a smart and well-managed investment in Google Ads drove hundreds of new customers and thousands of dollars in new revenue.

The lesson here is simple: if you have a great product, you just need to make sure the right people know where to find it. For brick-and-mortar businesses, digital advertising isn’t just about being seen; it's about providing a clear path from a search query to a seat at the bar, turning online intent into real-world income and transforming a struggling business into a thriving success.