Root Science from Grassroots to Global using Google Ads

Nov 17, 2022

In the crowded skincare vertical, Root Science made use of the power of Google Ads and the flexibility of to reach new customers and deliver a seamless shopping experience - and achieving a remarkable returns on advertising (ROAS).

Profits from passion turned into profits

Root Science was founded by Gigja Wesneski as well as Derek Reynolds, Root Science started as an attempt by Gigja to find a solution for her sister's highly delicate skin.

applying a Root Science product to hands
Root Science grew from small-scale personal project into a worldwide skincare business with the assistance of Google

Gigja realized that numerous natural products failed to live up to their earthy assertions. Therefore, she decided to craft something new. Gigja worked with individual growers to create an array of formulations that depend on the science behind each ingredient rather than scents, colors, and the latest trends.

In their decision to quit their job to focus on Root Science, Gigja and Derek were looking for a stable digital home for their business and a way to get their message across, on large, to the right audience. They found their solutions in and Google. When a huge spotlight suddenly appeared to their company in the year 2019they showed that they were ready for incredible development.

From an initial effort to a global brand

With no retail store, Root Science refined their products and marketing to make sure they had shelf space shops like Anthropologie, Free People, Neiman Marcus, and Bloomingdale's. The media was aware.

In the year 2019, Kourtney Kardashian happened to feature an exfoliation facial masks in an Vogue video. The viral video was a hit and has more than 17 million hits.

Root Science Detox bottle
Root Science products are crafted using nutrient-rich plants and scientifically-backed components.

Through WordPress and  its website, Root Science was capable of handling the amount of traffic that comes with a sudden, viral video, and was capable of leveraging this. Today, Root Science is a expanding business, which invests 20% of their earnings into marketing.

The biggest two challenges facing every business

Two major obstacles were in the way of Root Science's expansion in the early stages of their growth:

  1. Well-presented products
  2. Inspiring the right people

When it comes to online businesses the presentation of products involves more than just aesthetics - your website needs to offer a great customer experience. It should load fast as well as be simple to navigate, and make it easy to move from the website's product page to the check out.

A great website is also accessible. Beyond that, you need the appropriate people to locate it, especially when it is a niche within a broader market.

Root Science wasn't just selling an additional skincare brand to the general public. They have a very specific audience: people who actively seek natural and scientifically-formulated skincare products.

Showing their product by using

This allows Root Science to have a elegant and effective e-commerce site. Because it's built on WordPress which is a popular platform, it can be integrated to complement their content marketing efforts and does not require constant customized development.

"WordPress was always in my thoughts... It was something I've heard so much about the way it performed in terms of SEO. That's why I began looking at WordPress which, then, it seemed like a good option to set up a shop."

In actual fact, Derek himself has worked to design and customize their eCommerce site, taking advantage of the advantages of open source software such as community-driven support, and numerous plugins and extensions.

"I've been playing around on the website about. There's a huge list of plugins, which is the best thing about WordPress and ...there's an application for every need. Therefore, whenever we require something - like a refer-a-friend program or customer loyalty program, it's available."

grid of three products on the Root Science site
Root Science has customized their site using WordPress and

The user-friendly backend interface makes it easy to provide top-notch customer service and manage a seamless processing of fulfillment without requiring expert technological knowledge.

After the initial big challenge met using , Root Science was positioned to tackle the next one - drawing the right traffic.

Reaching new audiences through Google Listings and Ads

Through  Root Science, Root Science has been using Google's Product Listing for well over one year.

Since their launch, they've been able to "increase our visibility across all search queries and help to compete against some of the larger brands." Root Science has seen a 5% increase of traffic on their website, and a 10% increase in sales.

The high-quality traffic was instrumental in helping Root Science grow their email list, which helped increase retention of customers - the company's holy grail of success.

The current rate of return on advertising spend (ROAS) stands at 2:3, and their click-throughs are increasing. Some products earn a 4:1 ROAS. As they continue working with Keyword recommendations as well as SEO-driven blogs, negative keywords posts, customer education, as well as other forms of marketing via email and sales, they anticipate their revenues and profit to continue growing.

Root Science product listings on Google
Root Science earns a 2:1 ROAS with Google Ads

Presently, Root Science devotes 50 percent of their overall marketing budget to Google advertising efforts.

Extensions and plugins that help Root Science's success

Derek works continuously to customize advertising campaigns to maximize performance, which is essential to getting the absolute best ROI possible. Root Science also uses an array of other extensions and plug-ins to help their ecommerce business perform and grow.

By using Stripe, they've been able to offer express pay alternatives like Apple Pay, Google Pay as well as many more.

Create your own story of growth by using Google Listings and Google Ads

As Gigja said, "We really are a family-owned company. We're a tiny team. His mother works with us. My brother is also a part of our team. The house is ours for everything and everything you can find on our website such as the pictures are shot by my brother. Others are taken by me. I provide all the artistic direction. Yeah. We are truly a passion project turned business."

If you've got a unique vision, a desire to be different or create a fresh direction in your life, the right tools may be all that you need to achieve success.

It is the perfect platform to build your store. Add extensions like Google Listings & Ads, and you'll have the two elements needed to tackle one of the biggest business problems - presenting your products and making them visible to those who are interested.

Performance Max campaigns streamline everything, including ad creation and the copywriting process, choosing images for product, audience targeting, and making sure you are optimizing your advertisements and products to ensure you can make the most of your investment. The algorithm works to deliver the most relevant ads to the right target audience at the appropriate time.

Your business canbe as successful as Root Science.

If you do have an online store, you might not be aware of how an automated Smart Shopping campaign using Google Listings & Ads can help increase sales. Want to take a deeper look?