Assembly Vintage
Concept Store
Advertising performance across Google and Instagram: the current month, the previous month, and what changed between them.
Prepared for Mr Mateen · Prepared by Hassan Shahbaz
Channels: Google Search, Google Shopping, Instagram, Meta
Executive summary
This period covered three workstreams: an active Meta advertising programme generating qualified enquiries for the Murano lighting line and the new statement pieces collection, a full rebuild of Google Ads measurement and campaign structure, and, underpinning both, the ground up consolidation of the brand's entire advertising and tracking infrastructure under a single Meta Business Manager, which did not previously exist in unified form.
Meta delivered 37 detailed Murano lead form enquiries and 23 WhatsApp conversations on the new statement pieces campaign, at strong efficiency (AED 21.68 and AED 10.07 per result). On Google, the inherited Performance Max campaign was found to have no working conversion tracking, the root cause of its zero measurable results. That was diagnosed and fixed before a controlled, high intent Search campaign was launched to replace it.
Meta stats
Google spend is reported separately below, as the Performance Max campaign was inherited and pre existing.
Meta: where the effort went
Two priority pushes ran this period, the Murano lighting line (lead generation) and the new statement pieces collection (WhatsApp conversations), alongside supporting awareness activity.
| Campaign | Objective | Results | Cost / result | Spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murano, Lead Generation | Lead forms | 37 | AED 21.68 | AED 802.17 |
| Statement Pieces (CTWA) | WhatsApp chats | 23 | AED 10.07 | AED 231.69 |
| Messages, WA (Broad) | WhatsApp chats | 11 | AED 53.65 | AED 590.13 |
| Messages, IG + WA | Conversations | 1 | AED 42.70 | AED 42.70 |
| Catalog, Murano Lighting | Sales | 0 | n/a | AED 155.00 |
| Page Follows (awareness) | Follows | 1,037 | AED 0.09 | AED 95.68 |
| Instagram Visits (awareness) | Profile visits | 287 | AED 0.16 | AED 45.99 |
| Total | AED 1,963.36 |
Starred rows are the two priority campaigns. Awareness campaigns (follows, visits) are shown for completeness but are low value signals, and were consolidated going forward.
Efficiency metrics
| Metric | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Murano cost per lead | AED 21.68 | 37 lead form enquiries |
| Statement Pieces cost per WhatsApp chat | AED 10.07 | 23 conversations |
| Blended cost per enquiry (lead gen spend) | AED 23.15 | Enquiry campaigns only |
| Blended cost per enquiry (all Meta spend) | AED 27.27 | Including awareness spend |
| Total qualified enquiries | 72 | Leads plus messaging conversations |
| Average CPM | AED 21.91 | Across all Meta activity |
| Average CTR (link) | 1.98% | Link clicks / impressions |
| Cost per sale | Pending | Sales close offline, see recommendation |
| Return on ad spend | Not yet measurable | Requires sales feedback loop |
Within the Murano push, two creatives drove the majority of enquiries: the Pink Alabaster Chandelier (17 leads at roughly AED 13 each, the best value in the account) and the Multi Colour Edition (15 leads). Within Statement Pieces, the Platner Pair ad carried the campaign, producing 22 of the 23 WhatsApp conversations.
Foundations installed this period
The entire advertising and measurement infrastructure was rebuilt from the ground up. The assets were previously fragmented and, in key areas, missing entirely.
- Unified Meta Business Manager. All advertising assets brought under a single, properly structured Business Manager for the first time, creating one centralised, secure home for the brand's paid media rather than scattered, disconnected accounts.
- New Facebook Page and connected Instagram. A new brand Page created and Instagram properly connected, so both platforms run through one identity.
- New ad account. A clean, correctly configured ad account established under the Business Manager with centralised billing.
- Meta Pixel and Conversions API. Installed from scratch. There was no Meta pixel or data connection before, so ad performance can finally be measured and audiences retargeted.
- Google Analytics 4 and Microsoft Clarity. Added for website and session level behaviour insight, neither of which previously existed.
This consolidation is a major structural step. Every optimisation in the months ahead depends on this foundation, which is now live, unified and collecting data.
Google Ads: measurement rebuild and relaunch
The Google account was inherited with a single Performance Max campaign. On review it had spent steadily while returning zero measurable conversions. The underlying cause: the website's Google Analytics tag was not firing at all, meaning no conversion, purchase or contact data had ever reached Google. The campaign was running blind, optimising toward cheap, low quality clicks.
- Diagnosed and fixed website tracking. Reconnected the Google tag via Shopify. Analytics is now live and receiving data, confirmed with real time UAE traffic.
- Set up proper conversion tracking. Created a WhatsApp contact conversion action so future spend can be optimised toward real enquiries, not just clicks.
- Paused the failing Performance Max campaign to stop further spend without return.
- Launched a controlled Search campaign targeting high intent local searches only, Search network only, no low quality display or partner inventory.
| Campaign | Status | Clicks | CTR | Conv. | Spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance Max (inherited) | Paused | 2,195 | 5.55% | 0 | AED 977.72 |
| Search, Vintage & Lighting (new) | Live | 43 | 12.36% | 0 | AED 126.74 |
The new Search campaign has been live only a few days and remains in its learning phase, but its early click through rate of 12.36% is already more than double the old Performance Max rate of 5.55%. Google figures cover 15 May to 15 July, as the Performance Max campaign predates this reporting window.
Website behaviour (Microsoft Clarity)
With Clarity installed we can see how visitors actually behave on site. Over the period the store recorded 9,661 sessions, around 13% filtered as bot traffic.
A single product, the Green Petals Murano Chandelier, drew 622 sessions on its own. This independently confirms the advertising data: Murano lighting and statement seating are the two strongest demand centres, and should anchor both ad spend and merchandising.
High quick exit rate. 21.6% of sessions were quick back clicks, suggesting some ad to landing page expectation mismatch.
Dead clicks. 5% of sessions clicked elements that are not interactive, a sign of confusing navigation on mobile. Site performance itself is healthy at 82/100, so these are content and functionality fixes only.
From enquiries to sales
Assembly's sales close offline, over WhatsApp and in the Al Quoz showroom, so they are not automatically captured by Meta or Google. This period generated 37 Murano lead form enquiries and 23 WhatsApp conversations, 60 qualified contacts in total, plus further messaging enquiries. At the last update from the showroom team, none had yet been reported as closed sales.
Priorities set for next period
- Establish sales feedback. Agree a lightweight way for the showroom team to report enquiry to viewing to sale outcomes, so spend can be optimised toward revenue.
- Scale the winners. Increase budget behind the Pink Alabaster and Multi Colour Murano creatives, and the Platner Pair statement piece.
- Complete WhatsApp conversion tracking. Finish the click to WhatsApp conversion on Google, then switch Search from click based to conversion based bidding.
- Expand Google Search. Add Murano, designer maker and rug ad groups to broaden high intent coverage.
- Fix the website price filter. Resolve the JavaScript errors breaking price filtering on collection pages.
- Test Murano video on Meta. Launch the two Murano video reels as a dedicated ad set to test video against the current static and lead form approach.
The two headlines
Two things drove this month. First, the reason the store "wasn't coming up on Google" was found and fixed: a Merchant Center configuration problem had rate limited the entire catalogue, so none of the products could show. That is resolved. All 321 products are approved, free listings are back on, and a paid Google Shopping campaign is now live. Second, the Instagram campaign built serious reach, putting the brand in front of a quarter of a million people and driving 7,511 clicks through to the store.
Instagram performance
Reach and click volume are both strong for a luxury interiors brand, and a 26 fils cost per click is efficient. The healthiest signal is the click through rate on the product led ad sets: the Persian rugs post pulled a 3.8% CTR, well above the account average, which tells us specific, tangible pieces outperform mood and lifestyle framing. That is a clear creative direction for next month.
Which posts worked
| Ad set | Impressions | Reach | Clicks | CTR | CPC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "A room that feels..." | 160,726 | 64,486 | 1,158 | 0.72% | AED 0.40 |
| Current obsession: Alabaster | 78,954 | 39,921 | 1,333 | 1.69% | AED 0.30 |
| 7 new vintage Persian rugs | 66,502 | 40,072 | 2,524 | 3.80% | AED 0.13 |
| "If this is your vibe" | 57,235 | 34,679 | 1,549 | 2.71% | AED 0.29 |
| Some pieces never leave... | 55,081 | 33,813 | 1,046 | 1.90% | AED 0.33 |
| Murano glass carousel | 31,211 | 18,443 | 380 | 1.22% | AED 0.38 |
| Total (all ad sets) | 508,889 | 246,423 | 8,938 | 1.76% | AED 0.26 |
The star marked row is the standout. The "room that feels" ad set got the most impressions but the weakest click through, so it built awareness rather than traffic. The Persian rugs ad set did the opposite: fewer impressions, but nearly double the clicks of any other post at the lowest cost. The takeaway is to lead with individual, nameable pieces.
Google Ads performance
| Campaign | Impressions | Clicks | CTR | CPC | Spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopping: All Products | 86,987 | 492 | 0.57% | AED 1.65 | AED 813 |
| Search: Vintage & Lighting | 1,558 | 228 | 14.63% | AED 4.22 | AED 962 |
| Total | 88,545 | 720 | 0.81% | AED 2.46 | AED 1,775 |
Both Google campaigns are now delivering. The Shopping campaign, launched on 27 July, generated 86,987 impressions in its first weeks at an efficient AED 1.65 per click, which is the product visibility at the top of Google that this project set out to achieve. The Search campaign shows a standout 14.63% click through rate, a sign of high buyer intent from people searching directly for vintage and lighting pieces. Together the two campaigns brought 720 qualified visitors to the store.
Google: the fix that unlocked everything
The store was invisible on Google because the Merchant Center account was missing required business information, shipping and a return policy. That single issue held back the whole catalogue. Once it was completed, Google re approved the catalogue: approvals went from 0 to 321 and the products became eligible to appear at the top of Google. The account earned 213 free listing clicks in the 28 days before any paid spend, which is real demand the Shopping campaign now builds on.
What was done, in order
The full thirty days, 15 July to 15 August. The first half of the period was spent finding and clearing the block on Google. The second half was spent optimising what that unlocked and tightening the store behind it.
Went through the Google Ads account, Merchant Center and the Instagram campaigns to establish why the store was not appearing on Google and where the spend was going.
Goal agreed: raise Google visibility and get products showing at the top, ahead of competitors.
Moved to a bidding strategy that targets the absolute top of the page, with a cost safeguard so it competes for the top slot without overspending.
Page views were being counted as conversions, which misleads the whole account. Reset so real enquiries and purchases are what gets measured.
Completed business info and verified phone, added a UAE shipping policy (free, 1 to 2 days) and a return policy. This was the actual blocker behind "nothing shows up".
Google re reviewed and approved 321 products. Free listings switched back on.
Standard Shopping, UAE, AED 40 per day. This is the campaign that places product cards, image and price, at the top of Google.
A new campaign spends its first days learning. Delivery, cost per click and which products were actually being shown were checked daily, and the campaign was left to stabilise rather than edited mid learning.
Worked through the products Google was still holding back: product titles, descriptions, brand and identifier fields, pricing and availability tidied in Shopify so the feed sends Google complete, consistent data.
Read the actual searches the ads were showing against and blocked the irrelevant ones, so budget goes to people looking for vintage pieces and lighting rather than unrelated traffic.
First real Shopping data reviewed. Bids and budget moved toward the product groups earning clicks, and pulled back from the ones absorbing impressions without interest.
Store side fixes to support the ads: collection structure, product page presentation and mobile checks, so paid traffic lands on a page that gives the piece the best chance of an enquiry.
Acted on what the numbers showed. Weight moved toward single hero piece creative, which was pulling roughly double the click through of mood led posts, and away from the weakest performing ad set.
Continued clearing the last flagged products in Merchant Center, taking the catalogue to 321 approved with 18 limited and 3 not approved still to finish.
Full month pulled together across Google Ads, Merchant Center and Instagram, the results checked against the brief set on 17 July, and next period priorities agreed.
Multiple product and lifestyle ad sets plus the made to order Murano glass carousel, reaching 246k people and driving 7,511 clicks to the store.
Google Ads and Instagram reviewed through the week for delivery, cost per click and wasted spend, with bids, budgets and negatives adjusted as the data comes in.
One thing to sort: Instagram budget
Next period
- Lead with individual pieces on Instagram. The rugs post proved specific, nameable products beat mood led creative. Build more ad sets around single hero pieces.
- Keep the Instagram budget topped up so delivery does not stop and restart. Continuous running is worth more than the same spend in bursts.
- Optimise the Shopping campaign. After the first weeks of data, split the catalogue by product type and put budget behind the pieces getting clicks.
- Finish the catalogue cleanup: the last 18 limited and 3 not approved products, so 100% is eligible.
- Add a WhatsApp enquiry path on Google, since WhatsApp is the natural channel for high value pieces.
- Launch Reels for top of funnel reach, using the glass and showroom footage that suits the format.
Summary
The month in one line
Like for like, where it exists
| Metric | 15 Jun to 15 Jul | 15 Jul to 15 Aug | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta and Instagram | |||
| People reached | 47,300 | 246,423 | +421% |
| Cost per 1,000 reached | AED 41.50 | AED 9.36 | -77% |
| CPM, cost per 1,000 views | AED 21.91 | AED 4.53 | -79% |
| Link click through rate | 1.98% | 1.76% | -0.22pp |
| Ad spend | AED 1,963 | AED 2,307 | +17% |
| Qualified enquiriesObjective changed, see below | 72 | Not the objective | n/a |
| Link clicks to the store | Not reported | 7,511 | new |
| Products approved on Google | 0 | 321 | unblocked |
| Search clicks | 43 | 228 | +430% |
| Search click through rate | 12.36% | 14.63% | +2.27pp |
| Search cost per clickNow bidding for the top of the page | AED 2.95 | AED 4.22 | +43% |
| Shopping impressions | None running | 86,987 | new |
| Performance Max, spend with zero conversions | AED 978 | AED 0, paused | stopped |
| Recorded conversionsThe gap in both months, see below | 0 | 0 | unchanged |
| Google spendPrior figure spans 15 May to 15 Jul | AED 1,104 | AED 1,775 | context |
| Both channels | |||
| Total ad spend | AED 3,067 | AED 4,082 | +33% |
Read this before comparing
The Google windows differ. The AED 1,104 figure for last period covers 15 May to 15 July, because the inherited Performance Max campaign predates the reporting window. The current AED 1,775 covers 15 July to 15 August only.
Neither month reports revenue. Sales close offline in the showroom, so no closed sale has ever been fed back into either platform. Both reports flag this as the top priority.
Last period's priorities, scored
Six priorities were set at the end of the last report. Here is what happened to each, honestly.
Still the single highest impact item, and still not in place. No enquiry to viewing to sale reporting has come back from the showroom team, so neither platform can be optimised toward revenue. This needs a decision from your side, not more work on the ads.
Alabaster and Murano were carried forward into this period's creative, and the ad set data gave a new winner: the Persian rugs set pulled a 3.80% click through rate against an account average of 1.76%, the clearest signal of the month.
Conversion tracking was rebuilt so page views stopped counting as conversions, but the click to WhatsApp path on Google is not finished and Search is still on click based bidding. Carried into next period.
Overtaken by a bigger find. The Merchant Center blocker meant the whole catalogue was invisible, so the month went into clearing that and launching Shopping instead, which puts 321 products in front of buyers rather than a handful of extra ad groups.
Shopify work this period went into product data for the Google feed and store presentation. The price filter fault reported by Clarity has not been confirmed as resolved.
The Murano glass ran as a made to order carousel rather than video. Reels are queued for next period, using the glass and showroom footage.
The one thing that would change everything
Until that comes back from the showroom, every optimisation is aimed at cheaper clicks and cheaper enquiries rather than at revenue. With an average order value around AED 10,000, a single closed sale covers roughly two months of the current ad budget, so even a rough weekly list of outcomes would change how the entire budget is allocated.
Where the trajectory points
- Month one built the base. Business Manager, ad account, pixel, Conversions API, GA4 and Clarity, none of which existed before, plus the Google tag reconnected through Shopify.
- Month two cashed it in. Merchant Center cleared, 321 products approved, free listings back on, Shopping live, Search re tuned to the top of the page, and Instagram reach up more than fivefold.
- Month three is about proof. With the plumbing done and the catalogue visible, the work now shifts from fixing to earning: sales feedback, conversion based bidding, Shopping split by product type, and Reels for reach.