Case Study
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How We Built a High-Intent Google Ads Engine for Canada's Premier Adventure Map Brand

364%

Return on Ad Spend

+209.71

Purchases vs Previous Period

+6k

in Conversion Value

The Challenge

Reaching Outdoor Enthusiasts in a Crowded Search Landscape

Our client is Canada's most trusted source for adventure and backcountry maps, covering everything from hiking and fishing hotspots to ATV trails, topographic maps, and GPS-compatible backroads guides.

With a loyal fanbase built over decades, the challenge was not brand recognition, it was reaching new buyers actively searching online in a category cluttered with unrelated queries.

The Adventure-Based ad group launched into a landscape where the word "map" can mean anything from navigation apps to downloadable PDFs to educational tools.

Every generic search term risked pulling in irrelevant traffic from people looking for Google Maps directions, free downloads, or craft map-making, not physical or digital adventure maps for sale.

Three core challenges defined the early campaign phase:

  • The keyword universe for "maps" is enormous and largely unqualified, the same search terms that reach an outdoor adventurer also reach a student, a GPS directions user, and a craft hobbyist.
  • Seasonal search behavior and regional specificity (BC, Alberta, Ontario, Vancouver Island) meant broad match keywords required constant supervision to avoid wasting budget on irrelevant geographies or activities like snowmobiling and skiing in winter months.
  • The campaign had to serve a dual purpose: driving direct product sales of physical mapbooks AND building awareness for their online maps app
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Our Solution

A Three-Phase Approach: Build, Refine, and Scale What Works

We approached the Adventure-Based Keywords ad group as a living, iterative system, not a set-and-forget campaign. The strategy unfolded in three distinct phases across Q1 2026, each building on learnings from the last.

1. Keyword Architecture: Casting the Right Net

The campaign launched with a carefully constructed keyword portfolio targeting buyers already in-market for Canadian adventure maps. Rather than chasing volume, we prioritized intent.

Branded terms were included to capture high-intent brand searchers and protect their search real estate from competitors, and these turned out to be some of the highest-CTR terms in the campaign (up to 47.64% CTR).

  • Activity-specific map terms: targeting searchers with a clear outdoor pursuit in mind
  • Brand and product terms: capturing high-intent searchers already familiar with the brand
  • Regional and destination terms: reaching outdoor enthusiasts searching for maps specific to areas

2. Negative Keyword Management: Filtering Out Irrelevant Traffic

One of the most impactful actions taken across the campaign's lifespan was an aggressive and systematic negative keyword build-out.

Irrelevant traffic categories were identified early and blocked proactively, then continuously refined as real search term data accumulated.

  • Academic and educational queries
  • Navigation and directions tools
  • Free content and discount seekers
  • Competing platforms and marketplaces
  • Off-season and irrelevant activity terms
  • Geographic irrelevance

Negative keywords were not added once and forgotten.

As the campaign matured, broad match exclusions were upgraded to phrase match and exact match, tightening control without over-excluding, so budget stayed focused on the audience that mattered.

3. Active Keyword Testing & Rotation

The campaign was never static. Keywords were enabled, paused, added, and removed based on performance signals throughout the quarter based on real performance signals. This hands-on management prevented budget from pooling in underperforming terms and gave high-potential keywords room to prove themselves.

4. Ad Creative Aligned to Buyer Intent

Creative was treated as a conversion lever, not an afterthought.

The winning Responsive Search Ad spoke directly to the transactional intent of someone searching for Canadian adventure maps, emphasising the full range of outdoor pursuits the products serve, and positioning the brand as the go-to Canadian source for serious outdoor adventurers.

Messaging was designed to resonate with experienced backcountry users who know exactly what they need and are looking for a brand they can trust.

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Results

Qualified Traffic, Strong Engagement, and a Positive Return

The Adventure-Based Keywords ad group delivered meaningful results across Q1 2026.

The combination of intent-focused keyword selection, disciplined negative keyword management, and active creative optimisation produced a campaign that attracted the right audience, and converted them.

What Drove the Results

  • Activity-specific keywords attracted genuinely qualified traffic.
  • Negative keyword work meaningfully improved traffic quality over time.
  • The creative refresh aligned messaging with buyer intent.

Audience Insights: Who is the Brand's Adventure Buyer?

The campaign surfaced a clear and consistent profile for the client's buyer, an established outdoor enthusiast, predominantly male, mobile-first, and actively engaged across both weekdays and weekends.

This is a high-value audience segment that responds well to specific, activity-relevant messaging and a trusted Canadian brand name.

Understanding this profile shapes not only keyword selection, but how ad copy, landing pages, and product messaging should be framed to convert at the highest rate.

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"The Adventure-Based Keywords ad group is one of the clearest examples of what disciplined paid search management looks like in practice. We built the keyword architecture with intent at the center, and the 364% ROAS is a direct result of that. Every negative keyword added, every creative refresh, every keyword rotation was a deliberate decision. Our client has a genuinely passionate buyer base, and our job was simply to make sure Google was putting their ads in front of the right people at the right moment."
Abbey Dela Cruz, Strategic Director, Strataigize
Canada Adventure Maps

Conclusion

What This Campaign Proves About Paid Search Done Right

The Adventure-Based ad group for this amazing client is a clear example of what happens when Google Ads is treated as a strategic discipline rather than a media buy.

By combining intent-first keyword architecture, relentless negative keyword management, active creative testing, and data-led optimisation, the campaign built a clean, high-quality traffic stream to the Backroad Maps store, reaching Canada's outdoor adventurers at exactly the moment they were searching for maps to take into the wild.

Three principles made the difference, and apply to any brand operating in a niche product category:

  • Branded terms deserve their own budget and attention.'
  • Negative keywords are as important as positive ones.
  • Iteration is the strategy.

If your brand sells to passionate, niche buyers who actively search for your product category, there is no higher-ROI channel than Google Search, managed well. The Adventure ad group is proof of what is possible when the right foundation is built.

For businesses ready to reach in-market buyers through paid search and turn ad spend into real, measurable revenue, Strataigize brings the campaign architecture, keyword expertise, and hands-on management discipline to make every dollar work harder.

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