Intent-first keyword architecture and disciplined negative-keyword management built a 364% ROAS Google Ads engine for a Canadian adventure-map brand.
The Challenge
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. Three core challenges defined the early phase: the keyword universe for “maps” is enormous and largely unqualified; seasonal and regional specificity (BC, Alberta, Ontario, Vancouver Island) meant broad-match keywords required constant supervision; and the campaign had to serve a dual purpose, driving direct sales of physical mapbooks and building awareness for the online maps app.
Our Solution
We approached the Adventure-Based Keywords ad group as a living, iterative system, not a set-and-forget campaign. The strategy unfolded in three phases across Q1 2026, each building on the last.
1. Keyword architecture: casting the right net. The campaign launched with a carefully constructed portfolio targeting buyers already in-market for Canadian adventure maps. Rather than chasing volume, we prioritized intent: activity-specific map terms, brand and product terms, and regional and destination terms. Branded terms were included to capture high-intent searchers and protect search real estate, and turned out to be some of the highest-CTR terms in the campaign (up to 47.64% CTR).
2. Negative keyword management: filtering out irrelevant traffic. One of the most impactful actions was an aggressive, systematic negative-keyword build-out: academic and educational queries, navigation tools, free-content and discount seekers, competing marketplaces, off-season activity terms, and geographic irrelevance, all blocked proactively and refined as real search-term data accumulated. As the campaign matured, broad-match exclusions were upgraded to phrase and exact match, tightening control without over-excluding.
3. Active keyword testing and rotation. The campaign was never static. Keywords were enabled, paused, added, and removed based on real performance signals throughout the quarter, preventing budget from pooling in underperformers and giving high-potential keywords room to prove themselves.
4. Ad creative aligned to buyer intent. Creative was treated as a conversion lever. The winning Responsive Search Ad spoke directly to the transactional intent of someone searching for Canadian adventure maps, emphasizing the full range of outdoor pursuits and positioning the brand as the go-to Canadian source for serious outdoor adventurers.
Results
The Adventure-Based Keywords ad group delivered meaningful results across Q1 2026. Activity-specific keywords attracted genuinely qualified traffic, negative-keyword work meaningfully improved traffic quality over time, and the creative refresh aligned messaging with buyer intent. The campaign also surfaced a clear buyer profile: an established outdoor enthusiast, predominantly male, mobile-first, and engaged across weekdays and weekends, a high-value segment that responds well to specific, activity-relevant messaging and a trusted Canadian brand.
“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.”
Abbey Dela Cruz, Strategic Director, Strataigize
Conclusion
This 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 optimization, the campaign built a clean, high-quality traffic stream to the client’s store, reaching Canada’s outdoor adventurers at exactly the moment they were searching. Three principles made the difference: branded terms deserve their own budget and attention, negative keywords are as important as positive ones, and iteration is the strategy.