How Tas Restaurants Became a Google Case Study
Tas Restaurants, the London group serving authentic Anatolian Turkish food since 1999, grew its Google Ads revenue by 81% and total conversions by 428% after Merx rebuilt its strategy around AI Max and Performance Max — a result strong enough that Google published it as an official case study.
Every so often a project proves a point we make constantly at Merx: growth doesn't start with a bigger budget — it starts with the right strategy and the right partners. Our work with Tas Restaurants, the much-loved Anatolian Turkish group that has fed Londoners since 1999, is exactly that kind of project. It worked so well that Google turned the results into an official case study.
The challenge: great food, throttled campaigns
Tas had everything a hospitality brand needs — a loyal following, multiple London sites and a genuine reputation for authentic cooking. What it didn't have was a Google Ads account pulling its weight. Rising cost-per-acquisition was squeezing performance, and key campaigns kept hitting their daily budget caps — so the ads stopped showing right before the dinner rush, exactly when hungry diners were searching. One important location campaign, 'Tas PD', was delivering only a fraction of the conversions of its siblings.
The approach: AI Max, Performance Max and disciplined guardrails
Rather than simply throwing money at the problem, we rebuilt the strategy to protect the bottom line first. We expanded Search targeting with Google's AI Max — using text customisation, broader search-term matching and final URL expansion — and pointed it at high-intent local actions like directions and phone calls. We cleared the creative-compliance issues holding campaigns back, launched a lean Performance Max test to rebuild the middle and lower funnel, and introduced Smart Bidding with strict target cost-per-acquisition (tCPA) guardrails.
Those guardrails were the real unlock. With costs kept under control, conversion estimates gave everyone the confidence to scale spend — without it ever feeling like a gamble.
The results: an 81% revenue jump
The numbers did the talking.
428% increase in total conversions · 81% year-on-year increase in Google Ads revenue · 58% reduction in cost per conversion.
Under the surface, the detail is just as striking. Search conversions rose nearly fourfold — up 280% — led by primary location campaigns that more than tripled their conversion volume. The previously lagging 'Tas PD' campaign, once the weakest in the account, achieved a ninefold surge in conversions once AI Max targeting was applied. More diners, booking and walking in across Tas's London restaurants, at a materially lower cost.
As we told Google's case-study team: 'Smart Bidding, AI Max and Performance Max completely transformed campaign efficiency, driving a massive reduction in average cost-per-conversion. This boost gave us the confidence to scale campaigns and capture a significantly higher volume of diners.'
Why it became a three-way win
Google's Customer Solutions team published the results as an official case study — 'Tas Restaurants serves up 81% revenue increase with AI Max and Performance Max' — and the story travelled fast on LinkedIn, with leaders across Google, Merx and Tas celebrating a genuine partnership. As Google's Ramneek Singh put it, the best digital strategies don't start with a bigger budget; they start with a trusted partnership.
The lesson for any local business
You don't need Tas's heritage to apply the thinking. The win wasn't one clever tactic; it was sequencing. We fixed the fundamentals — compliance and budget throttling — set guardrails so scaling was safe, then let Google's AI do what it does best inside those boundaries. Too many local businesses either starve their best campaigns with tight caps, or scale blindly and watch costs run away. The disciplined middle path — guard-railed, AI-powered scaling — is where the growth lives.
Quick FAQ
What did Merx do for Tas Restaurants?
Merx rebuilt Tas Restaurants' Google Ads strategy around AI Max for Search and Performance Max, fixed budget-throttling and creative-compliance issues, and introduced Smart Bidding with target CPA guardrails so spend could scale safely.
What results did the campaign deliver?
A 428% increase in total conversions, an 81% year-on-year rise in Google Ads revenue and a 58% reduction in cost per conversion — results Google published as an official case study.
What is AI Max for Search?
AI Max is a suite of AI-powered Search features — including text customisation, broader keyword matching and final URL expansion — that helps campaigns reach more relevant, high-intent searches than traditional exact-match targeting.
The headline is an 81% revenue jump, but the real story is simpler: we protected the client's money first, then scaled with confidence. That's how a loved local restaurant ends up as a Google case study — strategy and trust before spend, every time. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
Growth rarely starts with a bigger budget — it starts with fixing the fundamentals, setting guardrails, and letting AI scale what already works.
Is your Google Ads account quietly hitting its budget cap right before your busiest hours — and what is that costing you?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Source: Google Customer Solutions case study, 'Tas Restaurants serves up 81% revenue increase with AI Max and Performance Max'. Campaign delivered by Merx Marketing.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
