Case Studies

Wasted Budget, Stalled Growth

A regional HVAC company operating across three Texas counties came to us spending $4,800/month on Google Ads with an account structure that hadn't been meaningfully updated in two years. Their average cost per lead had climbed to $76 — double what competitors in the same market were achieving — and the account had accumulated virtually no negative keywords.

What We Found

• Broad match keywords triggering irrelevant search queries (HVAC school, HVAC certification, etc.)
• Single landing page for all campaigns — no message match between ad and page
• No conversion tracking on phone calls, only form submissions
• Ad copy not tested in over 14 months

What We Did

• Full negative keyword audit — added 340+ negatives in month one
• Rebuilt campaign structure by service category (installation, repair, maintenance)
• Built three dedicated landing pages with service-specific messaging
• Implemented call tracking and verified conversion data
• Launched RSA ad copy testing across five headline variants

The Outcome

Within four months, cost per lead dropped from $76 to $47 — a 38% reduction — while overall lead volume increased 2.4× due to improved Quality Scores and better budget efficiency. The client increased their monthly ad budget by $2,000 in month six based on the improved economics.

High Traffic, Low Return

A direct-to-consumer lifestyle apparel brand had been running Meta ads in-house for eight months with a 1.4× ROAS — technically profitable but not at the level needed to justify scaling. Their entire budget was allocated to cold audience prospecting with no retargeting infrastructure, meaning every visitor who didn't buy on the first session was essentially lost.

What We Found

• Zero retargeting campaigns — no recovery of warm audiences at all
• Single creative format (static image) with no video or carousel testing
• Broad audience targeting with no exclusions — budget leaking to unqualified users
• No pixel event tracking below the "view content" level

What We Did

• Rebuilt pixel events — AddToCart, InitiateCheckout, Purchase — and verified accuracy
• Built full retargeting funnel: site visitors (7/14/30 days), cart abandoners, video viewers
• Launched creative testing: static, carousel, and short-form video against three audience segments
• Added lookalike audiences seeded from purchaser list (1%, 2%, 5%)
• Restructured cold campaign with tighter interest exclusions and geographic filtering

The Outcome

ROAS improved from 1.4× to 3.1× over 90 days. The retargeting campaigns alone recovered approximately $24,000/month in previously-lost revenue. Video creative outperformed static by 40% on click-through rate in cold audiences. The brand moved to a larger monthly budget with confidence in the underlying economics.

Scaling Lead Volume in a Competitive Vertical

An independent insurance agency needed to diversify its lead sources beyond referrals and a Google Ads program that had become increasingly expensive due to rising CPCs in the insurance vertical. They approached us to build a native advertising channel from scratch with a $15,000/month initial budget and a target cost per lead under $25.

What We Built

• Three compliant advertorial landing pages targeting different insurance segments
• FTC-compliant disclosures and "advertisement" labeling on all pages
• Taboola campaign structure with 12 headline variants and 8 image variants in initial testing
• Geographic and demographic audience segmentation by state and age bracket
• Publisher whitelist built over 60 days of performance data

The Outcome

After a 45-day testing phase and a 90-day optimization period, the campaign reached 5,100 monthly leads at an average CPL of $18 — comfortably under the $25 target. The agency's internal team reported a 12% lead-to-policy conversion rate on native-sourced leads, consistent with their Google Ads baseline. Budget was increased to $22,000/month at month seven.

A Good Campaign Held Back by a Poor Website

A mid-size B2B consulting firm had been running Google Ads with a separate agency for 18 months. The agency's work was technically sound — the campaign structure was reasonable, targeting was appropriate — but cost per qualified inquiry remained at $290 and the account had plateaued with no path to improvement. After reviewing the account, we identified the problem immediately: a website that was nearly unusable on mobile, with a contact form buried three clicks deep and no clear value proposition above the fold.

What We Did

• Rebuilt the service-specific landing pages with mobile-first design and clear CTAs
• Rewrote above-the-fold copy to lead with outcomes rather than credentials
• Inherited and refined existing Google Ads campaigns (added 180+ negatives, restructured ad groups)
• Launched Microsoft Advertising campaign leveraging the improved landing pages
• Set up enhanced conversion tracking including phone, form, and chat

The Outcome

Landing page conversion rate improved 58% within 60 days of launch — attributable almost entirely to the website changes, not the ad changes. Cost per qualified inquiry dropped from $290 to $110. The Microsoft Advertising channel added 35% incremental lead volume at 22% lower CPL than Google, consistent with the firm's ideal demographic profile aligning with the Bing audience.