Case: targeted Facebook Ads
for the developer

How to reduce the cost of a lead

Incoming data

A real estate client approached us with high lead costs and many non-targeted requests (over 70%) for several projects. The cost per lead was over $15, and the cost per form submission on the site was over $30.

Advertising subject:

sale of real estate.

Purpose:

to reduce the cost of one lead and the price of an application on the site.

Geography of presence:

Kyiv and region.

Error detection

At the beginning of the cooperation with a new client, we conducted a surface audit of the site and the advertising cabinet, which helped identify the following weaknesses.

We found several significant problems in the site operation: the lack of customized conversions on the site, and additions in the form of pop-up windows (when the site is closed), the inconvenient location of the «Request a call» button, the lack of a chat with the manager, etc. All these factors affect the conversion rate of the site.

We saw many separate advertising campaigns of the same type in the Facebook Ads advertising cabinet. Although it's best to use an orderly structure, divide your campaigns by goal level, and enter different audience settings in your ad groups. It makes it easier to track and compare ad performance, use the automatic Budget Optimizer feature as needed, or redistribute money manually.

Different campaigns with the same goals were launched to the same audiences at the same time. They competed with each other at the auction, which increased the price for the target action.

Some campaigns did not last long enough to optimize and were turned off without getting enough data to analyze and make a decision.

In some ad groups, specialists have chosen too wide targeting options, so the ad was shown to a non-target audience.

In most ads, the creatives were unadapted to different placements.

Results BEFORE:

Number of leads — 31
Number of conversions — 23
Average cost per lead — $16,95
Average cost per conversion — $33,57
Budget spending — $1385,67
Period — 31 days

Our actions

We made separate landings for target objects

After auditing the client's site, we decided to make individual landings for the client's target objects to start advertising campaigns more quickly. We've added Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, and Facebook Pixel code to the site. These actions allowed us to analyze and optimize the work of the site and advertising campaigns.

Launched new advertising campaigns

Based on the audit of the Facebook Ads account, we obtained data that allowed us to understand what we needed to work on first. We did not waste time and launched new advertising campaigns based on previously identified shortcomings.

Formed current offers and benefits

Together with the developer, we created current offers and advantages of each property.

Segmented the audience

We segmented the audience, distributing them according to the interests of one or another TA. For example, investors/top managers/young people who want to buy their first home/family with children, etc.

Developed creatives for each offer

Our designers have developed creatives for each offer. Creatives differed in plot, shape, color, and other features, depending on the specifics and needs of each formed segment. We adapted all the images to the formats of the feed and Stories. We created several creatives for each audience to compare their effectiveness and choose the best ones.

Calculated the budget for advertising campaign testing

We calculated a budget for a weekly test on Facebook and Instagram to distribute it as efficiently as possible between the sites and determine creatives. Then we approved a media plan with the customer and launched a campaign.

Optimized new advertising campaigns

We've optimized new ad campaigns to exclude ineffective segments of selected target audiences and ads that showed low CTR and engagement.

Important: at the start, you need to decide on the best audience segments and creatives that bring results. But at the same time, you should also test new ones because audiences burn out, and after a while, the effectiveness of the campaign decreases.

Results of advertising campaigns
for the period from September 2020 to December 2020

Ad group lead generation campaigns

Ads lead generation campaigns

Number of leads – 374
Average cost per lead – $6,1
Budget spent – $2283
Period — 4 months

Ad group conversion campaigns

Conversion campaigns in terms of ads

Number of conversions – 167
Average cost per conversion – $16,03
Budget spent – $2676,57
Period – 4 months

Launched:

4 campaigns;
13 ad groups;
5 ads divided by format/audience segment.

A few days after the launch of the test, we saw clear favorites. After receiving this information, we began optimizing new ad campaigns by eliminating low-performing segments of selected TAs and ads. Instead, we focused on those that showed the highest CTR and engagement rates.

Google Analytics results

The number of conversions on Facebook is lower, but the bounce rate is also lower. The number of pages per session, the average time on the site, and the number of achieved goals has increased. All this indicates excellent results of the advertising campaign on Facebook, although traffic from Google, according to many, is «warmer».

Results for the period
from January 1, 2021 to January 18, 2021

As we can see, the cost per lead is getting lower and lower.

Advertising campaign results

We have significantly reduced the cost of a lead and the cost of a conversion. We have achieved the price and the number of leads accepted in the real estate industry.

It was:

It became:

Average cost per lead – $16,95

Average cost per lead – $6,1

Average cost per conversion – $33,57

Average cost per conversion – $16,03

Conclusions