Overview
In a 90-day Google Ads Search optimization sprint, we scaled qualified distance-education leads in Mumbai for an admissions consultancy offering admissions counselling, university tie-ups, and course enrolments. With a small budget and lead-quality issues in the existing account, we tightened targeting, rebuilt relevance through stronger ad messaging, upgraded tracking (including micro-conversions), and improved the form funnel — driving 181 form leads at ₹370 CPL with a 5.92% conversion rate.
Google Ads Snapshot (Oct–Dec 2025)
- Avg. CPC: ₹35.05
- Conversions (Form leads): 181
- Cost / conv: ₹370
- Total Cost: ₹67.1K
- Clicks: 5.37K
- Conv. rate: 5.92%
Campaign Overview
An existing Google Ads Search account was optimized to generate form submissions for a Mumbai-based distance-education consultancy. The campaign targeted working professionals, students seeking online / distance degrees, and learners who couldn’t complete higher education earlier (Grad / PG seekers) — positioning UGC / AICTE-approved programs with counselling support and appointment booking.
Objectives
- Increase qualified admission enquiries in Mumbai, India
- Improve conversion rate from high-intent search traffic
- Small-budget focus: maximize form submissions for one-sitting degrees + distance education
Strategy
- Geo & audience focus: Tightened location targeting to Mumbai to reduce wasted reach and keep leads locally relevant.
- Campaign structure: Built ad groups by program type to improve relevance, Quality Score, and conversion-intent alignment.
- Keyword optimization: Ran mostly Phrase + Exact, aggressively cleaned search terms, paused broad / low-intent queries, and added heavy negative keyword lists to cut irrelevant traffic and raise lead quality.
- Ad copy refinement: Rewrote ads with strong headlines and clear intent messaging — distance education in Mumbai, one-sitting degrees, UGC / AICTE-approved programs, book free counselling, and WhatsApp chat + book appointment.
- Conversion tracking upgrade: Tracked both primary and micro conversions (form-submit success, WhatsApp button clicks, Calendly appointments, click-to-call) to give the algorithm cleaner signals and improve optimization learning.
- Mobile-first optimization: Applied mobile-focused device bid adjustments to align with actual lead behaviour and improve efficiency.
- Landing page & form improvements: Reduced to a 6-question form, improved CTA clarity, sped up page load, added trust signals (UGC / reviews), and clarified the program list + pathways.
Results
- 181 form leads generated (Oct–Dec 2025)
- ₹67.1K total spend
- ₹370 cost per lead (Cost/conv.)
- ₹35.05 Avg. CPC
- 5.37K clicks
- 5.92% conversion rate
Highlights
- Lead quality improved via phrase/exact targeting + heavy negatives
- Mobile-first bid optimization lifted conversion efficiency
- Tracking upgraded with micro-conversions, improving optimization signals
- Landing page + shorter form boosted conversion rate and reduced friction
- Strong results delivered on a small budget while keeping CPL efficient