Case study · Real estate, lead generation
Real estate: −38% cost per lead without a bigger budget
Three Meta Ads campaigns, each built on what the previous one taught us: more leads, a lower cost per lead and less spend.
- Client
- Real estate client
- Sector
- Real estate, lead generation
- Services
- Meta Ads, Creative and video, Targeting
Key numbers
−38%
cost per lead
Campaign 3 vs Campaign 1
+29%
leads
Campaign 3 vs Campaign 1
−20%
spend
Campaign 3 vs Campaign 1
Starting point
A real estate client wanted to generate enquiries from people interested in specific properties, through digital campaigns and without wasting budget.
The objective was Lead Generation. In this project, a lead is a person who filled in and submitted the form built into the campaign.
What we did
We ran three Meta Ads campaigns, each for a different property. Instead of treating each campaign as a one-off, we used each one as a source of learning for the next.
We worked on five fronts:
- Targeting. Who sees each ad.
- Creative. What to show and how to present each property.
- Video structure. The order in which information appears.
- Information timing. When each detail shows up in the video.
- CTA timing and placement. When and where the invitation to fill in the form appears.
At the end of each campaign, we analysed the results and applied what we learnt to the next one. The logic never changed: test, analyse, optimise, repeat.
Results
−38%
cost per lead
Campaign 3 vs Campaign 1
+29%
leads
Campaign 3 vs Campaign 1
−20%
spend
Campaign 3 vs Campaign 1
Across the 3 campaigns: 82 leads from around €130 of spend, an average cost of €1.58 per lead, 1,204 link clicks and an average cost of around €0.11 per click.
| Campaign | Leads | Spend | Cost per lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campaign 1 | 24 | €49.95 | €2.08 |
| Campaign 2 | 27 | €39.94 | €1.48 |
| Campaign 3 | 31 | €39.98 | €1.29 |
Campaign 3 vs Campaign 1: +29% leads (from 24 to 31), −38% cost per lead (from €2.08 to €1.29) and around −20% spend (from around €50 to €40).
The improvement didn't come from a bigger budget. Between the first and third campaigns, we generated more leads, cut the cost per lead significantly and spent less at the same time.
Note: the 82 leads are forms filled in and recorded by the platform. We didn't have access to the sales follow-up, so these numbers don't show how many enquiries turned into viewings or deals.
What we learnt
- A bigger budget doesn't, on its own, mean better results. The gain came from making better use of the budget available.
- Each campaign teaches the next one something. Treating the campaigns as a sequence, not as separate actions, made each one more efficient than the last.
- In video, order and timing matter. Structure, information timing and CTA placement are variables to test, just like the audience.