smarter ppc, stronger roi

A smart restructuring of their Google Ads account, backed by CRO-driven site improvements, delivered local leads with record-breaking efficiency.

The impact at a glance

• 70.6% increase in valuations (2660 vs 4537)
• 23.4% drop in average cost per valuation (CPV)
• £17.25 ROI from CRO

The background

Hunters is a well-established estate agency with a large network of branches across the UK. We’ve partnered with them for over five years, supporting digital performance and helping them strengthen their presence in an increasingly competitive market.

During 2023, they were navigating a familiar challenge in the property sector: how to get more out of paid media in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Search behaviour had become more localised, customer expectations were shifting, and generic brand campaigns weren’t converting as well as they once did. Despite consistent investment in Google Ads, the account was being managed by another agency at the time, and it wasn’t delivering enough valuations or doing so efficiently enough to support their ambitious growth plans.

Before working with us, between January and August 2023, they spent heavily, but only brought in just over 900 valuations, at an average cost of £73.73 each.

The biggest issue they faced was that their ads weren’t local enough. Most of the budget was tied up in top-level brand campaigns, which were great for visibility, but not for converting customers who were searching for estate agents in their area.

This meant:

• Local branches were missing out on leads
• Ad budgets weren’t working as hard as they could
• Paid and organic strategies were starting to overlap and compete

We saw an opportunity to completely rework their strategy and focus everything around hyperlocal relevance and high-intent search.

The challenge

When we took over the account in September 2023, it was clear that too much of the spend was going toward broad, brand-led campaigns.

There was no structured location targeting in place, meaning people searching for estate agents in their area weren’t always seeing relevant ads.

On top of that, we identified usability barriers within the site experience itself. Key pages, particularly valuation journeys, lacked strong content and clear signposting. The booking process also had usability issues that made it harder for motivated users to convert.

1. Local campaigns for every branch

We created dedicated campaigns for each branch, with tailored keywords, location targeting, and ad copy, making every ad feel like it was speaking directly to the person searching in that area.

2. Smarter campaign types

We split the activity into two clear areas:

• Branch Brand for people searching for the brand name of their chosen estate agents e.g. “Hunters York”
• Branch Generic for people searching for generic terms like “estate agents near me” or “sell my house in Leeds”

This gave us more control over budget allocation. We dialled back spend on generic, national brand terms and reallocated that budget to high-performing regional campaigns to help maximise visibility where it mattered most.

3. Personalised user journeys

We made sure each ad linked to the most relevant branch page, so users landed exactly where they needed to be,  increasing trust and improving conversion rates.

4. Budget reallocation

We reduced over-investment in broad brand activity and generic terms that weren’t converting effectively, and reinvested the budget into high-performing, locally targeted campaigns.

In parallel with the paid media account restructure, we developed and implemented a CRO strategy focused on turning more visits into valuations: 

• We analysed key journeys and forms, identifying friction points using both qualitative and quantitative methods
• We ran moderated user testing, uncovering user pain points around signposting, content gaps, and the appointment booking process
• We built a prioritised experimentation roadmap, using the ICE framework (Impact, Confidence, Ease) to focus on the biggest opportunities
• We optimised CTAs across the journey, making actions more visible, more compelling, and more consistently placed
• We enhanced valuation content, rewriting and expanding key messaging on core pages to build trust and support decision-making

The results

Since restructuring the account in September 2023, the performance improvements* have been significant, not just in cost efficiency, but in lead volume and scalability:

• Valuations increased by 70.6% (from 2660 to 4537)
• The average CPV dropped by 23.4%, from £54.21 to £41.51

Recent high-performance highlights:

• Over 1.7k valuations in 2025 alone, with no increase in monthly spend
• £24.54 CPV in April 2025 - the lowest ever
• 428 valuations in March 2025 - the best month on record

*January 22 - August 23 (before working with us) vs Sep 23 - Apr 25 (after working with us)

These results were powered by better conversion rates, smarter targeting, and more relevant ads.

Here’s how our CRO strategy added even more value:

• 1599 additional valuations annually attributed to CRO test wins
• 792 additional enquiries per year
• 46% CRO test win rate
• £17.25 return on investment for every £1 spent on CRO

What Hunters had to say

Austin Hedley-Richards​​​​, Digital Marketing Manager

What’s next?

With a solid foundation in place, we’re continuing to refine the strategy, running experiments, diving deeper into performance trends, and integrating the PPC approach with organic search and CRO for even greater impact across channels.

Why it matters

This is a great example of how clear strategy, granular targeting, and a focus on what matters can turn an underperforming ad account into a powerful engine for growth.

And it shows how, in a competitive sector like property, it’s not just about reaching people, it’s about reaching the right people, at the right time, with the right message.

Let’s make your
budget go further

Find out more about our performance marketing services and get in touch today if you need help with your upcoming project.