Performance Max Campaign Leads To An Impressive 309% Increase In Leads

The digital advertising world is dynamic, with advertisers like us at Black Propeller continuously exploring new methods for effective lead generation and ROI. In this context, Google’s Performance Max campaigns present both opportunities and challenges. Our experience, especially with clients like NRG Clean Power, a leader in home solar systems in Los Angeles, demonstrates the evolving strategies required for success. NRG Clean Power’s commitment to no-nonsense solar energy solutions and benefits like California’s Solar Energy credits highlights the complex landscape we navigate to generate valuable leads while also testing and leveraging Google’s campaign products.

For NRG Clean Power, generating a high volume of quality leads was crucial amidst intense competition in the solar energy sector. The industry is crowded with competitors, driving up the Cost Per Click (CPC) and amplifying the need for cost-effective leads. Beyond just generating leads, NRG Clean Power was also focused on how these leads progressed through their sales pipeline towards profitable deals, aiming for a $2,500 target cost per closed deal to be efficient. This backdrop raised questions about the suitability of Performance Max campaigns, known for their cost-efficiency but also for potential lead quality issues. Despite the risks in a competitive market, we decided to put Performance Max to the test, aiming to broaden our reach and capitalize on new revenue opportunities.

There were two core components we focused in on when building this Performance Max campaign strategy:

First-party Data Utilization: We tapped into NRG Clean Power’s Salesforce CRM data. This enabled us to more accurately measure and attribute closed-won deals with their corresponding revenue back into Google Ads via offline conversion import, providing a transparent view of the campaign’s impact and effectiveness

Audience Segmentation: Leveraging Google’s In-market and Affinity audience segments, we targeted individuals who not only had a genuine interest in solar energy solutions but also demonstrated a higher likelihood of conversion. This included segmenting our audiences by Middle of Funnel intent, where we combined our Google audiences with Custom Search Term audience segments of people in the research phase of solar energy. By targeting users searching, “benefits of solar panels” and “lease solar panels”, we were more confident that we were targeting people who expressed interest in solar energy, but just weren’t sure where to go yet.

Spoiler alert: Our strategy worked! Within a 60 day period of optimizing our Performance Max campaign to generate new leads, we saw the following results:

Skyrocketed Leads: We saw an impressive 309% increase in quotes and leads when compared to the previous 60 days.

Revenue Generation: The campaign successfully generated a whopping $147,822 in closed-won revenue. This was our highest revenue generating campaign in this same period!

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Demonstrating the campaign’s efficiency, the ROAS stood at an impressive 9.87x, which stood as our highest ROAS lead gen campaign in the account.

High Closing Rates: The campaign didn’t just attract leads; it converted them. With a conversion rate nearing 27%, it showcased the highest rate of closed-won deals, underscoring the campaign’s effectiveness.

Lower Cost per Closed Won Deal: Our cost per closed won deal dropped to just below $3,000, which made this campaign show the lowest cost per deal than any other lead gen campaign in the account!

While many agencies and advertisers still grapple with the nuances of Performance Max campaigns, our expertise in Google Ads, combined with a strategic use of data and audience segmentation, proved to be a game-changer. For NRG Clean Power, this meant not just leads, but profitable deals, amplifying their revenue and strengthening their foothold in the Los Angeles solar energy market.

NRG Clean Power is a leading installer of residential and commercial solar energy systems across both California and Texas.

Canoga Park, CA

Energy

PPC Management