Marketer, analyst, ex-CMO focused on the Google ecosystem (Ads, Merchant Center, GA4, GTM). Google Partner. 150+ projects, 100+ positive reviews on Freelancehunt, 12+ countries.
- I work directly, with no account managers or subcontractors
- I measure results in sales, not in-platform conversions
- Maximum expertise in the Google ecosystem — instead of “PPC, social ads and SEO, all in one”
An agency that helps citizens of Central Asian countries find jobs abroad, mostly in the EU. What makes this case interesting: the ads kept running into blocks, and still the cost per lead stayed in the $1.5–2.5 range. Over the last 100 days — $2.19.
According to the client, lead quality is very high: 90 to 95% are qualified.
Contents
Case Study: Overseas Employment Agency, CPL $2.19 and 687 Leads in 100 Days (Google Ads)
The numbers for 100 days
From March 9 to June 16, 2025:
- 8,750 clicks;
- 687 leads;
- 7.85% click-to-lead conversion rate;
- $2.19 cost per lead.
Search only
Only Search campaigns run here. They give flexible control over queries: I can see what the ads show for and can test quickly.
At some point the client asked to launch Performance Max. We launched it and ran it for a few weeks. The cost per lead there came out on average twice as high as on Search. So we dropped Performance Max and scaled what was already working well. Why I so often choose Search for lead generation, I explained in the article Search, Performance Max, YouTube, Display or Shopping.
The domain that kept getting blocked
The chart shows the dips: periods when the ads didn’t run at all, plus many short stops.
It wasn’t the ad account that got blocked, but the website itself, the domain. Someone, I wonder who, regularly complained that the company was a scam. Meanwhile the client’s business is completely above board: it has every license this kind of work requires. But the market in these countries is narrow, and even one competitor playing dirty does a lot of damage.
In the end the client completely rebuilt the site and moved to a new domain. Switching domains also helped in another case of mine, where ads were disapproved for a “Compromised site” with no real problems on the site.
Google AdsCase: a “Compromised site” in Google Ads. How to Fix It?Ads disapproved for “Compromised site” but your site is clean? Two real cases: a problem domain and Binotel call tracking code in Google Tag Manager.
I wrote separately about another way competitors sabotage ads — fake leads.
What happens after a pause
After the longest stop, when the client relaunched the site, the cost per lead at the start was frankly sky-high. And that’s normal. If ads are off for more than a couple of weeks, from an optimization standpoint you’re effectively starting over: the campaign no longer takes into account what happened before the pause. Hence the jumps in both cost and number of conversions.
After that you can see systematic work: over the 100-day period the cost per lead keeps going down, because the campaigns are constantly being optimized. In PPC, stability and professionalism matter.
About client tinkering
The results would have been even better if the client hadn’t tinkered on their own. For any project that’s a disaster: the owner decides they know better than people who have done this professionally for many years and changes things in the campaigns themselves. The recommendations ChatGPT gives can’t always be applied to a specific project.
Google Ads · MarketingNot Every Google Ads Case Is a Success. And We Need to Talk About ItNot every project ends with a pretty ROAS in a carousel. Three types of cases — and why results don't depend on the contractor alone.
What to take away from this case
If your ads were off for more than two weeks, don’t judge them by the first days after the relaunch. If someone recommends Performance Max for lead generation, test it in parallel with Search and compare the cost of a qualified lead, not the number of conversions.
22 — B2BGoogle Ads for B2B and service businessesQualified inquiries, calls and messengers, CRM deals instead of lead counts.
Where to find me
Message me on Telegram or by email — I respond quickly. Telegram channel and YouTube are for those who want to see real cases before reaching out and understand my approach.