Case Study: Digital Marketing & Customer Acquisition

Improving Inbound Call Performance Through Paid Search

How structured paid-search campaign development, keyword governance, and continuous optimization increased inbound call volume and lowered average cost per call during an initial 25-day campaign.

The client engaged MC Strategic Group to build and launch a paid-search program focused on inbound customer inquiries, using a documented implementation framework and disciplined campaign governance.

The program applied search-intent segmentation, exact and phrase keyword targeting, negative-keyword controls, structured testing, bid governance, schedule optimization, and ad creative and traffic-quality optimization.

The campaign tracked search activity, inbound call volume, and call duration during its first 25 days. The reported results show improved call volume and cost efficiency when comparing the later campaign period with its initial launch period.

Click-Through Rate
10.76%
Observed campaign click-through rate across all campaign search queries.
Higher Daily Call Volume
~6×
Increase in average daily calls: Days 13–25 compared with Days 1–6.
Lower Cost per Call
83%
Reduction in average cost per call: Days 13–25 compared with Days 1–6.
Calls Meeting Qualification Threshold
53%
Inbound calls lasting at least three minutes.

Figures reflect activity recorded during the initial 25-day active campaign. Comparative changes contrast Days 13–25 against Days 1–6. Metric definitions follow campaign tracking criteria; calls meeting the qualification threshold lasted at least 180 seconds and do not confirm closed transactions.

To control spend and improve inbound inquiry performance, MC Strategic Group applied a documented 12-step implementation framework organized around four campaign-management practices.

  • Intent Segmentation

    Campaigns were structured across distinct search-intent categories, separating brand and local-office queries from broader search queries.

  • Negative Keyword Governance

    Negative-keyword controls were applied and maintained to filter irrelevant searches.

  • Keyword Match Control

    Exact and phrase match keyword targeting helped maintain relevance between search terms and ad creative.

  • Structured Testing and Optimization

    Bids, schedules, ad creative, and traffic quality were optimized using structured testing and defined optimization rules.

Campaign results were not uniform across search-intent categories. The majority of calls meeting the three-minute duration threshold were associated with brand and local-office searches. Broader non-brand categories contributed comparatively fewer calls meeting that threshold.

This distribution demonstrates the importance of distinguishing demand captured from people already searching for a business from inquiries generated through broader search categories. The results do not establish growth in completed sales or newly acquired customers.

  1. Intent-based campaign segmentation supports focused budget allocation and provides a clearer basis for evaluating performance across different search categories.
  2. A three-minute call-duration threshold distinguishes longer conversations from brief calls. It does not independently establish whether a caller became a qualified sales lead or customer.
  3. Ongoing campaign governance supports continued review of search relevance, media efficiency, and traffic quality.

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