Paid media · Google and Meta · UK property investment
A third of paid leads now qualify
A UK property investment company running Google Ads and Meta. They were buying plenty of leads. Their sales floor could not work most of them.
The result
15%
31%
2025
about, the client’s own figure
Aug to Sep 2026
Qualified leads, Google and Meta combined.
What we found
89%
of search terms had never converted
A fifth
of reported conversions were the same lead counted twice
None
campaigns measured on lead quality
What we did
01
Connected the CRM
Qualification became the metric, not form fills.
02
Fixed the conversion actions
The bidding stopped chasing an inflated number.
03
Cut the waste
293 negatives, broad match retired, one asset group paused.
04
Rebuilt the budget
On cost per qualified lead, set per ad group.
How it works now
01
Google Ads and Meta
Budget goes out
02
Leads
Enquiries come in
03
The CRM
The sales team marks who is real
04
Bidding and budget
The platforms learn what a good lead looks like
What works gets more, what does not gets cut
Before and after
Before
Budget followed cost per lead.
Qualification invisible below account level.
Leads were counted, not qualified.
After
- Budget follows cost per qualified lead.
- Visible at campaign, ad group and keyword level.
- The sales team’s own flag is the metric.
What the money buys now
£70
Cost per lead
Google and Meta combined, August and September 2026
£228
Cost per qualified lead
Counted only when the sales team marked the lead real
135
Qualified leads a month
The average across those two months
Every 100 leads
31 the sales team will work
That ratio is the whole job. It is why a lead the sales team can actually use costs about three times a raw one.
“We have gone from a hoping and praying approach, to having a clear and structured paid media strategy where the data leads every decision we make.”
James, Managing Director, UK property investment company