How User Testing unveiled the best Paid Search Strategy

Case Study
in Brief

Insight from analytics is powerful. Discover how JEBCommerce helped one youth organization lower the cost of acquisition from paid search by 12X using hyper-local data to redefine its buyer motivation strategy.

In today’s online advertising landscape, we’re bombarded with more data than ever before. But if you don’t know how to use them, these numbers can seem like, well, just a bunch of numbers. JEBCommerce’s experts help leading businesses turn data into a results-driven online growth strategy.

The Problem

Over the last 30+ years, our national youth sports client has helped thousands of kids develop life skills through its fun, safe, skills-based camps. But while the business was thriving, its paid search acquisition cost was costing as much as the camps themselves. This had to change.

Their campaign strategy was based on the assumption that parents enroll their children in camps that align with their child’s interest. But we immediately saw a red flag: if this was true, why were conversion rates so low?

We had a hunch that the sport itself wasn’t the factor that compelled parents to buy. To test our hypothesis and optimize their online campaign, we performed some research.

The Fix

JEBCommerce’s analytics experts launched a series of remote user tests targeting parents with kids between the ages of 5 and 14, the primary age bracket served by the camps. When we asked these parents to select camps from our client and competitors, we discovered something very telling: the key motivating factor was convenience for the parents, not the interests of the child.

Guided by this finding, we shifted the paid search strategy. Our first move was to target the soccer fields, gymnasiums and parks. We limited our advertising to 3-5 miles of the company’s camps.

During the course of this research, we also learned that many parents were searching for camps that would train their kids to be the “elite athletes” in a certain sport. This was not our client’s ideal customer, but its paid search campaigns were targeting them nonetheless. We refined their keyword strategy, adding words such as “boys,” “girls,” “youth” and “fun” into our target search terms. This reduced the cost per click from roughly $1.30 to $0.30 — and ensured they were reaching the right customer.

Most businesses would be thrilled with a conversion boost alone. But we knew that by taking our findings a step further, it would yield even bigger results for our client. By shifting video content focus from the sport itself to the “fun” factor, and including a prominent “Find a Camp Near You” form, the organization is now reinforcing the same winning strategy on its website.

The Bottom Line

In today’s online marketing world, data can make or break your business. JEBCommerce is the expert partner who helps leading companies use analytics to its full online sales potential. Our team is guided by 75 years of combined knowhow and fueled by a desire to help drive clear growth for your business. Are you ready to unlock the power of your data? With JEBCommerce, your most successful campaign yet starts today.