CASE · VOCATIONAL TRAINING
Vocational training: focused advertising that tripled the conversion rate
Memorise focused a scattered Google Ads account for a vocational training company in the construction sector and tripled the conversion rate. The budget had been spread across a long list of campaigns that mostly sat paused. We concentrated it into a few high-intent search campaigns, tidied up the tracking and optimised continuously toward conversion.
Client: Vocational training company in construction and industry · Timeframe: 14 months
- Industry
- Vocational training for construction and industry
- Revenue
- Under SEK 10 million
- Market
- Sweden
- Engagement
- Restructured and optimised Google Ads
+440%
more conversions over a comparable period
3x
conversion rate: 1.2% → 3.8%
-63%
cost per conversion: 550 → 204 kr
The starting point
The company sells safety, vehicle and machinery training to construction, civil engineering and industrial firms. The demand is there in search: buyers actively look for a specific course or certificate. But the budget was small, and in a smaller company every krona of ad spend has to pay its way.
The starting point in the ad account was the opposite of focused. The budget was spread across a long list of campaigns where most sat paused, and the ones that ran delivered a weak conversion rate of just over one percent. The cost per conversion sat at around 550 kronor.
The tracking couldn't be fully trusted either. Many recorded conversions lacked a clear value, so it was hard to see which campaigns actually drove enquiries and sign-ups. With a small budget, that lack of focus and measurability was the most expensive problem of all.
What we did
We did the opposite of spreading thin. The budget was concentrated on the few search campaigns where purchase intent was highest, the tracking was rebuilt so every krona could be measured against actual enquiries, and the advertising was optimised continuously instead of being left on autopilot.
Clear out and focus the account
We shut down what wasn't performing and concentrated the budget on the campaigns with the highest purchase intent: safety, vehicle and machinery training. Fewer campaigns means each one gets enough data for the bidding to actually learn.
Tracking you can trust
The conversion tracking was rebuilt so each campaign could be evaluated against actual enquiries and sign-ups, not clicks and impressions. Without reliable data you optimise toward guesses.
Campaigns built around how the buyer searches
The campaigns were built around the terms construction and industrial buyers actually use, often a specific course or certificate. Ads and landing pages were matched to the intent so the click met the right answer.
Continuous optimisation, not autopilot
Budget moved toward what converted, bids and keywords were adjusted, and ads were tested against each other week by week. The advertising got smarter every month instead of standing still.
Disciplines in the assignment
Read more about the method
The outcome
When the budget was concentrated and the tracking was in place, the key figures turned clearly. The conversion rate rose from just over one percent to nearly four, more than a threefold increase, and the cost per conversion fell from around 550 kronor to just over 200. This happened while the ad budget roughly doubled. We let the account grow only once it had proven it could turn clicks into enquiries, and even at double the budget each conversion got cheaper.
Over the focused period the number of conversions rose to roughly five times that of the previous, equally long period. At the same time the cost per click fell and the share of people who clicked the ads nearly doubled. The campaigns reached more of the right people for less money.
We only see our part of the picture, the ad account itself, not the client's margins or revenue. That is theirs to own, and we respect it. But we don't settle for the ad metrics simply looking good: the more of the business we get to follow, the better we understand the data and the sharper the decisions become. Here the signals point the right way, both in the account and in the client's own feedback that the enquiries convert, and from there we always want to get closer to the business value itself, so that every krona can be steered toward what truly grows the business.
Learnings
- A small budget thrives on focus. Spread across many campaigns, none gathers enough data to get good; concentrated on a few, the bidding learns faster.Read more: Focus the ad budget: why a few campaigns beat many
- Conversion rate says more than traffic. More clicks isn't the goal; more clicks that become enquiries is.Read more: Conversion, not traffic: the metric that actually counts
- Tracking first, optimisation second. Without reliable conversion data you move budget on feel instead of on fact.
- Purchase intent is cheapest to meet. Someone already searching for a specific course is close to a decision, and those clicks cost the least per conversion.
Involved in the assignment
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