The Challenge

This Toronto mortgage company had a bold ask: snag top-notch leads without draining their wallet. Their focus was self-employed folks—a hard-to-pin-down group in the lending game. Searches for “self-employed mortgages” were rare, making it tough to reach the right people. Plus, Canada’s sky-high cost-per-click rates squeezed their small budget even tighter. They were up against a wall and needed a win, fast.

Our Strategy

We jumped in with a tight, no-nonsense paid ads plan. Here’s how we cracked it:

• Revamped the landing page: Added bold “Apply Now” buttons and streamlined the layout to grab people ready to sign up.
• Launched smart campaigns: Ran Google Display, Discovery, and YouTube ads, testing catchy visuals and messages to find what stuck.
• Nailed the audience: Used market research and custom targeting to hit Canadians actively looking for self-employed mortgage help.
• Kept tweaking: Adjusted keywords, ad settings, and designs on the fly to stretch every dollar further.
  It was all about precision—finding the right people and making every click count.

The Results

The shift was huge, and the stats prove it:

• CPA dropped from $70 in January-February to $48 by March—a 31% cut in costs.
• Leads soared from 4 (on a $1,860 spend) to 180 with $11,000—45X more action.
• Budget stretched further, delivering big volume without losing control.
  In a few months, they went from scraping by to stacking leads, all while keeping costs lean.

Final Thoughts

A niche like this is tricky, but the right moves can turn it around. With sharp targeting and nonstop fine-tuning, we showed that even a tight budget can punch above its weight. Strategy doesn’t just solve problems—it creates wins.