How a pharmaceutical company tripled its sales and reduced acquisition costs by 68% with Google Ads

Goals

GxP Training needed a high-performing SEA strategy to grow its online course sales. To optimize their campaigns and prepare the company for future growth, three main objectives were established:

• Optimize Account Structure: Redesign the organization of Google Ads and Bing Ads campaigns to gain greater control and precision. A well-thought-out structure facilitates adjustments, enables finer audience segmentation, and reduces unnecessary costs.
• Reduce Cost per Acquisition: Lower the cost of acquiring new clients by refining targeting and bid strategies. This approach increases campaign profitability while ensuring an optimal return on investment.
• Prepare for Budget Expansion: Anticipate a significant budget increase to ensure campaigns remain effective at the same level of performance, in view of the upcoming addition of a dedicated sales representative to boost commercial development.

Actions

To achieve these objectives, several strategic actions were implemented:

• Switching Campaign Objective to Target CPA: By setting the campaigns to a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) objective, I optimized bids to keep acquisition costs under control while maximizing conversions.
• Adding a Dedicated Ad Group for Each Course: To better meet the specific needs of each segment, I created an ad group for each course. This approach allowed for tailored messaging and improved ad relevance, leading to higher click-through and conversion rates.
• Testing Different Landing Pages: I conducted A/B tests to evaluate the effectiveness of multiple landing pages. These tests helped identify the best-performing pages and directed traffic to maximize conversions.
• UX Recommendations to Optimize Site Conversion Rate: In collaboration with the GxP Training team, I recommended improvements to site content and structure to facilitate visitor-to-client conversions, reducing friction points along the user journey.
• Gradual Expansion of Targeted Regions: I adjusted geographic targeting in phases, gradually expanding the reach of the ads. This approach allowed for testing new markets while maintaining strict control over budget and performance.

These combined actions structured the campaigns more effectively and optimized GxP Training’s return on investment.

Results

After restructuring the Google Ads account in April 2024, the results showed significant improvements. Comparing the six months prior to these changes (October – March) with the following six months (May – October), the number of leads (sales and inquiries) increased by 319%, while the acquisition cost dropped by 68%. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the actions taken to optimize the campaigns and better achieve GxP Training’s objectives.

Next steps

The primary change in the near future will be an increase in the budget. This increase will involve splitting the global campaign by region, providing better control and allowing the ads to be tailored to each market’s specific needs. Additionally, the creation of a remarketing campaign will enable re-engagement with users who did not convert on their first visit.

Finally, increased attention will be given to web analytics to deepen the understanding of user behavior, allowing for more effective adjustments to strategies.

About GxP Trainig

GxP Training offers an accredited catalog of online courses designed to help quality professionals in the life sciences industry meet current regulatory requirements. These certified courses enable participants to develop their skills and ensure compliance with industry standards. GxP Training is a service founded by Axeda, a recognized leader in digital learning since 2004.