Paid v. organic
Case Study
Paid Media Performance(2024 vs 2025)
Paid media optimization across Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads, comparing 2024 vs 2025 spend and performance to understand what drove major traffic gains and where conversion volume declined.
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0
%
Total Spend Change(2025 vs 2024)
0
Paid Traffic Sessions (2025)
$
0
Total Spend (2025)
$
1
Google Avg CPC (2025)
The Challenge.
The dashboard shows a year-over-year spend reduction paired with a major increase in paid sessions, while total conversion volume declined.
- Total spend: $149,627.14 (2024) to $108,696.56 (2025) (-27.4%).
- Total conversions: 236 (2024) to 73 (2025) (-69.1%).
- Paid traffic sessions (2025): 64,126 with a dashboard-reported change of 517.9% vs the previous period.
Definition note: In the provided dashboard exports, Google reports Conversions and LinkedIn reports Leads. The annual blended totals match the sum of Google conversions + LinkedIn leads (2024: 71 + 165 = 236, 2025: 43 + 30 = 73).
The Strategy.
This write-up stays inside what the exports explicitly show. It does not claim why performance changed or what optimizations were executed unless the dashboard states it.
- Web Traffic panel: reports paid sessions for 2025 and the percent change vs the previous period.
- Combined Metrics Annually: provides the 2024 vs 2025 blended paid totals (impressions, clicks, conversions, spend).
- Platform PPC panels: provide 2025 Google and LinkedIn performance snapshots (Jan 1, 2025 to Dec 12, 2025, per dashboard).
Scope note: Not every panel uses the exact same end date in the exports (some are Jan 1–Dec 31, others are Jan 1–Dec 12). This case study keeps each metric tied to the panel it came from.
Campaign Performance.
Annual blended paid totals, plus 2025 platform snapshots and selected 2025 Google campaign rows as shown in the dashboard.
2024 vs 2025 Blended Paid Totals (Annual)
| YEAR | IMPRESSIONS | CLICKS | TOTAL CONVERSIONS | TOTAL SPEND (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5,124,672 | 155,099 | 236 | $149,627.14 |
| 2025 | 3,817,306 | 81,431 | 73 | $108,696.56 |
2025 Platform Snapshots (Per PPC Panels)
| CHANNEL | IMPRESSIONS | CLICKS | CTR | CONVERSIONS OR LEADS | AVG CPC | SPEND (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Ads | 3,295,129 | 78,800 | 2.39% | 43 conversions | $0.34 | $26,761.48 |
| LinkedIn Ads | 522,177 | 2,631 | 0.50% | 30 leads | $31.14 | $81,935.08 |
LinkedIn cost note: The dashboard also shows $2,731.17 cost per lead for the same LinkedIn PPC panel.
Selected 2025 Google Campaign Rows (Per Campaign Structure Panel)
| CAMPAIGN | SPEND (USD) | IMPRESSIONS | CLICKS | CTR | CONVERSIONS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak Matrix | $5,103.84 | 127,127 | 14,052 | 11.05% | 4 |
| 2025-08 Evergreen Brand Search | $3,281.82 | 57,033 | 7,444 | 13.05% | 0 |
| Bilingual Retargeting Display 26052025 | $2,947.53 | 1,675,541 | 16,423 | 0.98% | 1 |
| Powering Change 09-25 | $2,415.61 | 15,294 | 815 | 5.33% | 12 |
| Powering Change 10-25 | $1,963.87 | 17,727 | 2,231 | 12.59% | 3 |
| Bilingual Prospecting RSA 12052025 | $1,837.82 | 32,832 | 4,834 | 14.72% | 0 |
What Actually Got Built.
Internal pressure pushed for a validation-based model instead. The system got flipped. Every form submission went directly to sales for manual validation—no differentiation between a whitepaper download and a demo request.
| Stage | Score Range | What's Happening | ABM Tier 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOFU | 0-69 points | Awareness. Marketing educates through content. | 50 pts |
| MOFU | 70-94 points | Consideration. Nurture with case studies, webinars. | 75 pts |
| BOFU | 95+ points | Decision. Demonstrated sustained buying intent. | 80 pts |
| Express Lane | +110 instant | High-intent bypass. Skip the highway. | Immediate |
New Capabilities in 6.0
- Buying Group Intelligence: Detects when 2+ people from same company are researching together. +15 convergence bonus.
- Intent Data Integration: Account-level buying signals enriched into scoring. High intent (≥70) = +20 points.
- ABM Tier Treatment: Strategic accounts get lower thresholds (not score inflation). Tier 1 advances at 50/75/80 instead of 70/95/95.
- Role Mapping: Automatically categorizes contacts (C-Suite, Decision Maker, Technical Buyer, Influencer).
- Sales Handoff Intelligence: Full committee context—who’s involved, what they’ve looked at, who the decision maker likely is.
The Metrics Shift.
Current (Validation Model)
Target (Highway 6.0)
SQL ACCEPTANCE RATE
~30%
SQL ACCEPTANCE RATE
85%+
MQL APPROVAL RATE
N/A (no MQL stage)
MQL APPROVAL RATE
60–75%
BUYING GROUP DETECTION
None
BUYING GROUP DETECTION
15–25% of contacts
SALES TIME
70% validating, 30% closing
SALES TIME
15% validating, 85% closing
WIN RATE (COMMITTEE)
Baseline
WIN RATE (COMMITTEE)
+35% improvement