How an Automotive Manufacturer Reduced Cost per Lead by ~40% Using Google Search

A Google Ads Case Study

Leads
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Cost per Lead Reduction
0 %
Conversion Rate
0 %

Client Overview

Salama Radiator is a B2B automotive manufacturing company specializing in radiators and industrial cooling solutions for automotive, commercial vehicle, and industrial applications. The business serves automotive distributors, industrial buyers, fleet operators, workshops, and procurement departments that prioritize product reliability, specification accuracy, and supplier credibility.

The client’s commercial growth depends on capturing high-intent inbound demand rather than broad awareness. Buyers typically enter the funnel with a defined need—replacement radiators, cooling systems, or manufacturing-grade components—and evaluate suppliers based on trust, responsiveness, and perceived production capability.

For this engagement, Salama Radiator’s priority market was Saudi Arabia, a region with sustained demand driven by transportation, construction, logistics, and industrial infrastructure.

Campaign Result Snapshot

Initial Analysis

A pre-campaign audit focused on understanding demand structure, buyer intent, and performance ceilings.

Demand Characteristics

Search demand clustered around:

  • Automotive radiators
  • Industrial cooling systems
  • Replacement and manufacturing-grade radiator products

This was commercial-intent demand, not educational or exploratory traffic.

Language Behavior

Saudi Arabia showed clear bifurcation:

  • Arabic searches: Higher volume, cost-efficient
  • English searches: Lower volume, higher technical intent

Baseline Visibility Constraint

Search impression share sat between 14–16%, indicating substantial untapped demand but limited auction presence.

Key Challenges

1. Limited Impression Share

Low impression share meant that even well-performing ads were only visible for a fraction of eligible searches.

2. Mixed Intent Within Search Queries

Without strict keyword and messaging alignment, spend risked going toward:

  • Non-procurement users
  • Low-value automotive searches
  • Informational intent queries

3. Cost Discipline While Scaling

The challenge was not generating clicks, but ensuring that increased spend did not inflate:

  • Cost per conversion
  • Lead quality dilution

Objective & KPI Framework

Primary Objective

Despite constraints, early signals revealed strong potential:

KPI Structure

Strategy Breakdown (Google Search)

Campaign Architecture

The account was structured into two Search campaigns, segmented by language.

This allowed:

  • Independent bid and budget control
  • Language-specific ad messaging
  • Clean performance attribution

Bidding Approach

Maximize Clicks was used deliberately—not as a set-and-forget tactic.

Campaign
Language

Campaign-level CPC efficiency:

Lower CPCs in Arabic enabled broader demand coverage without sacrificing conversion quality.

Creative & Messaging Strategy

Messaging Framework

Ad copy was engineered for industrial and procurement decision-makers, prioritizing:

  • Product relevance
  • Manufacturing credibility
  • Functional clarity

No generic branding language. No promotional fluff.

CTR Performance

The English campaign’s higher CTR reflected strong technical intent, despite lower volume.

Cost Per Conversion Optimization Strategy

Cost per conversion was treated as a primary performance constraint, not a vanity metric.

Optimization Drivers

  • Language-led budget weighting
  • High-intent keyword focus
  • Stable conversion rates preventing CPA spikes
  • Reduced waste from irrelevant query exposure
Google ads CPL Optimisation

Over time, the cost-per-conversion trend moved downward and stabilized, as reflected in the declining CPA graph from June to September.

Optimization & Scaling Process

Phase 1: Data Accumulation

  • Capture volume
  • Establish CPC and CPA baselines
  • Validate conversion tracking integrity

Phase 2: Efficiency Stabilization

  • Reinforce high-performing keyword clusters
  • Maintain CTR above 3%
  • Prevent CPC inflation

Phase 3: Cost-Controlled Scaling

  • Spend increased to dh41.8K total
  • CPA held steady around dh29
  • No degradation in conversion rate

Scaling decisions were made only after performance consistency was established, ensuring long-term sustainability.

Results & Performance Metrics (6 Months)

Account-Level Results

Google ads result

Key Insights & Learnings

Why This Worked

This campaign succeeded because it aligned with how B2B automotive buyers actually behave:

  • They search with intent
  • They value relevance over promotion
  • They convert when friction is low
  • They reward clarity and credibility

The strategy focused on harvesting existing demand efficiently, not forcing artificial scale.

Conclusion & Positioning

Over six months, Salama Radiator achieved:

  • Predictable lead flow
  • Controlled acquisition economics
  • Scalable Google Search performance within a constrained impression environment

This case study demonstrates how search-led demand capture, when structured correctly, can serve as a reliable growth engine for automotive and industrial manufacturers targeting procurement-driven markets like Saudi Arabia.