Case Study: Quadrupling Quality Leads for a Luxury Property Client: A Google Ads Conversion Signal Story

The client

The client markets luxury properties in South Africa to international visitors. Most website leads are generated through marketplace listings, paid search, and SEO.

The problem

Lower-end properties dominated inbound leads from the website, while higher-end properties generated the majority of the client's revenue and profit - a textbook 80/20 split. The challenge was that Google Ads had no way of knowing the difference.

The solution

We decided to optimise Google Ads for high-potential leads only, treating lower-value enquiries as a by-product rather than a goal.

In 2019, we analysed all leads across the client's website forms and identified the conditions that distinguished a lead likely to result in a high-value transaction from one that would not. We defined a "quality lead" event in Google Tag Manager, fed it into Google Analytics and Google Ads, and shifted Smart Bidding to optimise for those quality leads only.

We revisited the criteria in 2024 and tightened the definition further, after noticing that the quality lead pool had begun to drift.

The results

The chart tracks "quality leads" attributed to Google Ads each year, measured against the updated 2024 definition, with CPL calculated as total Google Ads spend divided by quality lead volume.

• 2019 showed early, marginal improvement as the new conversion signal began influencing Smart Bidding.

• 2020 and 2021 were significantly disrupted by Covid-19 lockdowns, with several competitors pausing their campaigns entirely. Meaningful performance conclusions were difficult to draw during this period.

• By 2022 and 2023, the results were clear: quality lead volume had grown by 270% compared to the 2015-2018 baseline (from roughly 500 to 1900 per year), while average CPL fell from R108 to R39 -- a 64% reduction. The client increased budget significantly during this period, which contributed to volume growth alongside improved signal quality.

• 2024 saw a temporary dip as the quality lead criteria were tightened mid-year, with 1700 leads at an average CPL of R64. The recalibration was necessary to maintain precision as the market evolved.

• Through the first eight months of 2025, the campaign is tracking towards its strongest year on record, with CPL stabilising around R50.

By 2025, the client had grown their Google Ads investment to approximately four times what they were spending in 2018 - a direct reflection of the confidence they had in the quality of leads the campaigns were now generating.

Next steps

We are rolling out the same quality-lead approach to the client's other advertising platforms, starting with Meta.