Case Study

How a Regional Manufacturer Got 52 Qualified Leads in 60 Days with Google + Bing Ads

Apex Spring & Stamping is a Michigan-based manufacturer of custom springs, stampings, and wire forms for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. Their marketing manager wanted to expand their marketing efforts to paid ads, but there wasn’t internal buy-in from the leadership team.

Key Results

20%

Organic Traffic (7-day window)

25%

Conversions / Key Events

+54%

SERP Feature Visibility (MoM)

At a Glance

Results Summary

52

Qualified Leads

$63.18

Avg. Cost per Conversion

1,324

Total Clicks

62,669

Total Impressions

The Challenge

What a Regional Manufacturer Was Struggling With

No previous PPC ad history or internal buy-in from leadership
Small $40/day ad budget
Niche, hard-to-reach audience of OEM engineers and buyers
Needed fast results to prove ROI and validate paid search as a viable channel

The Strategy

How We Approached It

We launched Apex’s first-ever paid search campaigns on both Google and Bing Ads, manually structured with tight keyword targeting and conversion tracking tied exclusively to high-intent actions (RFQs and contact form submissions). After the initial Google Ads success, we rolled out Bing campaigns using learnings from the first 30 days to optimize performance across both platforms.

Google Ads Strategy

Manual search campaigns with exact & phrase match keywords only
Negative keyword audits and daily search term monitoring
Conversion tracking via GA4 & GTM
Excluded low-quality placements (search partners)
Highly specific ad copy targeting OEM engineers
Ad schedule limited to business hours

Precision Funnel: Apex Spring Google Ads Strategy

Bing/Microsoft Ads Strategy:

Created Bing-specific campaigns targeting OEM engineers
Used structured keyword groups and manual bidding
Refined campaigns MoM based on performance
Eliminated low-intent clicks and optimized bid strategy
Aligned targeting to support growth in metal stampings and spring clips

Conversion-focused, intent-driven PPC strategy backed by continuous data optimization to generate high-quality leads efficiently.

The Results

What Changed After Implementation

52 Qualified Form Submissions (RFQ or Contact Us)
Stayed within budget every day
Zero irrelevant clicks from broad keywords or low-quality sites
Marketing manager secured internal approval to continue ad spend

The campaigns not only delivered fast, measurable ROI—but helped the marketing team gain trust from leadership and establish Google Ads as a long-term growth channel.

Performance Snapshot (Google Ads)

Midwest Campaign Dashboard (Google Ads)

Performance Snapshot (Microsoft Ads)

40% of Bing conversions came from metal stamping-related queries, directly supporting strategic growth areas
Bing impressions increased 40% MoM, while reducing spend by 21% and improving lead volume
Google Ads increased site traffic by 64% and GMB profile views by 37%
725% increase in contact + RFQ form submissions across the site
550% increase in Bing-driven site traffic

Google Campaign Performance Graph

Overall Campaign Performance, Bing (GA4)

“This campaign delivered exactly what we needed—fast, trackable results that spoke directly to our target market. They took care of every detail and made sure every dollar was working. Thanks to this success, we now have buy-in from our leadership to continue advertising.”

Key Takeaway

What This Case Study Shows

A manual, data-driven PPC strategy – aligned to Apex’s ideal customer profile – helped generate 52 high-intent leads in just 60 days while staying under budget. Google Ads captured high-intent searchers; Bing Ads expanded reach efficiently. Together, they shifted internal perceptions and proved paid search as a scalable lead gen channel for Apex Spring.

Even with a small budget and no prior data, a tightly targeted, conversion-focused PPC strategy can quickly generate high-quality leads and prove ROI.

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