Broad match scaling
How broad match grew contracts by 149% while CPA fell
Using broad match to unlock far more demand, then judging it on contracts rather than front end conversion rate.
Signed customers more than doubled
Significantly more demand reached
Pipeline quality held up
Efficiency improved at scale
The challenge
Exact and phrase match had hit a ceiling. Broad match looked risky on the surface.
Growth was limited by how much tightly matched demand existed. Broad match promised more reach, but it typically brings a lower front end conversion rate, which makes many teams nervous.
The real question was whether those extra leads would become customers. Only CRM data could answer that.
What mattered most
The strategy
Accept a softer front end when the back end pays.
I scaled through broad match and measured it on the outcomes that make money.
- 01Used broad match to reach significantly more relevant demand.
- 02Accepted a lower front end conversion rate where downstream economics justified it.
- 03Measured success through qualified offers and contracts, not cheap leads.
- 04Kept tight negative keyword and search term control to protect quality.
The evidence
The numbers behind the result.
Graphs use the exact figures from the engagement. Where raw totals were not available, values are indexed to a starting point of 100.
Growth across the funnel
The deeper the funnel, the bigger the gain
Change against the starting position. Reductions shown in green are improvements.
Contract CPA
Scale with better efficiency
Indexed to 100 because raw CPA values were not supplied.
The outcome
More reach, more customers and a lower cost to win each one.
Leads rose 81%, qualified offers 108% and contracts 149%. Every stage grew faster than the one before it, which is exactly what good quality looks like.
Contract CPA fell 23% and lead to contract conversion improved 37%. Broad match, handled properly, became a growth engine rather than a risk.
Capabilities demonstrated
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A personal point of view
What I’m seeing, testing and learning in PPC right now.
I’m John Iliopoulos, a PPC and growth marketer with over 10 years in the industry. PPC Supreme is where I share my take on what’s changing, experiments I’m running, things that genuinely work and the lessons behind the results.
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