How We Cut Branded Search CPA by 49% Without Sacrificing Volume
Industry: National Retail
Service: Paid Search (Google Ads) Management
Result: 49% reduction in cost-per-acquisition on branded search campaigns
The Challenge
A national retail brand came to NuBreed already running branded search campaigns in-house, but their cost-per-acquisition had been climbing steadily for over a year. Their internal team suspected the problem was rising CPCs, but a deeper audit told a different story: budget was being spread too thin across low-intent match types, bid strategies weren't aligned to actual conversion value, and negative keyword lists hadn't been updated in over a year — allowing irrelevant search traffic to eat into spend.
Our Approach
NuBreed's paid search team rebuilt the account structure from the ground up:
Match type consolidation. We moved the account toward tightly themed exact and phrase match groups, cutting wasted spend on broad, low-intent queries.
Negative keyword overhaul. A full audit and ongoing weekly negative keyword process eliminated irrelevant traffic that had been quietly inflating CPA for months.
Bid strategy realignment. We shifted from manual CPC bidding to a value-based automated bid strategy, feeding Google's algorithm cleaner conversion data so it could optimize toward actual revenue outcomes, not just clicks.
Ad copy and landing page testing. Continuous A/B testing on ad copy and landing page experiences improved quality score, which lowered CPCs across the board.
Weekly reporting cadence. Rather than a monthly check-in, we reviewed performance weekly for the first 90 days so we could react quickly to any shifts in the account.
The Results
Within the first quarter of managing the account, branded search CPA dropped by 49% — while maintaining the same overall lead volume the client had come to rely on. Just as important, the improvements were durable: efficiency gains held steady over the following year rather than fading after an initial optimization push.
Why It Worked
The core lesson from this engagement: branded search is often treated as "safe" or "set it and forget it" because it converts well by nature. But without ongoing account hygiene — clean negative keyword lists, tight match types, and bid strategies aligned to value — brands routinely overpay for traffic they'd get more efficiently with a better-structured account.
Ready to Lower Your CPA?
If your branded search campaigns haven't been fully audited in the last six months, there's a good chance you're leaving efficiency on the table. Get a free consultation with NuBreed's paid search team.
