5 Ways to Reduce Your Cost Per Lead by 50%

The Cost Per Lead Problem

You're spending money on advertising. Leads are coming in. But when you do the math, each lead costs way more than it should—and your profit margins are suffering.

Sound familiar?

The average moving company pays $75-150 per lead. But our clients average $35-55. Here are the five strategies that make the difference.

Strategy #1: Fix Your Landing Page

The Problem:
Your ads send traffic to your homepage, a page with multiple distractions, slow load times, or a form that asks for too much information.

The Impact:
A poor landing page can increase your cost per lead by 100-200%. We've seen companies cut their CPL in half just by improving their landing page.

The Fix:

1. Single Focus: One page, one goal—get the lead
2. Speed: Load time under 3 seconds (use Google PageSpeed Insights)
3. Mobile-First: 60%+ of traffic is mobile
4. Above the Fold: Phone number and form visible without scrolling
5. Trust Signals: Reviews, badges, years in business prominently displayed
6. Simple Form: Name, phone, email, move date—that's it

Pro Tip: Create separate landing pages for different services and locations. "Miami Apartment Movers" converts better than generic "Moving Services."

Strategy #2: Implement Negative Keywords (Google Ads)

The Problem:
Your ads show for searches that will never convert—job seekers, DIY movers, people looking for free boxes.

The Impact:
Without negative keywords, 20-40% of your ad spend is completely wasted.

The Fix:

Start with this negative keyword list:

• Jobs, hiring, careers, employment, salary


• Free, cheap, budget, DIY


• Reviews, complaints, scam, lawsuit


• Rental, rent, U-Haul, Penske


• Tips, advice, how to, checklist


• [Competitor names] hiring/jobs


Ongoing Process:

• Review search terms report weekly


• Add any irrelevant terms as negatives


• Build separate lists for brand terms, competitor terms, and irrelevant terms




Strategy #3: Geo-Target Smarter

The Problem:
You're targeting too large an area, or you're not bidding more in your best-performing locations.

The Impact:
Clicks from areas you can't profitably serve are pure waste. And treating all locations equally means you're underbidding in your best markets.

The Fix:

Start Narrow:
Begin with a 25-mile radius around your location. Expand only after you've maxed out leads in your core area.

Bid Adjustments:


Analyze conversion rates by location




Increase bids 20-30% in high-converting areas




Decrease bids 20-30% in low-converting areas




Consider excluding areas with consistently poor performance



Advanced Tactic:
If you serve multiple cities, create separate campaigns for each. This gives you maximum control over budget allocation and messaging.



Strategy #4: Optimize Your Ad Schedule

The Problem:
Your ads run 24/7, including times when no one's searching or when you can't answer calls.

The Impact:
Clicks at 2 AM rarely convert. Neither do calls you can't answer. This is budget going down the drain.

The Fix:

Analyze Your Data:
Look at conversions by hour of day and day of week. You'll likely find that 80% of your conversions happen during 40% of the hours.

Implement Scheduling:


Increase bids during your highest-converting hours




Decrease bids during low-converting periods




Consider pausing ads completely during your worst hours



For Moving Companies, We Typically See:


Best hours: 7 AM - 8 PM local time




Best days: Monday-Saturday




Worst periods: Midnight - 6 AM, Sunday afternoon



Pro Tip: If you can't answer calls after 6 PM, reduce bids during those hours rather than advertising a service you can't fulfill.



Strategy #5: Retarget Your Website Visitors

The Problem:
Someone visits your website, looks at your services, maybe even starts filling out a form—then leaves. You never see them again.

The Impact:
Only 2-4% of website visitors convert on their first visit. The other 96-98% are potential leads you're losing.

The Fix:

Set Up Retargeting:
Install Facebook Pixel and Google Ads remarketing tags on your website. Build audiences of:


All website visitors (last 30 days)




Quote page visitors who didn't convert




Blog readers




Visitors who spent more than 2 minutes on site



Create Specific Ads:


Remind them of your services




Highlight reviews and trust signals




Offer a small incentive ("Free box delivery with your move")



Typical Results:
Retargeting campaigns often generate leads at 30-50% lower cost than prospecting campaigns because these people already know you.



Bonus: The Power of Combining All Five

Each strategy alone can reduce your CPL by 10-20%. But the real magic happens when you combine them:

Example Client Results:

Metric Before After Change |
|--------|--------|-------|--------|
Landing Page Homepage Dedicated — |
Negative Keywords 12 350+ — |
Geo-Targeting 100 mi radius 35 mi radius — |
Ad Scheduling 24/7 Optimized hours — |
Retargeting None Full funnel — |
Cost Per Lead $142 $48 -66% |

That's not a typo. By implementing all five strategies, this client went from $142 per lead to $48—a 66% reduction.



Implementation Priority

If you can't do everything at once, here's the order of impact:

1. Landing Page

Biggest single improvement opportunity


2. Negative Keywords

Stop the bleeding immediately


3. Retargeting

Capture lost opportunities


4. Geo-Targeting

Refine your focus


5. Ad Scheduling

Polish for additional gains

Take Action This Week

1. Audit your landing page against the checklist above
2. Export your search terms report and add negative keywords
3. Install retargeting pixels if you haven't already
4. Review your location and schedule performance

Need Expert Help?

These strategies work—we use them for every client. But implementation takes time and expertise. If you'd rather have professionals handle it while you focus on running your business, that's what we're here for.

[Schedule a free strategy call](/schedule) and we'll audit your current campaigns together.