82%
Reduction in cost per conversion overall ($97 → $17)
Case Study · PPC
Cutting cost-per-lead by 82% at a Michigan property working to fill units
Social media traffic → Google Ads remarketing trial. When occupancy began to lag, Respage proposed a low-risk trial that tripled conversions and cut cost-per-lead by two-thirds in a single month—no long-term contract required.
Schedule A Demo
The Challenge
A property management company operating a portfolio of multifamily communities in Michigan partners with Respage to support digital marketing and lead generation across their properties. As occupancy at one property began to lag, the pressure was on.
- A property was underperforming on lead generation, putting pressure on occupancy
- Existing paid efforts were producing a low volume of conversions at a high cost—roughly $97 per conversion in January
- The company was open to new tactics but hesitant to commit to a full remarketing program without proof of impact
Respage proposed a trial: build a custom audience from users acquired through a social media traffic campaign, then deploy that audience in Google Ads PMAX to sharpen targeting, re-engage prospective renters, and rebuild the lead pipeline.
What changed
A custom social media remarketing layer was added on top of the property’s existing paid social and PPC activity.
- Built audiences from prior site visitors and engaged prospects, allowing ads to follow high-intent users across social platforms
- Tightened targeting and creative around the property specifically, rather than relying on broader portfolio-level campaigns
- Used the warmer remarketing audience to drive down ad waste, which compounded month over month as the audience matured
The setup was completed on February 10, so February reflects only a half-month of activity. March was the first full month under the new strategy—and the first month where the cost-efficiency gains became dramatic.
Headline results
Schedule A Demo3×
Conversions more than tripled (5 → 16) in the first full month
6.74%
Conversion rate in April, up from 1.28% at baseline
$17
Cost per conversion in April, down from $97 in January
Performance snapshot
Trial launched February 10, 2026. Data reflects Google Ads conversion performance for the property.
| Metric | January (Baseline) | February (Trial mid-month) | March (First full month) | April (Partial) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conversions | 5 | 8 (+50%) | 16 (+96%) | 13 |
| Conversion rate | 1.28% | 2.56% | 3.45% | 6.74% |
| Cost per conversion | $97.48 | $61.11 | $31.91 | $17.22 |
Why this matters
The trajectory is consistent. Conversions, conversion rate, and cost-per-conversion all moved in the right direction in every month of the trial. That kind of compounding improvement is characteristic of a well-tuned remarketing audience, not a one-off spike.
Seasonality alone doesn’t explain it. The trial coincided with the move from a slower leasing period into the spring leasing season, which likely contributed some of the lift. Even accounting for that, the magnitude of the cost-per-conversion drop (from $97 to $17) is well beyond what seasonality alone explains, and the conversion-rate improvement (1.28% to 6.74%) reflects a meaningfully more qualified audience reaching the property’s listings.
It also proved to be a low-risk way to test a new channel: a defined trial on a single struggling property, with clear before-and-after metrics.
The bottom line
In its first full month, the remarketing trial tripled conversions and cut cost-per-lead by two-thirds—and continued improving from there. For a property that had been struggling to generate leads, the trial demonstrated that a targeted remarketing layer can turn around performance quickly and efficiently.
This is what it looks like to work with a partner who actually cares about your results, not just your signature on a long-term contract. Instead of pushing the property management company into a new strategy they weren’t sure about, Respage offered a short, defined trial to prove whether it would work. No lock-in, no pressure.
