In short
- Meta produced 396 leads at USD 21.41 each on USD 8.5K of spend, with native lead forms doing the converting.
- Google runs three campaigns with one job each, and a 7.4% CTR at USD 6.08 per click keeps the tourists out.
- Budget size determines how much waste you can survive, not whether the fundamentals apply.
A focused budget in a crowded category
Case studies love big budgets. This one is about a focused one, split between two channels doing opposite jobs, in a category where a Google click costs about six dollars and the search results are crowded with certification giants. The Accounting Academy was never going to outspend anyone. It outstructured them instead, and the lead flow proves it.
Training the people who keep the books
The Accounting Academy trains accounting professionals, with offerings built around demand that actually exists: tax preparation skills and accounting for small and midsize businesses.
For a business like this, every marketing dollar needs a defined job, because the two demand pools behave differently. Some buyers are already searching for exactly this. Most aren't searching at all, but they'd raise a hand if the right offer crossed their feed.
What this meansTwo behaviors, two channels, two different jobs.
Meta: the lead engine
The feed side is where the volume lives. From April through late July, Meta lead campaigns reached 40,850 people, pulled 1,885 link clicks at a 1.26% link CTR, and produced 396 leads at USD 21.41 each, on USD 8.5K of spend.
The account doesn't coast, either. June alone saw the creative set reviewed, new assets launched into the running campaigns, and four new campaigns built. Losers get paused, budgets follow what's earning.
What this meansIn a small account, the testing loop is the moat.
Google: the intent guard
Search plays a different position. Three campaigns, one job each.
- Brand
- Defends the academy's own name, because brand queries left unprotected become a competitor's cheapest customers.
- Tax Prep
- Captures the market's most reliable seasonal demand.
- SMB Accounting
- Owns the second pool, accounting skills for small and midsize business contexts.
The quality shows in one number: a 7.4% click through rate, roughly double what typical search accounts see. At six dollars a click, that CTR is the metric that matters most. It means the ads reach people who actually wanted them.
When every click is a meaningful slice of the day's budget, not one of them can be a tourist.
What this meansBrand term defense is standing policy, and the CTR is the proof the budget reaches the right people.
Why the split works
Meta creates and captures demand; Google catches the demand that already exists and makes sure nobody intercepts the academy's own name on the way in. Neither channel is asked to do the other's job, and neither budget subsidizes vanity.
That's the part most small accounts get backwards. They spread thin across formats trying to be everywhere, and end up weak everywhere. The Accounting Academy is strong in exactly two places, which happen to be the two places its buyers are.
What this meansAccount structure is free, and it's usually worth more than the next budget increase.
The takeaway
Budget size determines how much waste you can survive, not whether the fundamentals apply. Give every channel one clear job, defend your brand, keep testing, and let the lead math do the talking: 396 leads at USD 21 says the structure works. The Accounting Academy runs the same playbook the big accounts run. It just can't afford to run it sloppily, and that constraint turns out to be a feature.
- Give each channel one job and write it down
- Protect your own brand terms before buying anyone else's
- Use native lead forms where the landing page would only add friction
- Review creative monthly, pause the losers, move the budget
