2 SPOTS LEFTFounding rate — 40% below market, locked in for life. 2 spots. Not per month. Ever.
ACQUISITION MEDIA · FREE PLAYBOOK
The exact paid acquisition system we use for every client. Platform decisions, campaign architecture, conversion tracking setup, UK benchmark CPL data, and the full case study behind the £7.25 CPL campaign. No theory. No generic advice. Exactly what we do and why it works.
Use this to run your own campaigns — or to evaluate any agency you're considering paying.
£7.25
Cost Per Lead
27
Leads, 30 Days
14×
ROI in 6 Months
£200
Total Ad Spend
01
The biggest mistake most businesses make: choosing a platform based on what they've heard, not based on how their customers actually buy. Google and Meta are not interchangeable. They reach buyers at entirely different moments with entirely different intent levels.
GOOGLE ADS
CAPTURED INTENT
Someone searches "plumber near me" or "cleaning service London." They're ready to buy right now. Google puts you at the top of that exact moment. Best for: any service people search for actively when they need it.
Trades · Legal · Medical · Accountancy · Emergency services
META ADS
CREATED INTENT
Nobody scrolls Instagram looking for a personal trainer. But show the right person the right creative at the right moment, and you create desire they didn't have 30 seconds ago. Best for: visual services, transformation-based businesses.
Cleaning · Landscaping · Fitness · Aesthetics · Renovation
TIKTOK ADS
ALGORITHM-LED DISCOVERY
TikTok's algorithm distributes content based on engagement signals, not demographics. The cost-per-lead is still dramatically underpriced in most UK service niches. First-mover advantage is real — but creative quality is everything.
Hospitality · Fitness · Personal brands · Under-35 audiences
Platform × Industry Matrix (UK)
| INDUSTRY | META | TIKTOK | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home cleaning / housekeeping | — | ✓✓ | ✓ |
| Landscaping / gardening | ✓ | ✓✓ | — |
| Construction / renovation | ✓ | ✓✓ | — |
| Plumbing / electricians / trades | ✓✓ | ✓ | — |
| Dentistry / aesthetics | ✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✓ |
| Law / solicitors | ✓✓ | ✓ | — |
| Accountancy / financial services | ✓✓ | — | — |
| Personal training / wellness | — | ✓✓ | ✓✓ |
| Restaurants / hospitality | ✓ | ✓✓ | ✓✓ |
| Property management / letting | ✓✓ | ✓ | — |
THE FRAMEWORK IN ONE QUESTION
Does your customer actively search for your service when they need it? If yes: start with Google. If no — they discover services passively, through lifestyle content and social feeds — start with Meta. When budget allows, run both simultaneously. The compounding effect of search intent + social discovery is where growth accelerates.
02
Most businesses either over-complicate their setup (20 ad sets, 40 creatives, six objectives) or under-invest in it (one boosted post, no structure). The architecture that generates leads within 48 hours is deliberately simple. Here's the exact setup we use for every new client.
Define The Offer (Not the Service)
Your service is cleaning, landscaping, personal training. Your offer is the outcome — "A spotless home, guaranteed, in 3 hours or you don't pay." Lead with the outcome. The service is just how you deliver it.
Build One Campaign Per Offer
One campaign. One objective: Conversions. Not traffic. Not reach. The platform will optimise for what you tell it — so tell it exactly what you want. People who fill out your form, tap your WhatsApp button, or call your number.
Run 2–3 Ad Sets with Distinct Audiences
Ad Set 1: Broad (age/gender only, let the algorithm self-select). Ad Set 2: Interest-targeted (relevant categories). Ad Set 3: Retargeting (website visitors, video viewers). Give each at least £10/day — never split a budget too thin.
Launch 3 Creatives. Keep the Winner.
Creative is the variable that matters most. Launch 3 ads in each ad set with different hooks. After 7 days and £50–100 spend, one will outperform. Pause the others. Iterate on the winner. Repeat monthly.
Lowest-Friction Conversion Path
The longer the path between ad and enquiry, the higher your CPL. WhatsApp button: 1 tap. Form on landing page: 3–5 fields max, mobile-first. Phone number click: fine for trades. Never send them to a homepage. Ever.
Budget Rules
THE 48-HOUR LAUNCH CHECKLIST
Pixel or conversion tracking installed and verified firing
Offer defined: one outcome, one action, zero confusion
Creative ready: at least 3 hook variations to test
Conversion path built: WhatsApp, form, or phone — mobile-first
Campaign objective set to Conversions — NOT traffic, NOT reach
03
This is the section most agencies don't want you to read — because it exposes exactly what they're not doing. Most businesses running paid ads are optimising for the wrong thing. They see “link clicks” in the dashboard and assume that means leads. It doesn't. The gap between link clicks and actual enquiries is where most ad budgets disappear.
Tracking tells the algorithm what you actually want. Without it, the algorithm optimises for the cheapest action it can find — which is almost never a paying customer.
The Tracking Stack
GOOGLE TAG MANAGER
The hub. All tracking fires through GTM — one container to rule them all. Install once, manage everything from a single interface without touching code.
META PIXEL
Tracks every visitor, every action, every conversion. The algorithm uses this data to find more people who behave like your best customers.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS 4
Full-funnel visibility — sessions, scroll depth, time on page, conversion paths. Your source of truth for what happens after the click.
CONVERSION EVENTS
The actions that matter: WhatsApp button tap, form submission, phone click, booking confirmed. These are what you optimise for — not clicks, not impressions.
Setup Sequence
THE REASON THIS MATTERS
The £7.25 CPL from the case study below is directly attributable to correct conversion event tracking. Without it, the same campaign running identical creative and targeting was generating leads at £40–60 per enquiry. Same budget. Same creative. Different tracking. That's a 6× cost difference — from a single setup change.
04
These are first-party UK benchmarks from campaigns we have run or directly audited — not industry estimates or US data converted at exchange rate. Use them to hold your current agency accountable, or to set realistic expectations before you start.
Note: all CPL figures assume correct conversion tracking setup. Without it, actual CPL degrades by 3–8× and will be invisible in your reporting.
| INDUSTRY | PLATFORM | GOOD CPL | AVERAGE CPL | BAD CPL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home cleaning | Meta | £5–15 | £20–40 | £60+ |
| Landscaping / gardening | Meta | £10–25 | £35–70 | £120+ |
| Construction / renovation | Meta / Google | £20–50 | £60–120 | £250+ |
| Trades (plumbing, electric) | £15–40 | £50–100 | £180+ | |
| Dentistry / aesthetics | Google / Meta | £20–50 | £60–120 | £200+ |
| Law / solicitors | £40–90 | £100–200 | £400+ | |
| Accountancy | £25–60 | £80–150 | £300+ | |
| Personal training | Meta | £8–20 | £25–50 | £80+ |
| Restaurants / hospitality | Meta | £2–8 | £10–20 | £40+ |
| Property management | £30–70 | £80–160 | £300+ |
GOOD CPL
What we target on every campaign. Achievable with proper setup.
AVERAGE CPL
What most agencies with decent tracking produce.
BAD CPL
What happens without tracking, or with poor creative quality.
HOW TO USE THIS TABLE
If your current agency is reporting CPL in the “Bad” range, ask them what conversion event they're optimising for. If the answer is “link clicks” — that's why. If your CPL is in the “Average” range, ask them how many creative variations they've tested in the last 30 days. If the answer is zero — that's why. “Good” CPL requires both correct tracking and ongoing creative testing. Neither alone is sufficient.
05
27 LEADS. £200 AD SPEND. 30 DAYS.
This is every decision we made, in order. Not the polished version. The actual version — including why we chose Meta over Google at this budget, why we tracked WhatsApp clicks instead of link clicks, and why Week 1 was expensive and Week 3 was exceptional.
THE BRIEF
Residential and commercial cleaning services. No previous ads. No existing creative. No website. Total budget: £200. Most agencies would have passed. The fundamentals were right, which is all that matters.
THE AD
We scripted and produced a 30-second video commercial from scratch. A structured ad built around one job: stop the scroll, create desire, remove friction. The same 5-part structure we use for every video ad:
Show the problem. A messy, cluttered space the viewer recognises. If they don't stop scrolling here, nothing else matters. Shoot 3 hook variations minimum.
Hold on the problem. Let the viewer feel the friction — the clutter, the embarrassment, the exhaustion of dealing with it themselves.
Show the transformation. Clean, bright, satisfying. People don't want cleaning. They want a clean home. Every frame is built around that distinction.
A testimonial line, a result, or a trust signal. One line is enough: "Over 50 homes cleaned this month." Simple. Credible. Necessary.
One action. Message us on WhatsApp. Not "visit our website." Not "learn more." One tap. One step. One decision.
THE TARGETING
We chose Meta over Google. At £200 total, competing on branded cleaning search terms in a competitive local market would have diluted the budget beyond usefulness. The creative was strong enough to create desire. WhatsApp as CTA fits Meta's user behaviour perfectly — it's a tap, not a form.
The exact audience:
THE RESULTS
The pattern below is normal for any properly built campaign — expensive early, improving fast as the algorithm learns who converts.
Of those 27 leads, 6 became paying clients in month one. Cleaning services recurring at £80/month. 6 clients × £80 × 6 months = £2,880 from a £200 spend. A 14× return in 6 months. From a single campaign.
THE LESSON
Week 1 is always expensive. Don't pause a campaign in week 2. The learning phase needs time and data. Give any properly built campaign 30 days minimum before making structural changes. That's when you have enough signal to know whether the methodology works — not whether the first week was cheap.
06
Ask every agency these questions before signing anything. Score honestly. Use it to evaluate us too — we wrote these because we know exactly what the right answers sound like, and we're happy to be held to them.
Scoring: 0–3 good answers → walk away. 4–6 → proceed with extreme caution. 7–10 → worth exploring.
"Who specifically will be building and managing my campaigns?"
GOOD ANSWER
"I will" — or a named senior person you can speak to directly.
BAD ANSWER
"Our team." That's not a person. That's a deflection.
"How many clients will you be running at the same time?"
GOOD ANSWER
A specific, modest number. Under 10 comparable accounts.
BAD ANSWER
Vague. "We have capacity." Means: you're one of 80.
"What conversion event will my campaign optimise for?"
GOOD ANSWER
Specific: WhatsApp click, form submission, phone call, calendar booking.
BAD ANSWER
"Link clicks." "Traffic." "Reach." These are not leads.
"Can I see the tracking setup before we launch?"
GOOD ANSWER
Yes. Here's how we'll verify it fires before spending.
BAD ANSWER
"We'll set that up once the campaign is live." Wrong order.
"What's your average CPL in my industry?"
GOOD ANSWER
A specific number. With context on the campaign that produced it.
BAD ANSWER
"It depends." "Industry average is X." No first-party data.
"What happens if you miss the target?"
GOOD ANSWER
A clear performance clause in the contract. In writing.
BAD ANSWER
A verbal promise. "We'll work harder." No accountability mechanism.
"Will all ad accounts be in my name from day one?"
GOOD ANSWER
Yes. Always. No exceptions.
BAD ANSWER
"We manage it through our agency account." Run.
"How often will you report, and what will you include?"
GOOD ANSWER
Weekly. CPL, leads generated, spend, creative performance by ad.
BAD ANSWER
Monthly. Impressions. Reach. Engagement rate. Anything but leads.
"What's the minimum contract term?"
GOOD ANSWER
90 days — with a written performance clause and a clear exit.
BAD ANSWER
6–12 months upfront. With no exit. From a standing start.
"How will you prove the leads came from your ads, not elsewhere?"
GOOD ANSWER
UTM parameters, conversion events, call tracking, attribution.
BAD ANSWER
"You'll see the enquiries come in." That's not attribution.
07
Use this as a final checklist before signing any marketing contract — or to audit an agency you're already paying.
They send monthly reports.
Weekly reporting is table stakes. Monthly PDFs give agencies four weeks of cover for every mistake. Ask for weekly reporting. If the answer is no, ask why.
You've never spoken to the person running your campaigns.
"Account manager" is a polite word for the layer between you and the people doing the actual work. If you can't get direct access to whoever built your campaign, you have no idea what's actually happening.
They talk about impressions and reach instead of leads.
Impressions don't pay your rent. Leads do. If your agency's reports are full of reach numbers and engagement metrics but never mention cost-per-lead, they're hiding behind vanity metrics.
They boosted posts instead of running proper campaigns.
Boosting a post is not advertising. It's spending money to show content to random people with no targeting, no optimisation, and no conversion tracking. Real campaigns are built in Ads Manager.
There's no conversion tracking set up.
Ask your agency: "What conversion event are we optimising for?" If they can't answer immediately — or if the answer is "link clicks" — your budget is funding a guessing algorithm, not a learning one.
They want a 12-month contract before proving anything.
Confidence looks like: "Give us 90 days. If we don't deliver, you walk." A 12-month lock-in from a cold start is fear — fear that they won't be able to keep you otherwise.
WHAT'S NEXT
The same methodology. Applied to your business. A specific lead number written into your contract before we spend a single pound — and guaranteed delivery within 90 days, or we work for free until we hit it.
Maximum 4 clients at any time. 2 founding spots remaining at permanently locked founding rate.
30 minutes. A real growth plan. Yours to keep.