Helping Prep Expert Drive Consistent Growth and 600% with a Full-Funnel Paid Media Strategy

Client Overview

Prep Expert is a nationally recognized provider of SAT and ACT test preparation, offering online courses taught by instructors who scored in the top 1% on standardized tests. Following its feature on Shark Tank, the company built a reputation for delivering high-quality test prep services, backed by score improvement guarantees and testimonials from thousands of students and parents.

Facing an increasingly competitive market in digital education, Prep Expert partnered with AdVenture Media Group to refine its paid media strategy across Google, Meta, and webinar funnels. The key goal: to reduce cost per lead (CPL), improve lead quality, and scale customer acquisition without compromising on return on ad spend (ROAS).

Objectives

For Q4 2024 through Q1 2025, AdVenture Media and Prep Expert collaborated around four primary strategic goals:

• Enhance lead quality and reduce CPL on Live Webinar campaigns.
• Grow evergreen webinar revenue through consistent creative testing and audience segmentation.
• Restructure Meta advertising into a full-funnel strategy to capture users at different stages of the decision journey.
• Drive higher efficiency and ROAS from Google Search and Display campaigns, including branded and non-branded terms.

Challenges & Market Context

Over time, the digital test prep space experienced several significant shifts:

• Rising CPCs and ad fatigue: Meta and Google platforms showed signs of creative burnout and higher auction competition.
• Increased competitive pressure: Brands like Princeton Review and PrepScholar began to heavily bid on Prep Expert's branded search terms. 
• Diverging platform effectiveness: Certain campaign types (e.g., Performance Max) underperformed due to low signal quality and optimization constraints.
• Seasonality volatility: ACT demand fluctuated heavily based on test dates, while SAT campaigns showed more stable engagement.

Strategic Solutions

1. Live Webinars: High-Intent Lead Generation with Pre-Show Engagement

Prep Expert's live webinar funnel was already an effective customer acquisition engine. However, rising CPL and no-shows created friction. AdVenture Media responded by optimizing pre-show communications, segmenting registrants by lead source, and testing ways to prime attendees before the live session.

• Show-up rates were flagged as a growth lever, with internal audits planned to explore additional value delivery pre-webinar.
• The campaign achieved strong ROAS with quarter-over-quarter revenue growing by over 60%, largely attributed to better audience targeting and consistent investment.

2. Evergreen Webinars: Refreshing Content to Restore Scalability

While evergreen webinars initially delivered solid results, performance began to plateau due to increasing CPL and audience saturation.

• The team identified the need for creative and audience refresh cycles, including new headlines, angles, and visual storytelling.
• ROAS decreased slightly compared to live webinars, but remained above the profitability threshold. The recommendation was to incorporate video ads and broaden targeting, particularly during off-peak academic months.

3. Meta Ads: Funnel Restructuring for Volume + Value

The Meta strategy shifted from generalized prospecting to a funnel-based framework:

• Mid-Funnel (MOF) campaigns targeted parents researching test prep solutions, using messaging around long-term value, flexibility, and instructional quality.
• Bottom-of-Funnel (BOF) campaigns focused on decision-ready users comparing programs, leveraging score guarantees and high-profile social proof (e.g., Shark Tank credibility).

This structure produced a dramatic lift in ROAS for key campaigns:

• Book funnel ads and seasonal sale campaigns saw 2-3x ROAS improvements compared to earlier periods.
• The strategy prioritized volume-based conversions while maintaining healthy cost-efficiency.

4. Google Ads: Scaling with Precision Bidding and Keyword Intent Matching

Google Search campaigns remained a cornerstone of Prep Expert's strategy. Key actions included:

• Segmenting keywords by funnel stage, distinguishing between informational ("best SAT study tools") and transactional ("sat prep with score guarantee") intents.
• Aggressive bid strategies for branded terms improved share of voice, especially in high-competition months.

Q4 and Q1 saw ROAS consistently exceed 5x, with Google continuing to outperform other platforms in efficiency. Evergreen webinar promotion via search also stabilized, despite CPC inflation.

Channel-Specific Highlights

SAT vs. ACT Campaigns

• SAT campaigns consistently outperformed ACT across metrics such as ROAS, CVR, and CPA.
• ACT campaigns suffered from inconsistent search volume and higher CPCs, with performance peaking around test registration windows.
• Google Ads bid strategies were A/B tested between Max Conversions and Max Conversion Value to assess trade-offs between lead volume and customer quality.

Performance Max (PMax) Campaigns

• PMax campaigns struggled in both Q4 and Q1 due to insufficient conversion data, leading to volatile CPA spikes and algorithmic inefficiency.
• The decision was made to either pause or limit investment in these campaigns unless micro-conversions or stronger data signals could be layered in.

Results Overview

Across both quarters, Prep Expert saw measurable growth and improved efficiency:

Google Ads ROAS consistently exceeded 6x, peaking near 9.5x in Q4.

Meta ROAS improved following the funnel restructuring and creative updates.

Live webinar campaigns outperformed evergreen, but both were profitable and scalable with the right audience cadence.

SAT search campaigns improved conversion rates by over 120% YoY, while CPA dropped by over 60%.

Prep Expert's collaboration with AdVenture Media demonstrates the transformative impact of precision-driven marketing in a competitive, high-stakes vertical. By aligning creative testing, audience segmentation, and full-funnel campaign strategies, the brand significantly enhanced ROAS, lead quality, and overall digital marketing performance.

The success of this partnership lies not just in short-term gains but in the establishment of a sustainable, scalable system that adapts to market fluctuations and evolving user behavior. As Prep Expert continues to grow, it now does so with a strong foundation for digital acquisition that is both performance-oriented and adaptable for long-term success.

From Q4 2025 - Q1 2025 compared to the previous year:

1. 47% increase in course purchase conversions - 46% Drop in Cost/Conversion
2. 11% increase in webinar sign-ups
3. 35% increase in overall conversion rate
4. 70% drop in CPC