Total performance marketing spend was ₹4.74L across Google (₹3.78L) and Meta (₹0.96L), generating 2,202 leads and 19 admissions. The month started with challenges — bot traffic inflated Week 1 costs and a Vercel→AWS migration disrupted Week 2 — but optimization from Week 3 onward cut CPL by 43% and brought cost per admission down by 62%. The second half clearly outperformed the first across every metric.
Week 1 (₹1.16L, CPL ₹289) was hampered by bot traffic inflating junk leads. Week 2 (₹1.03L) saw the Vercel→AWS migration, forcing Google campaigns to rebuild from scratch. Week 3 (₹74K, CPL ₹164) is where optimization kicked in — cost per admission dropped to ₹14.9K. By Week 4 (₹1.19L, CPQL ₹918), the compounding effect of cleaner traffic + optimized campaigns delivered the best CPQL at scale.
| Metric | Week 1 Mar 1-7 | Week 2 Mar 8-14 | Week 3 Mar 15-21 | Week 4 Mar 22-28 | Week 5 Mar 29-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spends | |||||
| Total Spends | ₹1,16,264 | ₹1,02,821 | ₹74,402 | ₹1,19,290 | ₹61,289 |
| Meta Spends | ₹20,428 | ₹10,702 | ₹21,903 | ₹29,380 | ₹13,745 |
| Google Spends | ₹95,836 | ₹92,119 | ₹52,500 | ₹89,910 | ₹47,544 |
| Volume | |||||
| Total Leads | 403 | 407 | 454 | 656 | 282 |
| New Admissions | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Total Admissions | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Qualified Leads | 72 | 74 | 76 | 130 | 47 |
| Hot Leads | 17 | 14 | 12 | 25 | 2 |
| Cost Metrics | |||||
| Cost Per Lead | ₹288 | ₹253 | ₹164 | ₹182 | ₹217 |
| Cost Per Qualified Lead | ₹1,615 | ₹1,389 | ₹979 | ₹918 | ₹1,304 |
| Cost Per Hot Lead | ₹6,839 | ₹7,344 | ₹6,200 | ₹4,772 | ₹30,645 |
| Cost Per New Admission | ₹38,755 | ₹1,02,821 | ₹14,880 | ₹29,823 | ₹61,289 |
| Cost Per Total Admission | ₹38,755 | ₹34,274 | ₹14,880 | ₹23,858 | ₹20,430 |
| Conversion Rates | |||||
| Lead → Admission % | 0.74% | 0.74% | 1.10% | 0.76% | 1.06% |
| Lead → Hot % | 4.22% | 3.44% | 2.64% | 3.81% | 0.71% |
| Lead → Qualified % | 17.87% | 18.18% | 16.74% | 19.82% | 16.67% |
| Hot → Admission % | 17.65% | 21.43% | 41.67% | 20.00% | 150% |
| Qualified → Admission % | 4.17% | 4.05% | 6.58% | 3.85% | 6.38% |
The last 16 days spent 3.6% less (₹2.33L vs ₹2.41L) yet generated 44% more leads (1,300 vs 902) and 117% more admissions (13 vs 6). CPL dropped 33%, CPQL dropped 38%, and cost per admission dropped 56%. This validates that Week 3 optimization compounded through Week 4.
Meta received ₹96K (20% of spend) vs Google's ₹3.78L (80%). Meta delivered lower CPL (₹135 vs ₹253) and lower CPQL (₹583 vs ₹1,615), but zero new admissions. All 14 came through Google. However, when Meta's share rose to 25–30% in Weeks 3–4, total qualified leads and admissions both peaked. At 10% budget, Meta barely generates awareness. At 25%+, it becomes the cost-efficient top-of-funnel engine that lets Google focus on high-intent conversions.
| Platform | Leads | Qualified | New Adm | Lead→Qualified % | Lead→Admission % | Qualified→Adm % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,491 | 234 | 14 | 15.69% | 0.94% | 5.98% | |
| Meta | 711 | 165 | 0 | 23.21% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Combined | 2,202 | 399 | 14 | 18.12% | 0.64% | 3.51% |
Week 2 at ~10% Meta budget (₹10.7K): only 26 leads, 12 qualified. Week 3 at ~29% (₹21.9K): 131 leads, 34 qualified. Week 4 at 25% (₹29.4K): 200 leads, 52 qualified. Meta needs minimum ~₹20-25K/week to generate enough qualified volume. Below that, spend evaporates into impression reach without driving action.
Spend nearly doubled from Feb (₹2.48L→₹4.74L). Leads grew 2.7x (816→2,202) and qualified leads 2.8x (141→399). New IPDs nearly doubled (8→14). March spent ₹63K less than the ₹5.38L target budget but exceeded the lead target by 82% (2,202 vs 1,208). CPL of ₹215 crushed the ₹445 target. However, new IPDs at 14 fell short of the 25 target — top-of-funnel efficiency is excellent, bottom-funnel conversion needs work in April.
| Metric | Target | Actual | % of Target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Budget | ₹5,37,500 | ₹4,74,067 | 88.2% | Under Budget |
| Meta Budget | ₹62,500 | ₹96,157 | 153.9% | Over — Good |
| Google Budget | ₹4,75,000 | ₹3,77,910 | 79.6% | Under |
| Total Leads | 1,208 | 2,202 | 182.3% | Beat by 82% |
| Qualified Leads | ~450 | 399 | 88.7% | Close |
| New IPDs | 25 | 14 | 56.0% | Missed by 44% |
| CPL | ₹445 | ₹215 | 207.0% better | Crushed |
| CPQL | ₹1,195 | ₹1,188 | 100.6% better | Beat |
| CAC (per new IPD) | ₹21,500 | ₹33,862 | 63.5% worse | Over by 57% |
| Month | Total Cost | Meta | Leads | Qualified | New IPDs | Total Conv. | CPL | CPQL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | ₹1,64,600 | ₹64,063 | ₹1,00,537 | 498 | 156 | 7 | 15 | ₹330 | ₹1,055 |
| Jan 2026 | ₹2,55,775 | ₹1,43,550 | ₹1,12,225 | 1,068 | 192 | 7 | 25 | ₹240 | ₹1,332 |
| Feb 2026 | ₹2,47,807 | ₹1,18,807 | ₹1,29,000 | 816 | 141 | 8 | 28 | ₹304 | ₹1,758 |
| Mar 2026 | ₹4,74,067 | ₹96,157 | ₹3,77,910 | 2,202 | 399 | 14 | 19 | ₹215 | ₹1,188 |
The month opened with a significant bot traffic problem, inflating junk leads and distorting cost metrics upward. Despite generating 403 leads, qualified volume was just 72 (17.9% rate). The baseline we'd improve from.
Website transitioned from Vercel to AWS, forcing all Google campaigns to rebuild from scratch. Mid-week disruption while campaigns re-learned. Meta budget dropped to just 10% — far too low.
Website stable on AWS, bot countermeasures in place, proper optimization began. Despite lowest spend (₹74K), delivered the best cost efficiency. Meta scaled to 29% and responded with strong qualified volume. The inflection point.
Optimized campaigns scaled back up to ₹1.19L — efficiency held. Best week by volume: 656 leads, 130 qualified, 25 hot, 5 admissions. Meta at 25% delivered strong qualified volume at ₹565/qualified — proving balanced allocation works.
1. Scale Meta to 25-30% of total budget. Weeks 3–4 proved this ratio works — Meta feeds qualified volume at lower cost, Google converts at the bottom. At 10%, Meta is wasted spend.
2. Maintain the Week 3–4 optimization playbook. CPL under ₹200 and CPQL under ₹1,000 are achievable targets at scale.
3. Target ₹5-6L monthly spend with 70/30 Google-Meta split. Based on Week 4 efficiency (₹23.9K/admission) and improving W5 (₹20.4K/admission), this could yield 20-25 admissions/month.
4. Monitor bot traffic weekly. Week 1 spike cost ~₹30-40K in wasted spend.