Pepperstone — AU & UK Paid Search Dominance

Overview

Pepperstone partnered with FX Media Studios to overhaul their paid search strategy across Australian and UK markets, where regulatory shifts and rising CPCs had eroded campaign efficiency. FX Media Studios restructured the entire keyword architecture, rebuilt landing experiences from the ground up, and implemented a dynamic lead-scoring system that prioritised sales team outreach on highest-intent prospects.

Objectives

• Restore paid search performance following Google Ads policy changes affecting financial promotions
• Improve account application completion rate by at least 40%
• Cut cost per funded account without reducing lead volume
• Differentiate messaging for retail versus professional trader segments

Strategy

• Keyword Architecture Rebuild: Dismantled broad-match campaigns; restructured into 47 tightly themed ad groups segmented by trader intent level, platform preference, and account type (retail vs pro)
• Compliance-Safe Creatives: Developed 220+ ad variants with jurisdiction-specific risk warnings, ASIC and FCA compliant claims, and platform-appropriate disclosure formatting
• Landing Page Overhaul: Built 12 segmented landing pages (by trader type, region, and device); implemented multi-step form with progressive disclosure to reduce friction
• Lead Scoring Integration: Deployed behavioral scoring model weighing deposit intent signals, geo, device, and session depth; hot leads routed to sales within 4-minute SLA

Execution Highlights

• Google Ads Quality Scores improved from avg. 4.1 to 7.8 across restructured campaigns, reducing CPCs by 33%
• Ad disapproval rate dropped to 0.8%; appeals win rate 89% on the rare flags
• Multi-step form outperformed single-page form by 67% on completion rate in AU; 54% in UK
• Lead scoring model identified top 22% of leads accounting for 61% of funded accounts — sales team conversion rate improved +38%

Results

• Paid search qualified leads up +410% in 120 days; funded accounts up +218%
• Cost per funded account down -52%; overall ROAS improved 3.4x
• Account application completion rate +67%; mobile completion rate +89%
• AU and UK now top-performing paid channels; programme scaled to MENA in month 5