BrightPath Academy: 4x Admissions via Google Ads

Client: BrightPath Academy (Hyderabad, India) | Industry: Education & EdTech | Service: PPC Advertising | Duration: 6 Months

Executive Summary

In just six months, AK Network Solutions transformed BrightPath Academy's digital marketing from a money-losing operation into a high-growth engine. By restructuring Google Ads with course-specific campaigns, deploying YouTube pre-roll for brand recall, launching Performance Max campaigns, and automating WhatsApp remarketing, we achieved remarkable results for this Hyderabad-based EdTech startup.

The Challenge

BrightPath Academy, an emerging EdTech startup in Hyderabad offering professional certification courses, was bleeding money on Google Ads. Despite spending Rs. 5 lakh per month, they faced a cascade of issues:

• Prohibitively high Cost Per Lead (CPL): Rs. 3,200 per inquiry — unsustainable for a bootstrapped startup.
• Dismal show rate of 12%: Only 1 in 8 leads showed up for counseling sessions, wasting ad spend.
• Poor keyword targeting: Broad-match keywords attracted unqualified traffic (e.g., "free courses," "cheap certification") with zero intent.
• No remarketing in place: 88% of visitors left without converting, and there was no system to re-engage them.
• Brand recall near zero: Competitors like UpGrad and Simplilearn dominated search, making it hard for BrightPath to stand out.

BrightPath's founder admitted: "We were burning cash with no clear path to profitability. Our CAC was 4x the industry average."

Our Strategy

AK Network Solutions deployed a multi-channel, AI-first approach powered by our proprietary AK SmartBid™ engine. The strategy had four pillars:

1. Course-Specific Campaign Architecture

We dismantled the single, generic campaign and built 12 granular campaigns — one for each course (Data Science, Digital Marketing, Cloud Computing, etc.). Each campaign used:

• Long-tail, intent-rich keywords: e.g., "data science certification Hyderabad fees" vs. "data science course."
• Dynamic ad copy featuring course-specific benefits, duration, and placement rates.
• Landing page matching: Every ad group had a dedicated landing page with a clear form, testimonial, and live chat.

2. YouTube Pre-Roll for Brand Recall

We created 6 short-form video ads (15-30 seconds) highlighting student success stories and course outcomes. These ran as non-skippable pre-roll ads on education-related channels. Targeting included in-market audiences for "professional certification" and "career switch."

3. Performance Max (PMax) Campaigns

We launched two PMax campaigns — one for course discovery and one for enrollment. These campaigns used Google's AI to dynamically serve ads across Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, and Discover. We fed them custom audience segments (e.g., website visitors, similar-to-converters).

4. WhatsApp Remarketing Automation

We integrated AK ChatFlow™ (our WhatsApp Business API tool) with Google Ads. When a user clicked an ad but didn't convert, they received an automated WhatsApp message within 2 hours with a personalized course brochure and a call-to-action to book a free counseling session. This reduced drop-off by 73%.

Implementation

Here's the step-by-step rollout over 6 months:

Month 1: Audit & Foundation

• Audited 8,500+ keywords; removed 4,200 low-intent terms (49% reduction).
• Set up conversion tracking with Google Tag Manager and offline lead import (counseling bookings).
• Created 12 course-specific campaigns with 48 ad groups.
• Installed AK ChatFlow™ on the website for real-time WhatsApp capture.

Month 2: Launch & Optimization

• Launched all campaigns with a daily budget of Rs. 15,000 (reduced from Rs. 16,667).
• YouTube pre-roll ads went live with 3 video creatives; initial CTR was 1.8%.
• PMax campaigns started with a 3-week learning phase; we paused low-performing asset groups.
• WhatsApp automation sent 1,200+ messages to non-converters, resulting in 89 re-engagements.

Month 3-4: Scaling & Refinement

• Added negative keywords weekly (average 150 per week) to block irrelevant queries.
• Created 6 new video ads for YouTube based on top-performing CTAs.
• Optimized PMax with custom segments: "website visitors (last 30 days)" and "cart abandoners."
• Show rate improved to 67% as WhatsApp reminders reduced no-shows.

Month 5-6: Full Throttle

• Scaled daily budget to Rs. 25,000 as ROAS improved.
• Introduced RLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads) for users who watched YouTube videos.
• CPL dropped from Rs. 3,200 to Rs. 1,340 — a 58% reduction.
• Show rate hit 89% — the highest in BrightPath's history.

Results & Metrics

The numbers speak for themselves. Here's the full breakdown:

• Student Admissions: 4x increase — from an average of 45 per month (pre-engagement) to 180+ per month by month 6.
• Cost Per Lead (CPL): Reduced from Rs. 3,200 to Rs. 1,340 — a 58% drop, saving BrightPath Rs. 1.86 lakh per 100 leads.
• Show Rate: Skyrocketed from 12% to 89% — meaning 89 out of 100 leads now attend counseling sessions.
• Annual Revenue Impact: With an average course fee of Rs. 65,000 and 180 admissions/month, BrightPath's annual run rate reached Rs. 4.2 Crore.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Improved from 1.2% to 4.7% across all campaigns.
• Quality Score: Average keyword Quality Score rose from 4/10 to 8/10, reducing CPC by 34%.

Month-over-Month Progress: In the first month, admissions increased 2x (from 45 to 90). By month 3, we hit 140 admissions. Month 6 saw 180+ — a consistent upward trend.

Key Takeaways

What worked for BrightPath Academy — and what any EdTech brand can replicate:

• Granularity wins in EdTech: Course-specific campaigns with tailored keywords and landing pages outperformed generic campaigns by 3.2x.
• Video builds trust: YouTube pre-roll ads improved brand recall by 64% (measured via brand lift surveys) and reduced cost-per-qualified-lead by 41%.
• PMax + human oversight is key: Performance Max campaigns drove 37% of total conversions, but only after we pruned low-performing asset groups weekly.
• WhatsApp remarketing is a game-changer: Automated WhatsApp follow-ups increased show rate from 12% to 89% — the single biggest lever for conversion.
• Don't ignore offline data: Importing offline conversions (counseling bookings) into Google Ads allowed Smart Bidding to optimize for real enrollment, not just clicks.

About AK Network Solutions

AK Network Solutions is India's leading AI-powered digital marketing agency, specializing in PPC, SEO, and marketing automation for EdTech and e-commerce brands. We combine proprietary AI tools (AK SmartBid™, AK ChatFlow™) with deep industry expertise to deliver measurable results. Call us at +91-9818020078 to discuss how we can transform your ad spend into enrollment growth.