Activation
An evolving campaign poised for success.
Campaign objective.
Nelnet Bank, a private student loan provider, set out to generate 11,000 marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) during the peak 2025 lending season at a disciplined target CPA.
The challenges:
The 2025 campaign aimed high on lead volume and performance while navigating the realities of a complex competitive, and regulated environment.
Rebuilding trust and visibility
Prior media efforts had included slower pivots in campaign direction and limited visibility for senior leadership. This campaign provided a chance to strengthen alignment and confidence through greater transparency and agility.- Evolving assumptions on lead quality
Early data revealed that not all MQLs contributed equally down-funnel, creating an opportunity to refine quality metrics and balance lead volume with value. - Competitive intensity
With Sallie Mae and College Ave outspending Nelnet Bank 10:1, strategic precision and budget agility were essential. - Brand crossover
Because Nelnet, Inc., the parent company, services federal student loans, branded search overlap introduced less-relevant traffic that required optimization. - Fair-lending requirements
As a regulated financial institution, Nelnet Bank could not use demographic targeting tied to protected classes. This meant relying solely on intent-based signals and campaign structure to drive efficiency.
Strategy.
We built a dual-track strategy to deliver meaningful lead volume while also providing opportunities to manage lead quality and overall campaign efficiency.
- SEM core campaigns
Our initial strategy included three campaigns. Each was given a separate target cost-per-acquisition (tCPA). Budgets were allocated based on data-backed performance, enabling the team to ensure that every dollar was spent wisely. - Performance Max (PMax)
PMax extended the campaign’s reach across Google’s search, display and video ecosystem, using AI-driven intent signals to both create and capture incremental demand for our search campaigns. This campaign also allowed us to gain premium placement in Google AI Overviews, boosting visibility at a lower cost.
Optimizations.
Our campaign saw impressive early success. However, volume initially outpaced lead quality, so we implemented a structured optimization framework built on four pillars.
Data integration & insights
Marketing performance was unified with business outcomes to identify which ad groups delivered qualified loan volume — not just leads. This led to us restructuring campaigns to prioritize quality-driving keywords.
Budget & bid agility
Our team reallocated budgets weekly based on real-time conversion trends, concentrating spend during peak demand, high-intent windows. We then used PMax as a safety net to capture incremental conversions at our tCPA.
Keyword refinement
We deployed extensive negative keywords to filter out irrelevant branded queries and increased conversion rates by tightening focus on student loan intent.
Transparent, collaborative management
Weekly alignment meetings were scheduled with senior leadership to review progress, while live dashboards provided visibility into what was happening, why and what came next.
Results
44% boost in site traffic
40% increase in lead quality
from month 1 to month 5.
11,539
MQLS generated
by month 7 — five months ahead of schedule.
Target
CPA
achieved
Impact.
This campaign proved that SEM success is about agility, not just spending. By integrating business data, AI-driven placements and transparent collaboration, Nelnet Bank exceeded its performance targets and strengthened leadership confidence in marketing’s ability to deliver business outcomes.