Doctors' Health Fund Cuts CPA 35%

Project Overview

Organization

Doctors' Health Fund

Industry

Private Health Insurance

Location

Australia (nationwide)

Starting CPA

$12.17

Target CPA

~$8.00

Products / Services Used

Google Ads
Microsoft Ads
Display Campaigns
SEM
Health Insurance

Doctors' Health Fund has protected Australia's medical community since 1977. It offers hospital and extras cover built around the AMA List of Medical Services and Fees, with unrestricted choice of doctors and the country's best gap cover for hospital stays.

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The product was strong. The brand had loyal members. What DHF needed was a paid search campaign that could convert at scale. One that brought in quality leads and phone calls without haemorrhaging budget on the wrong audiences.

Performance Insights

Key results for the client

32%

Increase in total conversions

35%

Improvement in CPA

63%

More phone calls

$7.90

Final CPA achieved (target: ~$8)

Client Objectives

The challenges DHF faced

Talk to our team

Conversions stuck below potential

Application submissions, contact forms, and quote requests were trickling in, not flowing. Total conversions across the first six months was 1,909, with CPA running well above the $8 target at $12.17.

Keyword structure working against itself

Ad groups were carrying 15+ keywords each. It was dragging down Quality Scores and pushing CPC up. Bloated match types meant the budget was being absorbed by searches that had nothing to do with health insurance.

Display campaigns burning budget blind

No audience targeting was set on the display campaign. Ads were surfacing to completely open audiences. They were spending a budget to reach people with zero purchase intent, and generating zero conversions to show for it.

Phone call volume underdelivering

Phone calls are a high-intent signal in the insurance sector. With only 1,401 calls in the baseline period, there was no dedicated strategy to capture this audience. It left a significant revenue channel unused.

Bidding left on autopilot too early

Smart bidding needs sufficient historical data to function well. Automated tools aren’t mind readers. If you don't feed them the right data through manual testing first, they will optimize for the wrong goals. That exactly was the case here.

Mavlers Strategy

How results were delivered for a trusted healthcare brand

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Keyword structure rebuilt from the ground up

Keyword research defined a complete restructure. Tighter ad groups, cleaner theming, and campaigns based on the symptoms, treatment, and awareness journeys relevant to DHF's audience. Fewer, more relevant keywords per group meant higher Quality Scores and lower CPCs.

Call-only ads introduced for brand campaigns

Specific brand campaigns were tested with call-only ad formats. For an insurance brand, the phone is often where the purchase decision happens. Routing high-intent brand searchers directly to a call proved immediately effective in lifting call conversion volume.

Search term filtering to cut irrelevant spend

A detailed search term analysis surfaced the keywords attracting off-topic traffic. Generic terms were paused, negative keyword lists were built out, and match types were corrected. This recovered budget that was previously going nowhere.

Bidding strategy phased deliberately

Brand and AMA campaigns started on Manual CPC. It gave full control while the account built its data foundation. Once enough conversion history existed, the switch to Maximize Conversions was made. Automated bidding works when it has data to learn from; this sequencing is what made it effective.

Display campaigns rebuilt with audience targeting

GDN display campaigns were created with defined audience segments. High-bid keywords, those competing above $2 in the Google Grant account, were moved to the Paid account. Here they could compete for prime placement, expanding visibility for the terms that matter most.

Remarketing layered in via display banners

Past visitors who hadn't converted were pulled back into the funnel via a dedicated display remarketing campaign. Template banner ads kept DHF visible to warm audiences.

Microsoft Ads expanded the channel mix

We launched campaigns on Microsoft Ads with precise UTM tracking to see exactly what drives conversions. It paid off: Bing introduced us to an older, professional crowd that felt like a natural extension of the DHF community.

Granular optimisation cadence maintained weekly

Campaign-level performance was reviewed weekly and monthly. It helped us optimize everything from keywords and locations to devices and timing. Clean conversion data meant we stopped guessing and started making precise, profitable adjustments.

Results

What DHF achieved

The numbers tell the story - more conversions, more calls, lower cost. Mavlers understood what we needed from the start and kept pushing the performance forward. They didn't just manage campaigns; they built a system that genuinely works for our members.

We move faster, optimize smarter, and help you outpace competitors with AI behind every move.

Doctors' Health Fund

Australian Medical Community Insurer

Organization

Doctors' Health Fund

Industry

Health Insurance

Services Used

Google Ads, paid search campaign management, conversion optimization

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About

Doctors' Health Fund has served Australia's medical community since 1977, offering hospitals and extras cover with unrestricted choice of doctors. The brand and product were strong, but its paid search program couldn't convert at scale without overspending on the wrong audiences.

Challenges

Total conversions was at 1,909 over six months, with CPA running at $12.17 against an $8 target.
Bloated ad groups carrying 15+ keywords each dragged down Quality Scores and pushed up CPC.
Display campaigns ran with no audience targeting, spending budget on people with zero purchase intent.
Only 1,401 phone calls in the baseline period, with no dedicated strategy to capture this high-intent channel.
Smart bidding was switched on before the account had enough historical data to use it well.

Goals

Triple total conversions.
Reduce CPA by at least 35%.
Increase phone call volume.
Reach a target CPA of approximately $8.
Improve campaign efficiency without reducing lead quality.

Solution/Approach

Rebuilt keyword structure into tighter, cleaner ad groups themed around the audience's awareness journey.
Introduced call-only ad formats on brand campaigns to route high-intent searchers straight to a call.
Ran search term analysis to pause off-topic keywords and build out negative keyword lists.
Started brand and AMA campaigns on Manual CPC, then switched to Maximize Conversions once enough data existed.
Rebuilt Display campaigns with defined audience segments and moved high-bid keywords from the Grant account to Paid.
Layered in display remarketing for past visitors who hadn't converted.
Expanded into Microsoft Ads with UTM tracking, and reviewed performance weekly to optimize continuously.

Results

35% reduction in CPA.
3X increase in total conversions.
More phone calls generated through paid search.
Approximately $8 final CPA achieved against the target.
Higher conversion volume without sacrificing campaign efficiency.

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Doctors' Health Fund Cuts CPA 35%

Project Overview

Key results for the client

The challenges DHF faced

How results were delivered for a trusted healthcare brand

What DHF achieved

The numbers tell the story - more conversions, more calls, lower cost. Mavlers understood what we needed from the start and kept pushing the performance forward. They didn't just manage campaigns; they built a system that genuinely works for our members.

About

Challenges

Goals

Solution/Approach

Results

Results that speak for them selves.

Migrating 9,000+ pages across 12 languages

80% CPR reduction and 3x ROI over 6 years

35% cost reduction while scaling SEO delivery globally

Ready to lower your acquisition costs?

Get in touch with us.

You’re all set!

Results that speak for them selves.