90 Days Deliver 310% ROI for American Van Lines with GDT Agency
In an era where the "Paid Search Death Spiral" has driven moving industry keywords to over $65/click, traditional lead generation is no longer sustainable for national carriers. American Van Lines (AVL), a family-owned nationwide moving company established in 1995, faced the challenge of unsustainable customer acquisition costs through traditional paid search channels. By implementing a high-trust Facebook Agency Account, GDT Agency engineered a digital transformation in just 90 days to help AVL deliver a 310% increase in ROI while reducing cost-per-lead by 58% compared to their previous search-based campaigns.
The Challenge: American Van Lines Before GDT Agency
By late 2024, AVL was facing a profit crisis despite being a long-established, family-owned company. In Q4 2024, they spent $67,400 on marketing but generated only $48,170 in net profit, a 4.6% margin. Customer acquisition costs were nearly equal to their profits.
1. Google Ads Became Unsustainable
AVL had been running Google Search campaigns and spent nearly 80% of their marketing budget on Google Ads ($54.200), with the average CPC for “long distance movers” and “moving company near me” climbed to $45 - $72.
The cost per booked move reached $447, leaving little to no profit after operating costs. Pausing ads only made things worse, as re-entering auctions drove costs even higher.
2. Failed DIY Facebook Ads
In Q3 2024, they tried to solve the problem itself by running Facebook Ads. However, with poor targeting, generic creatives, and no funnel or tracking, they only get 6 bookings after spending $8,200 over 8 weeks.
Cost per booking hit $1,366, and lead quality was so low that the sales team stopped taking Facebook leads seriously.
Their marketing manager shares with us that “ We thought Facebook would be the 'cheap' alternative to Google. We were wrong. We spent money, got terrible leads, and our sales team started ignoring the Facebook leads entirely because they were of such low quality.”
What American Van Lines Really Wants?
When AVL realized that they needed expert help, their CEO met GDT Agency's founder, who presented a case study of another moving company that had reduced CPL from $71 to $29, scaled from 400 to 1,200 leads per quarter, and achieved 340% ROI using Facebook Agency Accounts at the industry conference in January 2025.
He shared with us the goals that he wants for AVL:
Reduce Cost Per Lead below $35 (48% reduction from the current $68)
Generate a minimum of 600 qualified leads in 90 days (2X previous Facebook attempt)
Achieve 15%+ lead-to-booking rate (maintain quality while lowering cost)
Deliver a minimum 200% ROI (2:1 return on ad spend)
Establish diversified lead source (reduce Google dependency from 80% to <50%)
The stage was set. The challenge was clear. Now it was time for GDT Agency to deliver.
How GDT Agency Helped American Van Lines Deliver 310% ROI in Just 90 Days
After gathering clear information about American Van Lines, we have discussed and designed a funnel that intercepts prospects months before they actively search for movers.
In The Beginning: Switch to Facebook Agency Account
Before GDT, AVL’s internal team struggled with Meta’s Daily Spending Limit (DSL). Their account was capped at $250/day due to its low trust score.
For a nationwide rollout requiring an $800+ daily spend, this cap made it impossible to win high-value auctions in competitive markets like Texas and Florida.
By migrating to a Facebook agency account for rent of GDT Agency, we bypassed the "warm-up" phase. This allowed the pixel to gather data 3x faster, which was the primary driver behind the 58% reduction in cost-per-lead.
Once the account has been changed, we start our plan of three temperature funnel for AVL with 3 clear stages.
Stage 1: Awareness (Cold Traffic)
Campaign Objective: Brand Awareness + Video Views
Target Audience Architecture:
Life Events Targeting: Newly Engaged (3, 6, 12 months lookback), New Job announcements, Newlyweds (first year), Empty Nesters (children moved out in past 6 months).
Behavioral Signals: Interest in Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, Home Staging, and Interior Design followers, and Recently Moved (for storage upsell)
→ By targeting people during major life transitions, GDT positioned AVL in prospects' minds 3-6 months before they actively searched for movers. This "pre-intent" positioning allowed the company to build trust before competitors entered the conversation.
Creative Strategy:
GDT rejected generic stock imagery in favor of authentic brand assets. We advise them to use:
Hero Video Series: 30-45 second clips featuring actual American Van Lines crews in branded uniforms, showcasing real moves in recognizable neighborhoods.
"Moving Stress Solutions" Content: Educational videos addressing common pain points ("How to Pack Fragile Items," "Moving Day Timeline Checklist").
Customer Testimonial Compilations: Short-form 15-second testimonials from real customers.
Real-World Adjustments:
No campaign is perfect from day one. During the third week of Stage 1, we noticed that while video views were high in the California market, the Lead-to-Booking rate was lagging at only 6%.
Our team sat down with AVL’s head of sales, Mike, and immediately pivoted by adding a "Estimated Move Size" custom question to the lead form and updated our Stage 2 copy to explicitly mention "Premium Nationwide Coverage."
This filter slightly increased our CPL but boosted our booking rate by 40%. You can see the result below:
Performance Metrics:
2.3M impressions across 14 states
47,000 video views (>10 seconds)
$0.03 cost per video view
89,000-person retargeting pool created
Stage 2: Consideration (Warm Traffic)
Campaign Objective: Traffic + Engagement
Target Audience:
Custom Audience: Video viewers (50%+ completion)
Engagement retargeting: Previous 30-day page visitors
Lookalike Audience: 1% LAL based on highest-value customers (>$5,000 jobs)
Creative Strategy:
Carousel Ads: Breaking down the moving process (Consultation → Packing → Loading → Transport → Unloading → Follow-up)
Social Proof Ads: Featuring 5-star rating badges, USDOT certification, AMSA ProMover accreditation
Specialized Service Highlights: Piano moving, climate-controlled storage, auto shipping
Ad Copy Framework:
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Hook: "Dreading moving day? 94% of our customers say we exceeded expectations."
Value Prop: "American Van Lines has been the trusted name in moving since 1995.
USDOT-registered fleet, background-checked crews, and guaranteed 2-hour quote response."
Social Proof: "Rated 4.9/5 stars across 2,300+ reviews."
CTA: "Get Your Free Moving Estimate →"
Performance Metrics:
1.2% CTR (vs. 0.9% industry benchmark)
$0.87 CPC
12,400 landing page views
38% scroll depth on landing page
Stage 3: Decision (Hot Traffic)
Campaign Objective: Lead Generation
Approach Method:
At this stage, rather than choosing between Lead Ads or Landing Pages, GDT deployed both strategically:
Track A: Facebook Lead Ads (Volume Play)
Lead Ads captured high volume during awareness and early consideration
Target: Mobile users, consideration-stage retargeting
Form Design: 4 fields only (Name, Phone, Email, Move Date)
Pre-qualification: Automated question: "Move distance?" (Local/Long-Distance)
Result: 12.8% conversion rate, $24.50 CPL
Track B: Landing Page Conversions (Quality Play)
Landing Pages converted high-intent prospects with detailed information
Target: Desktop users, high-intent behaviors (multiple page visits, calculator use)
Landing Page Optimization:
Above-fold calculator tool
Live chat integration
Service area map
Trust badges (USDOT, BBB, ProMover)
Result: 10.9% conversion rate, $31.20 CPL, but 34% higher lead-to-booking rate.
Performance Metrics (Combined):
This hybrid approach delivered 34% more total bookings than either method alone. Below is the result:
847 total leads in 90 days
$28.50 blended CPL (58% reduction from Google's $68)
18.4% lead-to-booking conversion rate
156 booked moves
Result After 90 Days
At the end of the 90-day period, AVL achieved:
Total Ad Spend: $24,120 (California market: $8,400 (35%), Texas Corridor: $6,030 (25%), Florida Markets: $4,824 (20%), Northeast Corridor: $4,866 (20%))
Total Leads: 847 (Facebook Lead Ads: 521 leads, Landing Page Conversions: 326 leads)
Total Bookings: 156
Total Revenue: $1,199,952
ROI Calculation:
Conclusion:
American Van Lines' transformation from a Google-dependent lead source to a diversified, Meta-powered acquisition engine represents the future of the moving industry.
Disclaimer: Case study data reflects actual campaign performance for American Van Lines from Feb 15, 2025, to May 15, 2025. Results may vary based on market conditions, competitive landscape, and individual business factors.