[Case Study] $3,435 Profit Running a Car Insurance Offer on Facebook Ads

[btaliat]

Introduction
Car insurance is one of those evergreen verticals — there’s always demand, it’s high volume, and when done right, it’s extremely profitable. Our media buying team recently tested a Pay Per Call and CPL car insurance campaign using Facebook Ads. The result? Over $3,400 in profit in just one month with a whitehat approach and zero account bans.


This case study breaks down the full process — from setup, targeting, creatives, and prelander strategy, to the exact results and takeaways you can replicate.


Campaign Setup

• Offer Type: CPL (Car Insurance)
• Payout per Lead: $6.50 – $8.50
• Traffic Source: Facebook Ads
• Geo: USA (multiple states)
• Ad Account: Single account, no bans
• Tracking: Facebook Pixel installed post-lead submit
• Launch Date: October test phase → scaled in November

Strategy & Approach

1. Whitehat Traffic
   Since the offer was fully compliant, there was no risk of sudden account shutdowns. This allowed us to focus purely on optimization instead of fighting Facebook’s ban hammer.
2. Prelander Usage
   Facebook doesn’t allow direct redirects in ads for insurance offers, so we built a simple one-step prelander.
   • Step 1: Visitor enters their ZIP code
   • Step 2: Redirect to the main offer page
     This prelander achieved a 43% conversion rate, which set a solid foundation before sending users to the advertiser’s landing page (which converted at 45-53%).
3. Audience Targeting
   • Age: 25–55
   • Gender: All
   • Placements: All Feeds (Facebook mobile + desktop)
     By keeping targeting broad initially, Facebook’s algorithm had more room to find high-quality leads once the pixel gathered data.
4. Creative Testing
   • Budget per new ad: $50/day
   • Test window: 48 hours
   • If ROI was negative → pause, duplicate, and retry up to 3-4 times.
   • Observations:
     • Images with people outperformed images with cars.
     • CTR was higher with video ads, but production took longer and cost more.
     • Headlines with urgency and savings worked best, e.g.:
       • “Get car insurance for as little as $XX/month!”
       • “Many drivers in {State} overpay by $XXX/year — check your rate in 60 seconds.”

Performance Data

• Period: November (scaling phase)
• Revenue: $18,494
• Ad Spend: $15,384
• Net Profit: $3,435
• ROI: 20%

The campaign’s profitability dipped slightly during Black Friday and Cyber Monday because CPMs spiked. However, the rest of the month maintained healthy margins.

Key Takeaways

1. Broad Targeting + Pixel Optimization Wins
   By allowing Facebook’s algorithm to optimize after pixel learning, conversion rates improved steadily.
2. Prelander Boosts Quality
   The one-step form filtered out low-intent users, improving lead quality and conversion rates for the advertiser.
3. Cut Losers Fast
   If an ad didn’t show promise within 48 hours, we killed it quickly to save budget.
4. Images with People Convert Better
   Emotional connection matters — even in a vertical as “dry” as insurance.

Final Thoughts
In a competitive niche like car insurance, a whitehat approach with proper funnel setup can still generate strong profits. This campaign achieved a 20% ROI in a huge market with room for scaling.


Our next move will be to replicate this success across more states, test long-form comparison pages, and run additional formats like lead ads directly in Facebook to see if we can reduce friction further.


If you’re looking for a vertical that’s stable, scalable, and ad platform-friendly — car insurance is worth your attention.