Swimming School · Brisbane, Australia

The Swim School That Grew in Its Slowest Season

Paid Ads — Google Ads and Meta Ads

A Brisbane swim school had a heated indoor pool, small classes and teachers families loved. But every winter, about 1 in 5 swimmers paused lessons. Afternoon classes were full with a waitlist, but weekday morning baby and preschool classes sat only 51% full.

Cost per paid enrolment: −26.5%
Active swimmers: +97
Dealers running the campaign: 140

The objective

Our audit found the problem fast. Google Ads was counting visits to the Contact page as conversions. Last quarter it reported 412 “conversions,” but the booking system showed only 118 actual Google bookings. About 1 in 5 ad clicks came from people looking for public pool entry, swim teacher courses or swimwear. On Facebook and Instagram, the budget was going on boosted posts.

The approach

We rebuilt tracking so every ad was judged on real bookings and enrolments in the school’s own system. We blocked 212 irrelevant search terms and split Google campaigns by program, so money could go where the timetable had room. On Meta, we tested ads, and simple phone footage of real classes won: a nervous 4-year-old’s first back float and a baby’s first splash brought in 44 of Meta’s 97 bookings. We cut the polished testimonial video and the adult campaign that weren’t paying their way.

Swimming School campaign key visual — Paid social · 4:5

The outcome

In the toughest season of the year, paid ads brought in 105 new enrolments, almost three times as many as the same winter a year earlier. Each one cost $98.53, down 26.5%. The school still lost 121 swimmers to winter, but finished the quarter with 656 active swimmers instead of shrinking. Morning classes rose from 51% to 66% full: real progress, though short of the 75% goal. By September, the school had grown to 701 swimmers.