SEM For a Seasonal Medicare Push
Overview
This project focused on launching and managing a seasonal Google Search campaign during the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). The objective was to drive awareness and generate qualified Medicare leads for a Texas-based insurance brokerage within a clearly defined budget and a compressed timeline.
The campaign ran for 55 days, from October 13 to December 7, with a media budget of $10k. Given the seasonality and competitiveness of Medicare search demand, success required careful pacing, efficient budget utilization, and strong alignment between user intent and messaging.
The Challenge
The campaign launched with several constraints that shaped the strategy:
Short, fixed flight window aligned to Medicare AEP
Localized county and zip-level targeting
Strict budget cap with the expectation that spend would be closely paced
Limited historical conversion data available at launch
Highly competitive search environment during enrollment season
Audience diversity, including users turning 65, current Medicare members, and cost-conscious shoppers evaluating plan changes
Given the limited data signals early in the flight, the strategy intentionally balanced quality controls with the need to maintain sufficient volume for consistent delivery.
Execution
The campaign was actively managed throughout the flight, with adjustments made to maintain both performance and pacing:
Search campaigns were optimized around Medicare-related intent, with keyword refinement informed by ongoing search term reviews.
Messaging emphasized local expertise, trust, and clarity, which are key decision drivers for Medicare shoppers.
Inventory expansion was selectively leveraged to support spend consistency during periods of fluctuating demand.
Budgets were adjusted incrementally to ensure the campaign remained on pace without overshooting the cap.
Performance was monitored daily to manage efficiency during peak enrollment weeks and natural late-season drop-off.
This hands-on approach allowed the campaign to adapt to real-time conditions without sacrificing overall objectives.
Results
Over the full campaign flight, the program delivered strong engagement and efficient lead generation:
Impressions: 86k
Clicks: 1.9k
Click-Through Rate (CTR): 2.27%
Average Cost Per Click (CPC): $4.84
Conversion Rate: 6.14%
The campaign achieved near-perfect budget pacing while maintaining performance metrics that exceeded typical Medicare search benchmarks, particularly given the short flight and limited historical data.
Outcome
The campaign successfully met its primary objectives: efficient spend, strong engagement, and meaningful lead generation during a highly competitive seasonal period.
Key Learnings
Several insights from this campaign will directly inform future Medicare and regulated-industry efforts:
1. Budget pacing is a performance lever, not just an operational constraint
Careful pacing enabled the campaign to capture demand throughout the enrollment window, rather than exhausting the budget too early during peak weeks.
2. Audience intent varies significantly within Medicare search traffic
Segmenting messaging and keywords by user situation (turning 65, existing Medicare, cost-focused shoppers) improves relevance and engagement.
3. Strategic flexibility matters in short seasonal flights
Selective expansion of available inventory helped stabilize delivery and supported consistent learning without materially degrading lead quality.
Looking Ahead
Future iterations of this program would benefit from:
Enhanced measurement to capture additional engagement signals
More granular campaign segmentation aligned to Medicare decision stages
Earlier awareness efforts to support retargeting during peak enrollment
This campaign demonstrates how disciplined execution, strategic flexibility, and strong alignment on intent can deliver results even under tight timelines and strict budget constraints.