Case Study

Scaling Profitably: How SDWW Increased ROAS While Cutting Costs

As competition in the whale watching space heated up, ad costs were climbing—and SDWW needed to stay profitable while still scaling. Their ROAS fluctuated, and it was getting harder to justify the spend. We tightened up their targeting, refined their ad creative, optimized landing pages, and reallocated budget toward what was actually working.
San Diego Whale Watch Logo
San Diego Whale Watch
Whale Watching Tours
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The Challenge

Rising Ad Costs in a Competitive Market

As more tour operators entered the space, the cost of acquiring each customer increased. Staying visible without breaking the budget became a constant struggle.

Inconsistent Return on Ad Spend

With ROAS swinging between 5.6x and 11.8x, SDWW had no reliable benchmark to guide scaling decisions—making it risky to increase ad spend without overspending.

Scaling Profitably Without Wasting Spend

SDWW needed to grow, but not at the expense of profitability. They had to identify where their budget was working hardest—and cut out everything else.

Key Results

ROAS Increased from 5.6x to 13.5x

Despite rising ad costs, our refinements helped SDWW achieve a 13.5x return on ad spend—more than doubling their ad efficiency.

30% Reduction in Wasted Ad Spend

By eliminating underperforming keywords and ad sets, we reduced wasted budget by 30%, allowing more spend to go toward what actually converted.

Landing Page Optimization Boosted Conversions

Simple changes to ad landing pages—like improved CTAs and better mobile UX—significantly improved conversion rates and reduced cost per acquisition.

Solution

Better Audience Targeting

Used lookalike audiences and retargeting to reduce wasted spend

Landing Page & Ad Creative Optimization

Improved ad relevance and booking page conversions

Budget Allocation Adjustments

Focused budget on top-performing ad segments

Why These Strategies Work for Tour Operators

SEO that drives direct bookings

We rank for high-intent keywords that actually convert.

Ad strategies that maximize revenue

No wasted budget—just high ROAS.

Conversion-focused websites

Turning traffic into paying customers.

Client Testimonial

We didn’t just maintain profitability—we scaled it, even as competition increased.

Britt Simon

Operations Manager

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