How we replaced a $20k ad budget with 42 inbound Leads/month

Let’s say you’re running a business and your paid ads are working.
Leads are coming in, revenue looks solid.

But here’s the question most founders avoid asking:

“What happens if we pause our ads for 30 days?”

For most companies, the answer is simple:
Everything stops.

No leads. No demos. No sales. Nothing.

Because they’ve built a rented pipeline -  not an owned one.

And that’s exactly the problem we helped a SaaS founder solve recently.

⚠️ The Problem: 100% Dependency on Paid Ads

This SaaS company was spending $20,000/month on paid ads. My agency was the one running ads for them (client name hidden for privacy).

The ads were working really well… but it was also fragile.

They weren’t ranking for any bottom-funnel keywords.
They had no search visibility, no content strategy, no backlinks -  nothing compounding over time.

So if they paused ad spend? Pipeline = zero.

🔧 The Fix: A Simple 4-Step Organic Inbound Engine

We helped them build an SEO system designed to bring in qualified, high-intent leads month after month. Here’s the exact framework we used:

✅ 1. Pinpoint Bottom-Funnel Keywords

Forget “how to boost productivity.”
 We looked for keywords with purchase intent, like:

• “[Competitor] vs [Client]”

• “[Client] pricing”

• “Best CRM for real estate teams”

These are the kind of searches people make right before they pull the trigger.

✅ 2. Build Pages Around Buyer Decisions

We didn’t publish random blogs.
We created decision-based content   pages designed to answer questions people ask right before they buy.

Each page was structured with clarity, internal links, and strong CTAs.

✅ 3. Build Backlinks That Actually Move the Needle

We landed a few strong, relevant backlinks through digital PR and guest posts.
(Contrary to what most think, you don’t need 1000+ backlinks -  you need 100 great ones.)

This gave their pages the authority they needed to rank.

✅ 4. Optimize for Conversions - Not Just Clicks

Every page we published was treated like a landing page:

• Clear CTA (demo, trial, lead magnet)

• No fluff or filler

• Designed to convert the visitor, not just educate them

📈 The Result?

6 months later:

• They’re bringing in 42 inbound demo requests/month on average.

• CAC dropped 36%.

• They rank for nearly every high-intent keyword in their niche.

• And they’re no longer tied to a $20k/month ad leash.

They’re building growth equity, not just traffic.

👇 The Takeaway

If your business depends 100% on ads…
You don’t have a growth engine. You have a faucet.

And it turns off the second your spend stops.

So the question becomes:

Are you renting your growth… or owning it?