Our Water Filter Marketing Dipped ZeroWater’s CPA by 50%

ZeroWater is a leading name in home water filtration, known for its 5-stage system that removes 99.9% of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). As part of the Culligan group, they blend years of water science with a clear goal to produce better-tasting, cleaner water with less waste.

But like many growing eCommerce brands, they were starting to feel the pressure. Paid search was becoming more expensive, organic traffic was declining, and it was costing more to acquire customers. At the same time, recurring filter subscriptions — a key driver of their long-term value — weren’t scaling as planned.

In 2024, ZeroWater partnered with us to help make that change. In less than 12 months, we lowered their cost-per-acquisition (CPA) by over 50%, and created a unified search strategy that delivered more with less.

When we first audited ZeroWater’s paid search campaigns, a common concern was growing spend with inconsistent returns. Some campaigns were successful, while others depleted the budget without improving sales or subscriptions.

To cut waste and boost efficiency, we started with a complete account restructuring:

• We reorganised campaigns around high-conversion search terms. This Intent-first segmentation eschewed brand recognition. It concerned itself with solution-led queries, such as “best water filter for hard water” and “filter jug to remove lead.”
• Headlines, descriptions and sitelinks were tested continuously. This asset-level testing ensured that decisions focused on conversions, not just click-through rates.
• Our team created custom ad sets around UK-specific water concerns. Location targeting included everything from limescale in the South East to lead pipes still found in parts of the North, as noted by BBC News.
• We collaborated with ZeroWater’s internal team to develop faster and clearer product pages. By tweaking their landing page alignment, we structured them around real use cases (e.g. “removes PFAS”).

The changes allowed us to spend smarter and spend less. Within months, ZeroWater’s CPA dropped sharply, even as overall revenue from paid campaigns increased.

While paid search brought fast wins, ZeroWater’s long-term growth depended on reducing reliance on ad spend. We started by completely overhauling their SEO strategy. First, we focused on technical fixes. After that, we added content that drives commercial results.

Site Audit & Technical Improvements

Our initial crawl indicated some key barriers to their performance:

• • Important category and product pages were experiencing several indexation issues because they weren’t being properly crawled or indexed. We worked with their developers to resolve sitemap and canonical errors that were limiting visibility.
  • Several core pages failed Google’s Core Web Vitals, which was impacting both rankings and mobile UX. Optimising layout shifts, image formats, and mobile responsiveness soon delivered measurable speed gains.
  • Variations of the same filter products were cannibalising each other’s rankings. We consolidated such duplicate content and created distinct copy for each SKU.

These changes helped stabilise ZeroWater’s SEO performance, but the real uplift came from the content strategy.

Content That Converts & Educates

Using keyword data and audience insights, we made a content plan to support short-term sales and long-term visibility:

• • We built topic clusters around filters, contaminants, and use cases. Examples of search intent mapping include everything from “remove PFAS from tap water” to “best water filter jug UK.”
  • New evergreen articles, such as guides and comparison pieces, saw ZeroWater rank in high-intent searches. We also informed customers about common water issues in the UK, like those noted by the Drinking Water Inspectorate.
  • Schema markup, including product and review types, helped ZeroWater stand out in search results. This added star ratings and FAQs, leading to better click-through rates.

We built authority by improving site structure and creating content that answered real questions over time. Best of all, we didn’t have to resort to black-hat tactics, such as aggressive link-building or keyword stuffing.

With a joined-up PPC and SEO strategy in place, the numbers told a clear story. ZeroWater didn’t just achieve better performance but also turned the tap on a more efficient and scalable growth model.

Here’s what we achieved in under 12 months:

• 50% reduction in cost-per-acquisition (CPA)
• 14% decrease in paid media spend YoY
• 37% increase in paid search revenue
• 46% uplift in return on ad spend (ROAS)
• 145% growth in Google Search impressions
• 52% increase in organic clicks
• Landing page conversion rate increases of up to 20%

By focusing on the right keywords, faster pages, and clearer journeys, we turned a costly concern into a growth engine. And best of all, these results weren’t driven by a larger ad budget but came from sharper targeting, smarter content, and a more cohesive strategy.

Want to see how we’ve helped other brands scale smarter? Explore more success stories here or browse the latest insights on our blog.

ZeroWater’s results prove what’s possible with a lean, focused approach. By aligning SEO and PPC, the brand not only improved short-term performance but also achieved long-term benefits. They set themselves up for sustainable growth with a search strategy that now works harder (and smarter) every month.

However, this is just the start, as we are still moving downstream together. New campaigns are set to launch with seasonal keywords, local targeting, and content that strengthens user trust. If your CPA is rising and your returns feel flat, it might not be your product; it might be your digital setup. And the fix isn’t always spending more. It’s about spending better.

Ready to lower your acquisition costs and unlock long-term gains? Contact us or call 01202 684400 to arrange a consultation with our PPC and SEO teams.