Not everyone clicks ads—we know that, and you know that. The question is, at what rate do users see an ad, switch to the browser, and proceed to search?

Meta’s relatively short conversion attribution window often leads marketers to focus on mid to lower-funnel activities. How much do Meta campaigns optimized for upper-funnel activity actually assist lifts in search traffic—both paid and organic?

In the first two weeks of November, I ran a test for a lead generation client to find out. Here's what I learned.

The Experiment

We designed test campaigns prioritizing upper-funnel metrics like brand awareness and reach, comparing their performance against our business-as-usual (BAU) campaigns, which leaned into Meta’s traditional attribution focus. Importantly, this wasn’t just a shift in optimization strategy—it was also a creative shift. The test used awareness-focused creative paired with awareness-focused optimization, while BAU campaigns stuck to their tried-and-true mid- to lower-funnel approach.

What I tracked:

• Assisted searches (paid and organic) by customers exposed to Meta ads before searching.
• Cost efficiency in driving these searches.

For context, an "assisted search" refers to a paid or organic search initiated by someone who first encountered an ad on Meta. It’s like leaving a breadcrumb trail from awareness to action.

The Results

The test campaigns didn’t just perform—they dominated.

• Cost Per Assisted Search: 80% lower compared to BAU campaigns.
• Cost Per Assisted Paid Search: 87% lower than BAU campaigns.

These results demonstrated the true potential of awareness campaigns to reach new audiences and cost-effectively influence their behavior downstream.

What this means

The success of these test campaigns gave us the confidence to increase our investment in awareness media on Meta significantly. By pairing awareness-optimized creative with the right strategy, we broke free from the mid-to lower-funnel mindset. We unlocked a new growth lever that directly impacts performance metrics across the customer journey.

The big takeaway: Don’t underestimate the power of awareness campaigns in driving high-impact, cost-effective search traffic. When planned strategically, upper-funnel initiatives can deliver measurable results that ripple across your entire media mix.

About the Author

Eric Duchek is the Senior Director of Client Strategy at BMG360.

With expertise spanning paid social media, strategy, optimization, A/B testing, sales, marketing, advertising, and account management, Eric's skill set includes relationship and staff management, consumer goods, B2B sales, leadership training, and pay-per-click platforms like AdWords, Facebook/Instagram ads, and Snapchat.

Want to chat more? Reach out to Eric or contact us below.