AIApply
Growth isn’t linear; it takes weeks and months of running experiments, then growth runs wild.
330%
4x
Never
Snapshot of Results
AIApply needed a way to scale paid user acquisition profitably while keeping customer acquisition costs (CPA) under control. Growth wasn’t linear, and scaling required constant testing and iteration. Within the first few weeks, we optimized Google Ads targeting, landing pages, and ad spend allocation to improve conversions. After a few months, we delivered:
- 330% increase in weekly paid conversions
- 4x higher conversion rates than before on paid search
- Never broke CPA limits—scaled the entire way profitably
AIApply now has a profitable, scalable paid search channel that continues to convert free users into paying customers—without sacrificing efficiency.
"We’ve worked with other Google Ad teams, but none delivered the performance and communication that Surge has. We know what’s going on and why."
Who is AIApply?
AIApply is a suite of AI-powered tools designed to help job seekers apply faster, smarter, and more effectively. Whether you're a:
- Software engineer looking to refine your resume
- Sales professional applying to hundreds of positions
- Candidate preparing for a tough screening interview
AIApply automates and optimizes the entire job search process. Because applying for jobs sucks, and everyone needs to do it.
The team is a lean, bootstrapped startup prioritizing profitability and growth above all else.
But when it came to scaling Google Ads profitably, they needed a strategy that maximized conversions while keeping customer acquisition costs under control.
The Big Problem
AIApply was already converting free users into paid subscribers, but growth wasn’t as good as it could be. Communication and performance was meeh, unfortunately, something most marketing leaders come to expect when working with subpar agencies.
Their challenges:
- Low conversion rates – From Google, too many free users weren’t upgrading to premium.
- Limited ad efficiency – Existing campaigns weren’t hitting the level of scale they needed to be.
- Strict CPA limits – Growth couldn’t come at the expense of profitability. Something the venture community could learn from.
That’s where we stepped in.
Our Approach
To scale profitably, we optimized both paid ads and landing pages. Here’s what we did:
- Refined targeting on Google Ads – We identified and doubled down on the highest-intent job seekers to improve conversion rates. Not all site visitors are created equal, so segmenting the audience by intent helps increase conversion rates.
- Built high-converting landing pages – We tested multiple page variations to reduce the upfront friction to sign up and explore the product (and hammer higher intent users with retargeting ads)
- Steady and controlled growth – We scaled budgets measuredly, ensuring we never broke CPA limits while increasing conversions. This means we double down on efficiency week after week and then cycle back to increasing conversions.
The Results
Within weeks, we saw significant gains in conversion rates, and within months, we saw massive improvements in paid search performance:
- 330% increase in weekly paid conversions
- 4x higher conversion rates than before on paid search
- Never broke CPA limits—scaled the entire way profitably
Final Thoughts
Growth didn’t happen overnight; generally, it doesn’t happen overnight. It took weeks of testing, iterating, and refining to scale AIApply’s paid acquisition while keeping CPA in check. But conversion compound, and the right mix of targeting, landing page optimization, and ad strategy clicked into place.
Now, AIApply has a profitable, scalable growth paid search that turns free users into paying customers—without sacrificing efficiency. With this foundation, they can continue helping job seekers land their next job at scale.