📊Facebook Ads vs Yelp: How a Moving Company Hit $356K Revenue
In this case study, we implemented a strategy where Facebook Ads became one of the primary lead sources for the moving company Tim Movers, effectively replacing Yelp as the main paid acquisition channel.
🚚Few words about the Tim Movers moving company
Tim Movers is a trusted moving company based in San Francisco, California, handling both local and long-distance moves for homes and businesses. They’re known for fair pricing, reliable crews, and a really customer-friendly approach—no hidden fees. With lots of positive reviews and high ratings, Tim Movers has built a solid reputation as a go-to choice for stress-free moves around the Bay Area.
📈From Yelp to Facebook: Building a More Scalable and Cost-Effective Lead System
Before launching Facebook Ads, the company was spending approximately $60,000 per year on Yelp advertising. While Yelp delivered leads, it offered limited scalability, reduced control over lead quality, and high dependency on a single third-party platform. The key objective was to build a more cost-efficient, flexible, and controllable lead generation channel capable of delivering consistent inbound requests.
By shifting focus to Facebook Ads, we built a structured lead generation system that proved to be both more adaptable and more profitable in terms of cost per lead and overall return on ad spend. Unlike Yelp, Facebook allowed precise audience targeting, full control over budgets, creatives, and messaging, as well as the ability to scale or slow down campaigns based on seasonality and business demand. As a result, Facebook Ads became one of the main sources of inbound leads, providing a stable flow of potential customers throughout the year.
⚙️ Follow-Up System That Maximized Conversions
A critical success factor was not just the advertising itself, but the strict follow-up system implemented alongside the campaigns. Facebook leads tend to respond best when contacted quickly, and this behavior was fully leveraged in the sales process. Three core follow-up rules were introduced:
- ⏱ The first call was made within 5 minutes after a form submission
- 📞 A minimum of three call attempts within the first 24 hours
- 🔁 Two call attempts per day until the lead either booked a job or clearly declined
This approach significantly increased contact and booking rates, ensuring that generated leads were converted into real revenue rather than lost opportunities.
📈 Campaign Results & Lead Generation Impact
As a result of this strategy, Facebook Ads became a stable and controllable acquisition channel that consistently delivered inbound leads across different seasons. The campaigns demonstrated strong scalability, predictable lead flow, and higher operational flexibility compared to directory-based platforms.
Most importantly, the business gained full control over its growth engine, reduced dependency on third-party aggregators, and built a system that supports long-term revenue stability rather than short-term lead purchases.
The strongest performance was recorded in June, which became the peak revenue month with $76,000 in total revenue. Importantly, even during slower periods — particularly in November — Facebook Ads continued to generate inbound requests, helping maintain consistent lead flow and supporting sales during the off-season.
📊 Platform Comparison: Facebook Ads vs Yelp Ads
🟡 Yelp Ads
Ad Spend: ~$60,000
Revenue Generated: $310,439
Key Metrics
- ROAS: ~5.17×
- Gross Return (Revenue − Ad Spend): ~$250,439
- Cost Efficiency: ❌ Lower
- Scalability & Control: ❌ Limited
Yelp Ads were able to generate revenue, but at a higher acquisition cost and with a strong dependency on a closed platform. Control over lead quality, volume, optimization, and scaling was restricted, limiting long-term growth flexibility.
🔵 Facebook Ads
Ad Spend: $43,378.04
Revenue Generated: $356,724
Key Metrics
- ROAS: ~8.22×
- Gross Return (Revenue − Ad Spend): ~$313,346
- Cost Efficiency: ✅ Significantly higher
- Scalability & Control: ✅ High
Facebook Ads delivered higher revenue with lower ad spend, while providing full control over targeting, creatives, budgets, and campaign scaling.
🔍 Direct Performance Comparison
~$63,000 higher net return from Facebook Ads
$16,600 lower ad spend on Facebook Ads
$46,285 higher revenue generated via Facebook
~3.05× higher ROAS compared to Yelp
🚀 Why Facebook Ads Outperformed Yelp in This Case
The success of Facebook Ads in this case was driven by several key advantages over Yelp. Facebook provided full control over lead generation, including targeting, messaging, budget allocation, and scaling. Unlike Yelp, which functions as a closed marketplace with limited flexibility, Facebook allowed the business to proactively reach potential customers before they actively compared multiple competitors.
Additionally, Facebook leads proved more responsive to fast follow-up, especially when contacted within minutes. Combined with a disciplined sales process, this created a competitive advantage that Yelp could not offer. Finally, Facebook reduced platform dependency, allowing Tim Movers to build a predictable and scalable acquisition channel without relying on a single aggregator.
Ultimately, the combination of cost-efficient Facebook Ads and a disciplined follow-up process enabled Tim Movers to reduce reliance on Yelp, lower advertising costs, and achieve sustainable revenue growth.
🤝 A Word of Thanks
We would like to thank Tim Movers moving company for their trust and openness throughout this collaboration. Their willingness to test new acquisition channels, optimize internal processes, and fully commit to disciplined follow-up played a key role in achieving these results. Partnerships like this are what allow performance-driven strategies to truly deliver measurable growth.
