The Client
Surplus Agents for Americans is a foreclosure surplus funds recovery firm in Lighthouse Point, Florida. They help former homeowners claim the money left over after a foreclosure sale. We built and ran their Google Ads, which grew real leads from 2 a month to 39 and booked 90+ consultations.
When a foreclosed home sells at auction for more than the debt owed, the difference belongs to the former owner. Many never learn the money exists, and those who do often don't know how to claim it.
"2 leads in February 2025. 39 in October 2025."
The Challenge
Google Ads for surplus funds recovery is a narrow, trust-heavy market:
- A searcher who is often skeptical. People owed surplus funds are wary of anyone offering to recover money for them, so the ad and the page have to earn trust fast.
- Mixed intent. "Unclaimed money" searches bring people looking for state databases, old bank accounts and other lost property, not foreclosure surplus.
- Low volume. Only so many people in Florida are owed surplus funds at any time, so every relevant search counts.
- The right lead is a booked call. The firm's process starts with a consultation, so the campaign had to optimize for bookings, not clicks.
What We Built
1. A Florida Search Campaign on Maximize Conversions
In February 2025 we launched our main Florida Search campaign, targeting the state county by county and ZIP code by ZIP code, built around searches like "unclaimed surplus funds", "unclaimed foreclosure surplus funds", "how to claim surplus funds from foreclosure florida", "claiming foreclosure surplus funds" and "surplus funds". It produced about 95% of all leads.
2. Tracking Built Around Bookings
We set up tracking for Calendly consultations booked on the website, calls from the ads and calls from the website, so the bidding learned to find people who book.
3. Bidding and Reach Tests
Alongside the main campaign we tested manual bidding, a nationwide US campaign and several A/B test versions. The main Florida campaign kept producing the cheapest leads, so the budget stayed there.
4. 200+ Negative Keywords
Our campaigns carried 200+ distinct negative keywords to filter out state unclaimed-property lookups, investors hunting for surplus lists and "overages" courses, foreclosure auction shoppers and debt collection searches.
5. Daily Optimization via Ad Campaign Concierge™
Every campaign was reviewed daily through our proprietary Ad Campaign Concierge™ system: search-term mining, new negatives and bid strategy tests.
The Results
- About 140 real leads from our campaigns.
- 90+ booked consultations through the Calendly scheduler, plus nearly 50 phone calls.
- Monthly leads up from 2 to 39, February to October 2025.
- 70+ leads in the final quarter, October to December 2025.
- Cost per lead cut by more than half: about $190 in the first three months, about $85 from October to December 2025.
Key Takeaways
- Optimize for the booking. Tracking Calendly consultations taught the campaign to find people ready to talk, not just curious clicks.
- Speak the searcher's language. "Unclaimed surplus funds" brought far more leads than industry terms like "overages" or "asset recovery".
- Negatives define a narrow market. Filtering out general unclaimed-money searches and investors looking for surplus lists kept the budget on people owed foreclosure surplus.
- Test reach, then focus. A nationwide test showed Florida was where the leads were cheapest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Google Ads find people owed foreclosure surplus funds?
Yes. Former homeowners search for help claiming their money. Surplus Agents for Americans' campaigns produced about 140 real leads in under a year, including 90+ booked consultations.
What do people owed surplus funds search for?
They search the problem in their own words: 'unclaimed surplus funds', 'unclaimed foreclosure surplus funds', 'how to claim surplus funds from foreclosure florida' and 'claiming foreclosure surplus funds'. 'Unclaimed surplus funds' alone produced about a third of all leads.
How much does a surplus funds recovery lead cost?
In the first three months, February to April 2025, about $190 a lead. From October to December 2025, after months of optimization, about $85 a lead.
Do these clients book online or call?
Mostly they book. Of about 140 real leads, 90+ were consultations booked through the Calendly scheduler on the website, and nearly 50 were phone calls.
About This Campaign
Foreclosure surplus funds recovery lead generation on Google Ads, built with our proprietary Ad Campaign Concierge™ optimization system.
Industry: Financial Services (Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery) Platforms: Google Ads (Search) Location: Lighthouse Point, Florida (serving Florida) Account Duration: February 2025 to January 2026. The engagement has ended.
Real leads are consultations booked through the website's Calendly scheduler, calls from the ads lasting 60 seconds or longer and calls from the website, as recorded by Google Ads for our LPA campaigns. The thank-you page conversion, which fires on the same bookings, is not counted twice. Clicks to call and other engagements are excluded. The chart runs to December 2025; January 2026 added a few leads before the engagement ended. All amounts are in US dollars and rounded down.