Most home‑service companies set up Google Ads the way Google suggests in the interface—broad keywords, “smart” features, and all traffic sent to the homepage. That usually leads to lots of impressions, a few expensive clicks, and very few qualified calls. The contractor decides “Google Ads doesn’t work in my area,” when in reality the structure is the problem, not the channel.
Common money‑wasting patterns include: using broad, generic keywords like “plumber” or “electrician” with no location intent, sending every visitor to a cluttered homepage that talks about everything and converts no one, and having zero real tracking from click to booked job. The 80/20 mindset flips this: focus on the small set of high‑intent searches, a single strong offer per service, and a basic tracking setup so you can see which parts of the system are printing money and which are burning it.
The best starting point for home‑service Google Ads is simple: target the exact searches people type when they are ready to hire, not when they are just researching. That usually means pairing your core service with a location or urgency modifier, such as “electrician near me,” “emergency plumber [city],” “furnace repair [city],” or “roof leak repair [city].” These searches come from people who have a problem right now and are looking for a company to call, which is exactly where your ads should appear.
For these core money terms, phrase match and exact match are usually better than leaving everything on broad match because they keep your ads closer to the high‑intent phrases you actually want. On the flip side, it is usually smart to avoid DIY and purely informational searches like “how to fix a leaking pipe” or “what does a GFCI do,” as well as ultra‑broad single‑word terms like “plumbing” or “roofing” that attract a lot of junk traffic. Building a tight keyword list around service + city + urgency gives you a foundation you can afford to optimize instead of a bloated account you cannot control.
Even the best keywords will underperform if you send traffic to a generic homepage. A homepage usually tries to do everything—introduce the company, show all services, talk about careers, and share blog posts—so a hot prospect has to hunt for the one action you want them to take. A focused landing page for one service, in one area, makes it obvious what to do next and dramatically increases the percentage of visitors who call or request service.
A strong home‑service landing page typically includes a headline that mirrors the ad (for example, “24/7 Emergency Plumber in [City]”), a click‑to‑call phone number and short “Request Service” form above the fold, clear service area coverage, social proof like reviews and badges, and a simple explanation of what happens after someone contacts you. Many of the highest‑performing pages follow a three‑step “Here is the problem, here is our solution, here is what to expect next” structure, with minimal distractions. When Get Craft Edge builds a done‑for‑you growth engine for a contractor, these tightly aligned service‑specific pages are one of the first components installed.
Not every job is the same, and your ad formats should reflect that. For emergency and same‑day work—no heat, no power, leaks, backed‑up drains, roof leaks—people want a human on the phone immediately. Call‑centric formats and extensions in Google Ads make it easy for mobile users to tap and connect without hunting around on a website, which both improves conversion rates and gives you better control over when calls come in. Many contractors choose to run call‑heavy ads only during staffed hours so leads do not fall into voicemail.
For larger or less urgent projects like panel upgrades, full HVAC replacements, reroofs, or bathroom remodels, asking for a bit more information via a form often makes sense. A simple form that collects name, phone, email, service type, ZIP code, and a brief description gives your office team enough context to qualify and schedule efficiently. In both cases, the key is alignment: urgent keywords and ads should lead to fast phone contact, while higher‑ticket planning queries can feed into a more detailed lead capture and follow‑up process.
One of the biggest gaps in contractor accounts is tracking: many see clicks and impressions but have no idea what those clicks actually turn into. To make good decisions, a home‑service owner needs to see at least four numbers: cost per click, conversion rate (how many visitors become leads), cost per lead, and cost per booked job or per dollar of revenue generated. Once those are visible, you can quickly tell whether a campaign is feeding your schedule or quietly draining your budget.
Consider a simple example: if you spend $3,000 in a month and generate 60 leads, your cost per lead is $50. If 40% of those leads turn into jobs, that is 24 jobs. At an average job value of $750, those jobs produce $18,000 in revenue. Even after materials and overhead, that math can look very attractive compared to many other marketing channels, especially when the system is tuned over time. A home‑service growth partner like Get Craft Edge focuses on building this visibility end‑to‑end so you can judge your ads by booked revenue and profit, not by vanity metrics.
Optimization does not need to be complicated; it just needs to be consistent. A weekly 30–60 minute review can be enough to keep most small to mid‑size home‑service accounts in good shape. The core tasks usually include pausing obvious losers (keywords or ads that have spent significantly with no conversions), shifting more budget to proven winners, reviewing search terms to add negative keywords for irrelevant traffic, and trimming locations or devices that clearly underperform. This is the “80/20 maintenance” that prevents waste from creeping back into your account.
On a monthly basis, layering in simple tests can unlock additional gains: try one new ad angle or offer, such as “same‑day service,” “no surprise pricing,” or “free safety inspection,” and test one improvement to the landing page, like a clearer headline, a stronger review section, or a more prominent guarantee. Over time, these small tests stack together, and the same budget produces more leads and better jobs. When GetCraftEdge implements a done‑for‑you growth engine, this cadence is built into the service so owners can stay focused on running crews while the marketing system is continually tuned in the background.
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