Split urgent from planned work
A no heat call tonight and a system replacement next month are different buyers with different budgets. They get separate campaigns, separate budgets and separate landing pages, so one cannot eat the other.
Service
Google Ads for contractors
Search campaigns for trade businesses, built around the calls you want and the searches that waste money.
In short. This page covers Google Ads for contractors: campaign structure by intent, geo targeting, negative keyword lists, call assets, landing page fit, and lead reporting that counts calls and forms rather than clicks, for service businesses in the United States.
Who it is for. Contractor businesses that already get some work from local search and want more volume now, or that have run ads before and found them busy but unprofitable.
What it does not cover. Map pack and profile work sit on the local SEO page. This page is paid search, its structure and its numbers.
How campaigns are structured
Match types on a short leash
Exact and phrase keywords carry the budget. Broad match is added only after the search terms report shows what is actually converting, and negative keywords go in before spend starts, not after.
Negative keywords that matter for trades
Job seekers, training, salary, free, do it yourself, how to, and parts suppliers are common money leaks for contractors. Those lists are built per campaign and reviewed against the search terms report.
Geo targeting by service area
Target the towns you drive to. Presence settings and radius rules are chosen deliberately, because paying for clicks from areas your crews will not serve is the fastest way to waste a budget.
Call assets and call tracking
Calls are the conversion for most trade searches. Responsive search ads with call assets, scheduled for the hours somebody can answer the phone, with calls tracked as conversions.
Landing pages built to convert
Ads land on the service page that matches the search, not the homepage. Clear scope, service area, proof of work, and a call button that does not need pinching to hit.
What gets reported every month
| Measure | Detail |
|---|---|
| Calls | Tracked calls by campaign, with missed calls separated from answered ones where the phone setup allows it. |
| Forms | Form submissions with the page they came from. |
| Cost per lead | Spend divided by counted leads, not by clicks. |
| Wasted spend | Search terms with cost and no lead, and the negative keywords added because of them. |
| Booked work | Reported back by you, because only you can tell a qualified job from a caller who wanted a free opinion. |
Quality, clicks and landing pages
Google scores ads with a mix of expected click through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience, and that score feeds how much each click costs. For contractor search that translates into plain work: the ad should name the service, the landing page should be about that service, and the page should load quickly on a mobile connection with the phone number in reach.
Google's own explanation: About Quality Score for Search campaigns. Call asset behaviour is documented in About call assets.
What we need from you
- Access to the Google Ads account, or a new account created under your billing.
- The service list and the areas you cover, plus services you do not want.
- Capacity: how many extra jobs per week can actually be handled.
- A working phone answered during the hours you bid on.
- Conversion tracking access: your phone system and website forms.
Budget and honest expectations
Paid search is rent, not an asset. The moment it stops, the calls stop with it, and the reason to run it is that it produces work while the map pack and organic work builds. Auction prices differ by trade and market, so the first month is a test with a fixed budget and a hard look at the search terms report.
Common questions
How much should I spend?
Enough to gather real search data: usually a few hundred in a month, spent on the two or three services with the clearest demand and the best margin. The number that matters is cost per booked job, and that cannot be judged in week one.
Do you also run Local Services Ads?
Local Services Ads are administered by Google, with Google run licence, insurance and background checks. Eligibility is Google's decision. The work here can get your business details and service list ready for it, but search campaigns are the channel AptLocal runs and optimises.
What if the ads do not produce leads?
Then the spend stops or moves. If the search terms show buyers who never book, or the phone is not being answered, more budget does not fix it, and you will hear that instead of an upsell.
Do you guarantee lead volume?
No. Auction prices, demand and competition set what a click costs in your market, and that changes month to month. What can be controlled is structure, targeting, wasted spend and how well the leads are handled.
Find out what your ads are spending on
If you already run Google Ads, the free check includes a look at the search terms report, the landing pages in use and whether calls are being counted.