Google Search Ads for Contractors: Set a Budget, Track Booked Jobs and Let It Run

Google search ads let you show up for the exact jobs you want, in the exact towns you serve, within days. You pay per click, and you control the searches, the areas, the hours and the page people land on. Set up right, they mostly run themselves. The one thing that makes that work: Google has to learn which clicks turned into booked jobs.

How are search ads different from Local Services Ads?

Both sit near the top of Google, and many contractors run both. They work differently:

For Local Services Ads setup, see How to Set Up Google Local Services Ads.

What do you need before you launch?

• The services you want more of. Start with the jobs you make money on, not everything you do.
• Your service area. The towns or ZIP codes you'll actually drive to.
• A budget. A monthly number you're comfortable spending.
• A landing page per service. A page about that service, in that area, with a phone number and a short form.
• A tracking number. So calls from your ads are counted.
• A way to report booked jobs back to Google. More on this below; it's what makes the rest work.

How do you set up search ads that run themselves?

1. Pick services and keywords. Use the words homeowners search, like "roof leak repair" or "window replacement," not trade jargon. Add negative keywords for searches you don't want, such as "jobs," "salary," "DIY" and "how to."
2. Target only where you work. Choose your towns or ZIP codes, then set the location option to "Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations." The default also shows ads to people who are only interested in your area, which can waste clicks on people who live elsewhere.
3. Write ads that say what, where and why you. Name the service and the town, give a reason to trust you (licensed, insured, your star rating), and a clear next step.
4. Send each ad to the right page. A window ad goes to your window page, not your homepage.
5. Set the budget. Google uses an average daily budget: your monthly budget divided by 30.4. On a busy day Google can spend up to twice that, but over a month you won't be charged more than 30.4 times your daily budget.
6. Run ads when someone can answer. An ad that rings an empty office at 9 p.m. is a paid click that goes nowhere.
7. Launch a few days ahead. Google reviews every new ad, and most are reviewed within one business day. Submit early, and edits restart the review.

Why do booked jobs matter more than clicks?

A click isn't a customer, and a call isn't a job. If Google only knows about clicks and calls, its automated bidding chases more clicks and calls, including tire-kickers and people outside your area.

The fix is to send booked jobs back to Google Ads. This is called offline conversion import:

• Each ad click gets an ID. Google tags every ad click with a click ID, called the GCLID.
• Your CRM keeps it with the lead. When that lead books, the job, and its value, goes back to Google with the same ID.
• You have 90 days. Google accepts a conversion up to 90 days after the click.
• Upload on a schedule. Google recommends uploading daily, or at least on a steady schedule.
• Bidding learns what pays. Smart Bidding can then aim for booked jobs, and for job value if you send it. For value-based bidding, Google says to allow about six weeks for the data to build up.

Once Google knows which clicks turned into paying work, the campaign gets better without you changing bids by hand.

What does "set it and forget it" really take?

Close to nothing, if the setup above is done. Spend ten minutes a week on:

• Search terms. Add negatives for anything you don't want to pay for.
• Cost per booked job by service. Shift budget toward what books, and away from what doesn't.
• Missed calls. Every unanswered ad call is a wasted click. See Google Now Charges for Missed LSA Calls for fixes that work for every channel.

For how search ads fit with Local Services Ads and the map pack, read The Top of Google for Contractors.

How Gozango runs search ads for you

• Set a budget and a start date: Gozango builds your campaigns from the services and service areas in your Business Settings, writes the ads, and launches them.
• Landing pages included: each service gets its own page, so ads don't dump people on your homepage.
• Calls tracked: ads get their own tracking numbers, so every call lands in your pipeline with its source.
• Booked jobs sent back to Google Ads: booked jobs and revenue go back to Google as conversions, so bidding chases jobs, not clicks.
• Kept tuned: campaigns are optimized as results come in, and search ads have their own reporting, down to cost per booked job.
• Missed-call text back: if an ad call goes unanswered, the caller gets a text in seconds.

Sources

• Google Ads Help, About average daily budgets
• Google Ads Help, Prevent clicks outside of your geo-targeted locations
• Google Ads Help, About the ad review process
• Google Ads Help, Offline conversion imports FAQs
• Google Local Services Help, Getting started with Local Services Ads