Question 1

﻿How much does PPC cost for home services?

Accepted Answer

Home services PPC costs $2,500 to $18,000 a month in ad spend for most contractors, plus a management retainer of $999 to $4,500 a month depending on the number of campaigns and locations. Average cost per click sits at $8 to $28 for HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and electrical keywords in a top 50 metro. Storm and heat wave weeks push clicks to $45. Our tiers are $999, $1,499, $2,499, and from $4,500 a month for management, with ad spend billed direct to your Google Ads account and never marked up. Small single-truck operators usually start on the $999 Launch tier, which is built for ad budgets under $2,000 a month, to prove the model in 60 days. Multi-truck and multi-location operators land at the $1,499 or $2,499 tier. Enterprise brands with 5 or more locations sit at the from $4,500 tier. Every tier includes the same conversion tracking, CallRail setup, negative keyword sculpt, and weekly written notes.

Question 2

﻿Is PPC worth it for home services companies?

Accepted Answer

Yes, home services PPC works when you track booked jobs in ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, or Jobber instead of clicks. Contractors we work with see 6x to 12x return on ad spend once the offline conversion feed is live for 60 days. Without a job value feed, Google Ads optimizes to cheap form fills that never book and the whole channel looks broken. With the feed running, the same account often doubles booked jobs on the same monthly budget inside 90 days. The gap between contractors who quit PPC and contractors who scale it is almost always the conversion setup, not the ad copy. Push booked-job value back into Google Ads and Smart Bidding starts serving your ads to homeowners who will actually book. Skip that step and you burn cash on curious clicks. The math turns positive fast when the plumbing PPC or HVAC PPC account is measured on jobs booked, not on lead volume.

Question 3

﻿What is the difference between Google Ads and Local Services Ads for contractors?

Accepted Answer

Google Ads is pay per click on text ads that show above organic results. You write the ad copy, pick keywords, and control the landing page. Local Services Ads is pay per lead on the Google Guaranteed listings that show above Google Ads and you pay $18 to $80 per verified phone lead. LSA wins on trust badge and phone lead cost. Google Ads wins on volume, landing page control, and remarketing to homeowners who did not book on the first visit. Most home services PPC accounts need both, with a bid fence so the two do not compete for the same job in the same auction. Google publishes the full LSA eligibility and dispute rules at support.google.com/localservices for the categories you can run. Homeowners searching "AC repair near me" often click LSA first, then a Google Ads result if the first one does not answer the call, so both channels earn their spend.

Question 4

﻿How do I set up conversion tracking from Google Ads to ServiceTitan?

Accepted Answer

Push the Google Click ID (GCLID) as a hidden field on every form and call tracking number that sends leads into ServiceTitan. Map the GCLID to the customer record so when the job closes, the booked value is sent back to Google Ads through the Offline Conversions API. Most contractors set this up with a Zapier bridge, a CallRail integration, or through ServiceTitan Marketing Pro. Once live, Smart Bidding starts optimizing for booked job value instead of form fills inside 14 to 21 days. Housecall Pro and Jobber follow the same pattern. Every home services PPC account we manage runs this feed on day 1. See the platform-side walk-through at servicetitan.com/blog for the ServiceTitan Marketing Pro flow. Skip this and Google Ads never learns which keywords turn into revenue. Set it up and the same ad spend produces roughly 40 to 60% more booked jobs in month 3.

Question 5

﻿What is a good cost per lead for HVAC PPC?

Accepted Answer

Cost per booked job for HVAC PPC sits at $58 to $180 depending on service type. Emergency AC repair runs $58 to $95 per booked job in cooling season. Furnace install runs $140 to $180 because click prices are higher and close rate is lower. Cost per lead before close is roughly $28 to $65. If your cost per booked job is over $220 for repair or over $350 for install, something in the bid strategy, ad copy, negative keywords, or landing page is broken. The fix is almost never higher bids. It is a tighter campaign split (emergency versus planned, install versus repair), a better negative keyword list to strip DIY and warranty searches, and a landing page that loads in under 2.1 seconds on 4G mobile. Contractors who track cost per booked job weekly hit the low end. Contractors who track cost per click, monthly, hit the high end and blame Google.

Question 6

﻿How much should a plumber spend on Google Ads per month?

Accepted Answer

A single-location plumbing PPC budget runs $3,000 to $8,500 a month in Google Ads plus $1,200 to $3,000 in Local Services Ads to keep the calendar full year-round. Multi-truck operations spend $8,000 to $25,000 monthly across both channels. Start at the low end for 60 days with tight conversion tracking, measure cost per booked job, then scale spend up 15% every 2 weeks the number holds. Do not scale into a broken conversion feed or you will burn cash on cheap clicks that never book. Emergency drain and water heater keywords cost more per click but close at a higher rate, so the cost per booked job stays reasonable. Planned service work like fixture installs or repipe jobs needs a separate campaign with a higher target CPA because the ticket size covers it. Track the number week to week, not month to month, and the budget follows the booked-job math. Start small, prove the model, then push spend into the ceiling as the tracking holds.

Question 7

﻿Are Google Local Services Ads worth it?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Google Local Services Ads are worth it for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, cleaning, and 20+ other verified categories in most US metros. The Google Guaranteed badge builds trust and LSA click share now sits above 60% for emergency service queries in top markets. Weakness: you cannot control which lead types come through, and disputed leads take 3 to 10 days to credit. Best used alongside Google Ads with a bid fence so you do not pay Google twice for the same job. Google publishes the full LSA category list, eligibility rules, and dispute flow at support.google.com/localservices. To qualify, your business needs an active Google Business Profile, license verification, background checks on technicians, and $1M in general liability coverage. Once verified, LSA usually pulls 40 to 60% of your paid lead volume in the first 90 days. Homeowners trust the badge and click it first, especially on emergency queries where they want to see a verified pro before they call.

Question 8

﻿How long does it take PPC to work for contractors?

Accepted Answer

Contractor PPC starts producing booked jobs in week 1, but the numbers stabilize between day 45 and 90 once Google Ads Smart Bidding has 30 or more conversions to learn from. Week 1 to 4 is data collection: real search terms, real cost per click, real form-to-book rate. Week 5 to 8 is bid optimization: Smart Bidding stops guessing and starts serving your ads to the homeowners who book. By week 12, cost per booked job usually drops 25 to 45% from the launch number. Contractors who quit at day 30 quit before the math turns positive. Every account we run gets a weekly written note so you see the trend, not just the current number. LSA layered on top starts producing leads in 3 to 7 days once the Google Guaranteed badge is live. Give the channel a fair 90-day window with a real conversion feed and the payback usually clears month 4.

Question 9

﻿Should home services companies use Angi and Thumbtack alongside PPC?

Accepted Answer

Angi and Thumbtack are lead resale platforms that sell the same lead to 3 to 5 contractors, so close rate is 8 to 15% versus 35 to 55% for Google LSA or Google Ads leads. They can fill schedule gaps in slow weeks but should never be your primary channel. Contractors we work with cap Angi and Thumbtack at 10 to 15% of lead volume once Google Ads and LSA are producing enough. The keyword competition Angi runs on Google Ads is also why your own CPCs are high. Every dollar Angi spends bidding on "plumber near me" pushes your click price up. The math is straightforward: an Angi lead at $65 with a 12% close rate costs $541 per booked job. A Google Ads lead at $95 with a 45% close rate costs $211 per booked job. Fix the direct-response channels first, then use lead-gen platforms only to fill slow weeks or expand to new service areas.

Question 10

﻿What is the average PPC management fee for home services?

Accepted Answer

PPC management fees for home services fall into 4 tiers: $999 a month for a single-service single-location account with ad budgets under $2,000 a month, $1,499 a month for multi-service or multi-location shops spending $2,000 to $5,000 a month, $2,499 a month for franchises or 5+ locations spending $5,000 to $10,000 a month, and from $4,500 a month for enterprise home services brands running $10,000 or more in managed spend. Some agencies charge 15 to 25% of ad spend instead, which punishes you for scaling and rewards them for spending your money. Flat monthly fee lines the incentives up. Ad spend is billed direct to your Google Ads account by Google, never marked up. Every tier includes the same conversion tracking build, CallRail dynamic number setup, negative keyword sculpt, landing page work, and weekly written notes. LSA management is included for the categories you qualify in. Tier changes require a written scope adjustment, not a surprise on the invoice. What you see on the proposal is what hits your card each month, and every ad dollar goes straight to Google or Meta.

Question 11

﻿How do you structure PPC campaigns for emergency versus planned services?

Accepted Answer

Emergency and planned service queries need separate campaigns because they behave differently in the auction. Emergency search terms like "AC not working," "burst pipe," or "no heat" run 24/7 with call-only ads, higher bids, and a target CPA tied to the higher ticket close rate. Planned service terms like "AC tune up" or "drain cleaning coupon" run business hours only with landing page traffic, lower bids, and a lower target CPA. Splitting the two saves roughly 28% of monthly ad spend on most contractor PPC accounts because you stop paying emergency prices for tune-up clicks. It also lets Smart Bidding train separately on each intent pool so the conversion data does not get muddied. Every home services PPC account we build starts with this split on day 1. Emergency campaigns get their own budget pool, their own ad copy, and their own extensions. Planned service campaigns get their own landing pages with clear pricing and a soft booking flow.

Question 12

﻿What negative keywords should home services PPC campaigns use?

Accepted Answer

Every home services PPC account needs a starter negative keyword list of 200+ terms before launch and 15 to 30 more added each week from search term reports. Baseline negatives cover DIY ("how to fix," "YouTube," "tutorial," "reddit"), job seekers ("jobs," "salary," "apprenticeship," "union"), warranty and parts ("parts," "manual," "model number," "warranty check"), competitor brands you do not resell, free service searches ("free," "cheap," "$99 special" when you do not run the promo), and irrelevant trades. HVAC PPC also needs "window unit" and "portable" negatives if you only do central. Plumbing PPC needs "septic" negatives if you do not pump tanks. Roofing PPC needs "tarp," "insurance claim scam," and "metal buildings" if those are out of scope. Every week the search term report gets reviewed and new negatives added at ad group and campaign level. Median contractor account we take over has 212 missing negatives on day 1. The savings often clear 20% of the ad budget in month 1 without a single bid change.

Question 13

﻿What happens to my ad accounts if I cancel the retainer?

Accepted Answer

You own every ad account, landing page, tracking script, and creative asset from day 1. Google Ads, Local Services Ads, Meta Business Manager, CallRail, and Google Analytics 4 stay in your name and under your billing. Landing pages we build get exported to your WordPress or CMS at handoff. Negative keyword lists, ad copy libraries, conversion tracking configs, and audience segments get handed over in writing at cancellation. Contract is 6 months typical to give the campaigns time to hit stable cost per booked job. After that, cancellation is a 30-day written notice and we run the account through the final billing period at full quality. No ransomed access, no locked assets, no clawback on landing pages, no surprise offboarding fees. If a new agency takes over, we screen-share the account walk-through and hand off the CallRail routing and ServiceTitan conversion feed with them so nothing breaks in the transition. Every asset is yours from the first invoice, and you keep everything on the way out.

Home Services PPC Services Built to Book More Jobs

Three ways your home services PPC is losing booked jobs

Local Service Ads pulls 62% of home services clicks while Google Ads keeps outbidding you

ServiceTitan books 43% of paid leads but Google Ads never learns about the closed job

Emergency and planned service searches share one campaign so both underperform

What every home services PPC retainer delivers

Lower cost per booked job inside the first 30 days

Landing pages that book jobs on the first click

Weekly written performance notes from your buyer

Four stages, every step ends in a sign-off

Audit that exposes wasted spend and broken tracking

Campaigns rebuilt around service profitability

First booked job inside 14 days, guaranteed

Optimize weekly, scale to technician capacity

What you actually get in the contractor PPC retainer

Audit that exposes wasted spend and broken tracking

Campaigns rebuilt around service profitability

First booked job inside 14 days, guaranteed

Cost per booked job drops week over week

Scale spend against real technician capacity

Four home services PPC tiers for every crew size

Every PPC feature, tier by tier

Real contractors, real booked jobs

Drove 531% organic search visibility and 412% more leads for Sundance Kitchen.

Lifted Little Red Wagon Moving traffic 2,000% with a redesign and an SEO and PPC program.

Drove 535% Facebook growth and 350% more web traffic for Answer Air Services in 6 months.

CLIENT WORDS

See what your current ad spend could be earning

Common contractor PPC questions, answered

Get your free Google Ads audit.

Three ways your home services PPC is losing booked jobs

Local Service Ads pulls 62% of home services clicks while Google Ads keeps outbidding you

ServiceTitan books 43% of paid leads but Google Ads never learns about the closed job

Emergency and planned service searches share one campaign so both underperform

What every home services PPC retainer delivers

﻿Lower cost per booked job inside the first 30 days

﻿Landing pages that book jobs on the first click

﻿Weekly written performance notes from your buyer

Four stages, every step ends in a sign-off

Audit that exposes wasted spend and broken tracking

Campaigns rebuilt around service profitability

First booked job inside 14 days, guaranteed

Optimize weekly, scale to technician capacity

What you actually get in the contractor PPC retainer

Audit that exposes wasted spend and broken tracking

Campaigns rebuilt around service profitability

First booked job inside 14 days, guaranteed

Cost per booked job drops week over week

Scale spend against real technician capacity

Four home services PPC tiers for every crew size

Every PPC feature, tier by tier

Real contractors, real booked jobs

Drove 531% organic search visibility and 412% more leads for Sundance Kitchen.

Lifted Little Red Wagon Moving traffic 2,000% with a redesign and an SEO and PPC program.

Drove 535% Facebook growth and 350% more web traffic for Answer Air Services in 6 months.

CLIENT WORDS

See what your current ad spend could be earning

Common contractor PPC questions, answered

﻿How much does PPC cost for home services?+

﻿Is PPC worth it for home services companies?+

﻿What is the difference between Google Ads and Local Services Ads for contractors?+

﻿How do I set up conversion tracking from Google Ads to ServiceTitan?+

﻿What is a good cost per lead for HVAC PPC?+

﻿How much should a plumber spend on Google Ads per month?+

﻿Are Google Local Services Ads worth it?+

﻿How long does it take PPC to work for contractors?+

﻿Should home services companies use Angi and Thumbtack alongside PPC?+

﻿What is the average PPC management fee for home services?+

﻿How do you structure PPC campaigns for emergency versus planned services?+

﻿What negative keywords should home services PPC campaigns use?+

﻿What happens to my ad accounts if I cancel the retainer?+

Get your free Google Ads audit.

Lower cost per booked job inside the first 30 days

Landing pages that book jobs on the first click

Weekly written performance notes from your buyer