Google Ads for Home Services: Your Guide to Getting More Leads

Using Google Ads is the fastest way to get your business in front of homeowners who are looking for your skills right now. Think of it like a magic billboard that only pops up the second someone has a problem you can fix.

This guide isn’t about hoping for leads. It’s about building a lead machine so you can focus on booking jobs, not finding them. It’s super simple, and you can totally do this.

Why Google Ads Is Your Ultimate Lead Machine

Imagine your phone ringing with customers who actually need you. That’s not a dream; it’s what happens when you use Google Ads the right way. Instead of waiting for referrals or leaving flyers on doors (does anyone even do that anymore?), you put your business exactly where people are looking. It’s a direct line to homeowners who need help, pronto.

You don’t need to be a tech wizard. Just remember this simple truth: when a pipe bursts at 2 AM, people don’t scroll through Facebook Ads—they Google “emergency plumber near me.” Being at the top of that search page is how you turn their disaster into your next paying job.

Your business can become a true lead machine that works 24/7, bringing in calls even while you’re on another job.

The Two Fast Lanes to More Customers

When it comes to Google Ads for home services, you have two main choices. Think of them as two different tools in your toolbox, each perfect for a specific job.

• Google Local Services Ads (LSAs): These are the ads you see at the very top of Google with the green “Google Guaranteed” checkmark. They build instant trust. The best part? You only pay when a customer actually calls you. No calls, no cost. Simple.
• Google Search Ads: These are the classic text ads right below the LSAs. They give you way more control over your message, the words you show up for, and who you target. It’s like having a megaphone to shout your message to a wider crowd.

Both paths are built for one thing: lead generation. Deciding which one to use is easy. Do you want super-qualified, pay-when-the-phone-rings leads right now? Go with LSAs. Want more control over your ad and what it says? Search Ads are your answer.

We can help you figure out which one is the perfect fit. You can learn more about these powerful tools in our complete guide on Google Ads for local services.

Your Two Paths to Leads on Google

Here’s a quick cheat sheet to see which ad type is best for your business right now.

Deciding which to use isn’t a tough choice. Many smart contractors use both! They use LSAs for the hot leads who are ready to buy, and Search Ads to catch everyone else.

The best part? You don’t need a huge budget to start. You just need a smart plan that focuses on getting real calls from real customers. That’s what turns your ads into a powerful system for growth.

The opportunity is huge. The U.S. home services market hit a crazy $90.63 billion in 2024 and is expected to double by 2034. A big piece of that pie—about 70% of homeowners—comes from people booking services online. This boom is driven by homeowners finding contractors through ads, which makes a solid plan for 5 star review generation more important than ever. Learn more about the growth of the home services market and its impact on advertising.

Building Your First Lead Generation Campaign

Alright, let’s roll up our sleeves and build your first Google Ads campaign. Don’t worry, this is way easier than fixing a leaky faucet in a dark crawl space. We’re going to set this up nice and simple, so it turns into a lead generation machine that spits out calls from real customers.

Forget everything you think you know about complicated ads. The goal is simple: connect your business with homeowners typing things like “emergency plumber near me” or “AC repair in [Your Town]” into Google. We’re catching them right when they need you most.

Finding Keywords That Bring in Jobs

You have to think like a customer with a problem. What would you type into Google if your toilet was overflowing at 3 AM? You wouldn’t search for “advanced porcelain water fixtures.” You’d type “plumber near me NOW.”

Those simple, urgent words are your golden tickets.

Start by listing out all your main services. For an HVAC company, that might be:

• AC repair
• Furnace installation
• Heater maintenance
• Emergency AC service

These are the building blocks of your campaign. They tell Google exactly what you do, so it can show your ad to the right people.

This picture shows the simple trip your customer takes from having a problem to calling you for help.

As you can see, the path is short and sweet—they search, see your ad, and call. Your job is to make that path as easy as pie.

And a ton of people are searching. The home services industry gets about 2.8 billion searches on Google every month. Even better, a whopping 89% of those searches include a city name. That proves customers want someone local, and they want them now.

The Magic of Negative Keywords

Now for the secret weapon that saves you a boatload of money: negative keywords. These are the words you don’t want to show up for. Honestly, they’re just as important as the words you want to show up for.

Imagine you’re a plumber. You want calls for clogged drains, but you keep getting clicks from people searching for “drain cleaner parts” or “how to unclog a drain yourself.” Every one of those clicks costs you money but has zero chance of becoming a job.

That’s a leaky bucket you need to plug, and fast.

By adding words like “parts,” “DIY,” “free,” “jobs,” and “rental” to your negative keyword list, you instantly filter out the tire-kickers. This makes sure the people who see your ad are looking to hire a pro, not become one.

This simple step turns your ad money from a wild guess into a smart investment. You’re no longer wasting money on clicks from people who were never going to hire you. This is the kind of money-saving trick we teach when you learn how to run your own ads.

Keeping Your Account Clean and Simple

Organizing your ad account is like organizing your truck—when everything has its place, you work faster and smarter. My advice? Create different campaigns for each big service you offer, like “Plumbing Repairs” and “Water Heater Installations.”

Inside each campaign, you can then make ad groups for more specific things. For example, under “Plumbing Repairs,” you could have groups for “Clogged Drains” and “Leaky Pipes.” This setup helps you write super-relevant ads that speak right to the customer’s problem, which Google loves.

It’s all part of building a solid foundation for your lead machine. And don’t just stop at text ads; think about the power of incorporating video into your lead generation strategy to really stand out.

The easier it is for you to manage, the better results you’ll get. See? You can totally do this.

Writing Ads That Make Homeowners Call You First

Think of your Google Ad as a three-second sales pitch. That’s all the time you have to convince a homeowner with a problem that you’re the one to call. No pressure, right?

Don’t worry, this is the fun part. The secret isn’t fancy words; it’s about being clear and focusing on what the customer needs right now.

When someone’s basement is flooding, they don’t care about your company’s long history. They want to know two things: can you fix this, and can you fix it now? Your ad has to answer both, instantly. This is how you turn your ads into a true lead machine.

Stop selling your services. Start selling the solution. Homeowners aren’t buying “plumbing”; they’re buying a dry basement and peace of mind. That small change in thinking makes all the difference.

The Before and After of a Great Ad

Let’s look at how a simple change to your ad can get you way more calls. We’ll use an HVAC company as an example.

The “Before” Ad (The one everyone ignores):

• Headline: HVAC Services in Your Town
• Description: We offer AC and furnace repair. Licensed and insured. Call us today for a quote.

Total snooze-fest. It’s generic, boring, and looks just like every other ad. It doesn’t solve a problem. It just sits there.

The “After” Ad (The one that actually gets calls):

• Headline: Fast AC Repair – Same-Day Service!
• Description: Hot? We Fix AC Fast. 24/7 Emergency Service. 5-Star Rated. Call Now For a Cool Home!

See the difference? The second ad talks about the customer’s problem (“Hot?”). It offers an immediate fix (“Same-Day Service”) and builds trust with proof (“5-Star Rated”). This is how you use Google Ads for home services to become the obvious first choice.

Give Your Ads Superpowers with Extensions

Ad extensions are your secret weapon. They make your ads bigger, more noticeable, and a heck of a lot more helpful to customers. Best of all? They’re free little bits of extra info that Google adds to your ad, and they can seriously boost how many people click.

Think of them as extra tools on your tool belt. You won’t need all of them for every job, but they make a huge difference.

Here are the must-haves for any home service business:

• Call Extensions: This puts a clickable phone number right in your ad. On a phone, a customer can call you with one tap. This is a must for lead generation.
• Location Extensions: Shows your business address and a map. This is a huge trust signal that proves you’re a real, local company, which is great for local SEO.
• Sitelink Extensions: These are extra links that point to specific pages on your site, like “Emergency Services” or “See Our Reviews.”
• Callout Extensions: Perfect for shouting out key benefits like “24/7 Service,” “Free Estimates,” or “Family Owned.”

Using extensions is one of the easiest ways to make your ad take up more space on the screen. It pushes your competitors down and makes your business look more professional. It’s a simple trick with a huge payoff.

Remember, the goal is simple: get a click that turns into a call. Every word should be focused on that. We’ve seen how small changes can make a massive difference, and you can see more of our simple approach in Super Simple Ads that are built to just work.

You have everything you need to write ads that get results. Just speak your customer’s language, solve their immediate problem, and use the free tools Google gives you. It really is that simple. You’ve got this.

Designing a Website That Turns Clicks into Calls

So, you’ve made a great ad that’s getting clicks. Awesome. But here’s the honest truth: the best Google Ads for home services campaign in the world is useless if it sends people to a website that’s slow, confusing, or just plain ugly.

Think of your ad as the flashy sign on the highway and your website as your store. If the sign is great but the store is a mess, customers will just drive on by.

Your website design has one job: turn that click into a phone call. That’s it. It’s the final step in turning your ad dollars into a real, booked job.

Your Website Must-Haves for More Leads

You don’t need a fancy, million-dollar website. In fact, simpler is almost always better. You need a clean, fast, and trustworthy website that convinces a visitor to call you in under 10 seconds.

Here are the absolute must-haves for your site to become a lead machine:

• A Big, Bold Phone Number: Put your number at the very top of every single page. Make it so big they can’t miss it, and make sure it’s clickable on a phone.
• A Simple Contact Form: For people who would rather type, have a simple form. Just ask for a Name, Phone Number, and a short message. Don’t make them write a novel.
• Tons of 5-Star Reviews: Nothing builds trust faster than seeing that other real people had a great experience with you. Put those glowing reviews all over the page. This is where your hard work in 5-star review generation pays off.

Your online reputation is everything. A single bad review can scare away a hot lead instantly. It’s smart to know how to remove unfair Google reviews to protect your good name.

To make this super simple, use this checklist. If you can’t check every box, you’re leaving money on the table.

Your High-Converting Website Checklist

Use this simple checklist to make sure your website is ready to turn visitors into booked jobs.

Getting these basics right puts you ahead of 90% of your competition online. It’s not about being fancy; it’s about getting the job done.

The Secret Tool: Call Tracking

Now, let’s talk about a simple tool that feels like a superpower: call tracking. Don’t let the name scare you; it’s super simple. It’s just a special phone number that you put on your website and in your Google Ads.

When a customer clicks your ad and calls that number, the call goes right to your regular business line. But here’s the magic: it tells you exactly which ad and which keyword made your phone ring.

Think of it like this: If you run ads in three different newspapers but only get calls from one, you’d stop paying for the other two, right? Call tracking does the same thing for your Google Ads. It shows you what’s working so you can do more of it and stop wasting money on what isn’t.

This one thing is the key to knowing if your Google Ads are actually making you money. You stop guessing and start making smart decisions. We believe a great website should make you money, not cost you money. You can see our approach to building a lead generation website design for home services contractors that puts these ideas into action.

Tracking Your Results to Make More Money

Running ads without tracking is like driving your truck with the windows painted black. You’re burning gas and spending money, but you have no idea if you’re even on the right road.

It’s time to take off the blindfold. Let’s see exactly where your money is going and what it’s bringing back.

This isn’t about becoming a math whiz or staring at confusing charts. It’s about simple math that answers one question: “Are my ads making me money?” We’ll focus on the only numbers that matter so you can stop guessing and start making smart moves.

The Only Number That Really Matters: Cost Per Lead

Forget clicks. Forget all that other techy-talk. The most important number for you is your Cost Per Lead (CPL).

In plain English, this is how much you have to spend on ads to make your phone ring with a real customer.

Knowing this number is a total game-changer.

If you spend $200 on Google Ads and get 10 phone calls from people who need you, your CPL is $20. Now you can ask the real question: “Is a new lead worth $20 to me?” If one booked job makes you $500 in profit, you’d take that deal all day, every day.

This simple number turns your advertising from an expense into an investment. You’re no longer just “spending” money on ads; you’re buying customer phone calls at a price you can count on. That’s how you build a real lead machine.

Setting Up Tracking The Easy Way

So, how do you find out your Cost Per Lead? You need to tell Google what a “lead” actually is. This is called conversion tracking, and it’s way simpler than it sounds.

A “conversion” is just the most important thing you want a customer to do. For any home service business, that’s usually one of two things:

• A Phone Call: Someone clicks your ad and calls your business.
• A Form Fill: Someone lands on your website and fills out your “Request a Quote” form.

By setting up tracking for these two actions, you connect the dots. Google can now see which keywords and ads are actually making your phone ring. This is the heart of successful lead generation, a topic we cover in more detail right here: what lead generation marketing truly is.

Knowing Your Numbers Is Your Superpower

Once tracking is set up, you can see which parts of your campaign are winners and which are duds.

Maybe your “emergency plumbing” ads are bringing in calls for $15 each, but your “bathroom remodel” ads cost $150 per lead. Now you have the power. You can make a smart choice to put more money into what’s working best.

This is super important because ad costs are always changing. In fact, Google Local Services Ads have seen a 23% year-over-year increase in the average cost per lead. But even with rising costs, the payoff is huge—an incredible 40% of people who call from search ads end up buying something. This shows why knowing your numbers is your ticket to staying ahead. You can discover more insights about these digital advertising trends to stay ahead of the game.

This isn’t complicated stuff. It’s about knowing your numbers so you can make smart choices that grow your business. You can absolutely do this, and if you ever feel stuck, that’s what we’re here for. We can help you set it all up so you can focus on what you do best: running your business.

Time to Build Your Lead Machine

Alright, you made it through the guide. You should be feeling pretty good right about now.

You now have the exact plan for using Google Ads for home services to get more leads than ever before. This isn’t some confusing puzzle; it’s a simple plan that puts you in control of making your phone ring.

Seriously, you can do this yourself. By following the steps we laid out—from picking the right keywords to building a simple website design that turns clicks into customers—you have everything you need to build your own lead machine.

You Can Do This. Or We Can Do It For You.

Think about what you’ve just learned. You now know how to show up right when homeowners need your services. You know how to make your ads stand out and how to set up your website to actually get the leads you’re paying for.

This isn’t rocket science. It’s just a smarter way to grow your business.

But what if you’re busy running crews, dealing with customers, and doing the actual work? What if you’d rather have an expert just handle all this for you so you can focus on your trade?

That’s what we’re here for. We build these exact lead machines for home service businesses every single day. If you’d rather stick to plumbing, HVAC, or roofing, let us handle the marketing.

We can take this entire plan and put it into action for your business—fast. No guesswork. We know what works because we do it over and over, combining powerful Google Ads and Facebook Ads with a sharp focus on local SEO and 5 star review generation.

We’ll build the system that makes your phone ring. All you have to do is answer it and book the job. It really is that simple.

Ready to see what happens when your marketing just works? Let’s talk. We can show you how a real lead machine can change your business, starting today.

Common Questions We Hear All the Time

Let’s cut to the chase. Here are the simple answers to the questions every contractor asks about Google Ads for home services. No confusing talk, just what you need to know.

How Much Money Do I Need to Spend on Ads?

This is the big one, right? The million-dollar question. But there’s no magic number.

Think about it like this: if a new job puts $2,000 profit in your pocket, would you pay $150 to get it? Of course you would. You’d do that all day.

Don’t overthink it. Just start with a budget you’re comfortable with. Even $25 a day is enough to start seeing what works. Your first goal is simple: figure out what it costs to make your phone ring once (your cost per lead).

Once you see you’re putting $1 in and getting $5 back, it’s not an “expense” anymore. It’s a predictable lead machine. From there, you just add more fuel when you want more jobs.

What’s the Difference Between Google Ads and Local SEO?

Good question. They work together, but they’re different tools.

Google Ads is like paying to fish in a fully-stocked pond. You show up, cast your line, and you’ll get bites right away. It’s the fastest way to get leads today.

Local SEO is like building your own private fishing lake. It takes time and effort. You have to build a great reputation with Google by getting 5-star reviews and making sure your website design is set up right. But once you do, you get a steady stream of “free” leads for years.

The winning plan? Do both. Use Google Ads to make the phone ring today while you build your Local SEO foundation to get calls tomorrow, next month, and next year.

Do I Really Need a Fancy Website to Run Ads?

Heck no. In fact, a fancy, complicated website design will probably cost you jobs. Your website has one job and one job only: get the person to call you.

You need a simple, fast website that looks great on a phone. It needs a huge, clickable phone number at the top and your best customer reviews right where people can see them. That’s it.

When a homeowner clicks your ad, they should see your number and why they should trust you in less than five seconds. Focus on being clear and trustworthy, not flashy.

At The Cherubini Company, we take the guesswork out of this stuff. We build simple, powerful systems that combine Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Local SEO, and smart website design to make your phone ring. If you’re ready to stop guessing and start booking more jobs, let’s talk. Find out how we can build your lead machine today.