Are Google Ads worth it for contractors?

Why search ads suit contractors

Someone typing roof leak repair or electrical panel upgrade has a problem and is choosing who to call. Search ads let you appear for exactly those searches, only in the areas you serve and only during the hours you choose. Call assets add a call button, so a customer on a phone can reach you in one tap, and Google charges that tap the same as a click on the ad's headline.

Unlike most advertising, it can be measured closely. Google Ads can count calls from ads that last longer than a minimum duration you set, form submissions on your site, and, through offline conversion imports or enhanced conversions for leads, the jobs that actually closed in your office.

The break-even test

Before calling ads worth it or not, write down three numbers from last month: what you spent with Google and on management, how many jobs came from ads, and the gross profit on those jobs. If profit beats cost, ads are working, even when the cost per lead looks high. If it doesn't, the cause usually sits in one of the leaks below rather than in Google Ads as a channel.

Big-ticket work changes the math. A remodeler or roofer may need only one or two signed jobs a month to cover the spend, while a handyman with small tickets needs many more. Long sales cycles matter too: a job quoted in March and signed in May still came from the ad, which is why tracking has to reach past the first phone call.

Where contractors lose money

When contractor ads lose money, the cause is usually one or more of these leaks, and each one can be fixed inside the account.

• Searches that aren't customers. Broad match, Google's default, can show ads on related searches such as job listings, supplies or do-it-yourself questions. Review the search terms report weekly at first and add negative keywords.
• The wrong location setting. Google's default reaches people in, regularly in, or interested in your area. Contractors usually want Presence, which limits ads to people in or regularly in the places you serve.
• Ads running when nobody answers. Campaigns show all day by default, so schedule ads and the call asset for the hours someone picks up.
• One campaign for everything. Mixing small repairs with full replacements hides which work pays. Separate services that differ in value.
• Clicks sent to the home page. A page for the specific service, with the phone number at the top on a phone, gives the searcher what they asked for.
• No conversion tracking. Without it, Smart Bidding has nothing to aim at and you can't tell good keywords from bad ones.

When ads aren't worth it right now

Sometimes the honest answer is to wait. Ads amplify the business you have, including its gaps.

• You are booked out for months and can't take on more work.
• No one reliably answers the phone during business hours.
• Your service area is tiny. Google warns that a very small radius target may show ads only intermittently or not at all.
• Your website makes calling or requesting a quote hard on a phone.
• Job values are low and most work already comes from repeat customers who have your number.

Michigan seasons and contractor ads

Michigan's seasons shape contractor demand. Roofing, concrete, paving and exterior work cluster in the warm months, while furnace repair, frozen pipes and snow work peak in winter. Ads can follow that rhythm: raise budgets when your phone should be ringing, scale back on off-season services, and use slow months to fix tracking and landing pages.

We manage Google Ads for Michigan contractors and trades on a flat monthly fee, never a percentage of spend, with a recommended minimum ad budget of $1,200 a month paid directly to Google. You own the account. The free 30-minute call with Nick is a good place to run the break-even math on your own numbers.

Keep reading

• Why are my Google Ads not getting calls?
• How much should I spend on Google Ads per month?
• How should Michigan contractors market in the winter?
• Google Ads management from Modern Apex