PPC for contractors: Google Ads and Local Services Ads for home service businesses
Google Ads for contractors, with the wasted clicks cut every week.
Contractor PPC with a person on it: every week we go through the searches your ads showed for and block the ones that were never going to be jobs. Search campaigns and Local Services Ads, starting at $500 a month. Your ad spend is paid to Google, separately.
The Google Ads account stays in your name. Based in Dracut, Massachusetts. We work with businesses across the US, with deep roots in the Merrimack Valley and southern New Hampshire (Salem, Nashua, Manchester).
- Starting at $500 a month, ad spend separate
- 3-month minimum, then month to month
- Your account, in your name
Where does a contractor’s Google Ads budget go to waste?
Mostly on searches that were never going to be jobs, in places you don’t work, with no one counting the calls.
Searches that aren’t jobs
Loose settings let Google show your ad for searches like “how to fix a leaking faucet”, “electrician jobs near me” or “junk removal business for sale”.
Each of those clicks costs you the same as a real customer’s.
Places you don’t serve
An ad that runs across the whole state pays for clicks from towns your trucks never reach.
No one counting
If calls and forms aren’t tracked, nobody can say which ads paid for themselves, so the budget keeps going to the ones that don’t.
Most of what good contractor Google Ads management comes down to is fixing those three things every week, with a person looking, not a setting left on.
What does PPC for contractors include?
Four things are always included in the monthly fee, along with a weekly review by a person and a simple monthly report.
Google Search campaigns
Your ads on the searches you want, like “emergency electrician” or “junk removal near me”, in the towns you serve.
Local Services Ads
The pay-per-lead ads with the Google Verified badge, at the top of many service searches. We manage them beside your Search campaigns.
Search-term cleanup and negative keywords
We read the searches your ads actually showed for and block the ones that aren’t jobs.
Ad copy and extensions
The words in your ads, plus extensions that add your phone number, your services and your towns.
- Every week: a person reviews your account: the searches, the spend, what’s bringing calls and what to cut.
- Every month: a simple report with what you spent, your leads (tracked calls and forms, where tracking is set up), the cost per lead and what we changed.
If your calls and forms aren’t tracked yet, we’ll tell you what’s missing and price setting it up in your setup quote. Anything else, like a landing page, is quoted before we start.
Facebook and Instagram ads, on request. Google Ads is the core of what we do.
Local Services Ads or regular Google Ads: which should a contractor run?
Often both. Local Services Ads charge you per lead and sit at the top of many service searches; regular Google Ads charge per click and let you choose the searches, the words and the page people land on.
| Local Services Ads per lead | Google Search ads per click | |
|---|---|---|
| You pay | Per lead: a call, message or booking | Per click |
| Where they show | The top of Google Search and Google Maps, for service searches | Google Search results, for the searches you choose |
| Who picks the searches | Google, from the services and areas you set | You do; we add the searches you want and block the rest |
| What the ad says | A set format, filled in from your Google Business Profile | Your own words, written for the job |
| Website needed | No: leads come straight to you | Yes: people land on your website |
| To get in | Your trade must be one Google offers, and your business must pass Google’s screening and verification | Open to most businesses |
| Badge | Google Verified | None |
When each makes sense
Google’s own advice is to use Local Services Ads for customers who need a service right now, and regular Google Ads for everyone else, including people still comparing. For most contractors that means Local Services Ads first if your trade qualifies, and Search ads for the jobs you most want, the towns you want more of and the searches Local Services Ads don’t cover. Our local service ads management runs both from the same weekly review, and both go in the same monthly report.
Source: Google Ads Help, “Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals”, read October 26, 2026.
What does Google Ads management cost for a contractor?
Two payments: our management fee, starting at $500 a month, and your ad spend, which is paid to Google and is separate.
The first thing anyone asks about ppc management for contractors is the price, so here it is before the call.
- ManagementStarting at $500 a monthThe fee steps up as your ad spend and the work grow: more services, more towns, more campaigns. You get the number in writing before you start.
- Ad spendPaid to Google, separateWe recommend at least $1,000 a month.
- SetupQuotedIt depends on the account: a new one and one that needs cleaning up take different work.
- Term3-month minimumThen month to month, with 30 days’ notice.
- The accountYoursIn your name. We work in it with manager access.
Trash King, a junk removal company: what its Google Ads leads cost, with the dates
Trash King is a junk removal company in southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts. We rebuilt its Google Ads and launched the new campaigns on January 26, 2026.
The first eight weeks
January 26 to March 22, 2026: 32 tracked calls and forms, at $31.00 each.
The first one came in week one.
Cost per tracked lead, lower is better
Cost per click: $2.27, February 1 to October 21, 2026, against an $8.33 average
These are calls and form fills that Google Ads tracked as leads. They don’t show booked jobs or revenue, and one junk removal account isn’t a promise for yours.
Call counting changed on October 6, 2026: calls now count after 20 seconds, once per caller. The first-eight-weeks figures were counted under the settings of that time. Industry figures: WordStream / LocaliQ 2026 Google Ads Benchmarks, Home and Home Improvement (campaigns April 2025 to March 2026).
Read the Trash King case studySee Google Ads for junk removal
How does it start?
With a call, a look at your account and a written quote, before anything runs.
A call
Tell us your trade, your towns and the jobs you want more of.
A look at what you have
If you already run ads, we review the account and the searches it’s paying for, and tell you what we’d change first. If you don’t, we look at your trade and your towns.
A written quote
The monthly fee, the setup quote and the ad spend we’d recommend, in writing.
Access, not ownership
You add us to your Google Ads account as a manager. The account stays in your name.
Live, then every week
The campaigns go live, a person reviews them every week, and your first monthly report comes after the first month.
Five things to check before you hire anyone to run your contractor Google Ads
Before you hire any agency for Google Ads, check these five things. Here is how we meet each one.
Proof from work like yours
Our Ads numbers come from Trash King, a junk removal company, with the dates and their limit beside them. Ask us what we’ve run in your trade.
Fees separate from ad spend
Google Ads management starts at $500 a month. Your ad spend is paid to Google, not to us.
Reports on calls, not just clicks
A simple monthly report: spend, tracked calls and forms, cost per lead and what we changed.
You own the account
Your Google Ads account stays in your name. We work in it with manager access, and it stays yours if you leave.
Prices and terms you can see
Starting at $500 a month, at least $1,000 a month recommended in ad spend, setup quoted, and a 3-month minimum, then month to month with 30 days’ notice.
Questions contractors ask about Google Ads
Cost and terms
How much does Google Ads management cost for a contractor?
Starting at $500 a month for management. The fee steps up with your ad spend and the work involved, and you get the number in writing before you start. Ad spend is paid to Google and is separate.
How much should a contractor spend on Google Ads?
We recommend at least $1,000 a month in ad spend, paid to Google. More towns, more services or a busier market may call for more, and we’ll say so in the quote.
Is there a contract?
Yes, a short one: a 3-month minimum, then month to month. To stop, give us 30 days’ notice. Your Google Ads account stays yours either way.
Is there a setup fee?
Setup is quoted, because it depends on the account. A brand-new account and one that needs cleaning up take different amounts of work.
Results and reports
How soon will Google Ads bring calls?
No one can promise a date: it depends on your trade, your towns, your budget and your account. One dated example: after we relaunched Trash King’s Google Ads on January 26, 2026, its first tracked lead came in week one, and the first eight weeks brought 32 tracked calls and forms at $31.00 each. That’s one junk removal account, not a promise for yours.
Will I get calls, or just clicks?
We report tracked calls and forms, not clicks alone. Whether a call became a booked job lives in your records, so we don’t claim it.
How do you stop spam and junk leads from Google Ads?
Mostly by cutting off the searches they come from. Search-term cleanup and negative keywords are part of the monthly fee: we read the searches your ads showed for and block the ones that aren’t jobs, and a person reviews your account every week. No one can stop every junk call, and we won’t claim to.
What’s in the monthly report?
What you spent, your leads (tracked calls and forms, where tracking is set up), the cost per lead and what we changed that month.
Can you guarantee leads or the top spot?
No. No one can guarantee calls, leads or a position on Google, and we won’t.
Choosing your ads
Should a contractor run Local Services Ads or regular Google Ads?
Often both. Local Services Ads charge per lead and need your business to pass Google’s screening; regular Google Ads charge per click and let you choose the searches, the words and the page people land on. Start with Local Services Ads if your trade qualifies, and add Search ads for the jobs and towns you want more of.
Is my trade eligible for Local Services Ads?
It depends on your trade and where you work. Google offers Local Services Ads only for certain service categories and countries, and every business has to pass Google’s screening and verification. Tell us your trade and towns and we’ll check it with you. If your trade doesn’t qualify, regular Google Ads still can.
Are Local Services Ads changing in 2026?
Yes. Google is moving them into Google Ads, as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. Google’s help pages say the move began in August 2026 for some US home and storefront service businesses and widens to service-area businesses in late 2026. They still show only on Search and Maps, and you still pay per valid lead.
Do you manage Local Services Ads?
Yes. Local service ads management is part of the starting price, beside your Search campaigns. Your business still has to pass Google’s screening and verification to run them.
What’s the difference between SEO and Google Ads for a contractor?
Google Ads put you at the top of the results for the searches you pay for, and they stop when the budget stops. SEO is the work that gets your website and Google profile found in the regular results; it builds more slowly and keeps working. Most owners need both over time, so start where your budget allows. We quote SEO separately, after we look at your market.
Working with us
Who owns the Google Ads account?
You do. The account stays in your name. We work in it with manager access, and it stays yours if you leave.
Who works on my account?
A person reviews every account every week. When you get in touch, you talk with Max Kelley, our founder, about your business.
Do you do PPC for contractors in every trade?
We work with contractors and home service businesses, and the Ads results on this page are from a junk removal company. Tell us your trade and your towns, and we’ll tell you what we’d do first. If we already run ads for a business that competes with you in the same towns, we’ll tell you on the first call.
Do you run Facebook and Instagram ads?
On request. Google Ads is the core of what we do, and we can add Facebook and Instagram ads if you ask. We don’t offer TikTok or LinkedIn ads.
Tell us your trade and your towns. We’ll tell you what we’d do first.
- Starting at $500 a month, ad spend separate
- 3-month minimum, then month to month
- Your account, in your name
The Trash King case studyGoogle Ads for junk removalGoogle Ads for HVAC companiesA website built for callsAll the trades we serve