Topic
Paid Ads
Meta and Google ads for trades: what actually converts, what homeowner targeting removal changed, and why campaigns stop working.
35 articles · browse the full archive
GrowthBing Ads vs Google Ads for a Local Business
Bing holds 1.81% of US mobile search but 12.82% of desktop. Here is when Microsoft Ads beats Google for a local business, and the settings that waste it.
16 min
GrowthFacebook Ads Getting Leads but No Customers? Fix It
Facebook leads that never buy usually break at one of six stages. Meta's own data shows 21% cheaper quality leads with CRM feedback. Here is how to find yours.
16 min
GrowthGoogle Ads Fake Leads and Foreign Clicks: 7 Fixes
Google's filters stop at the click. Fake form fills are yours to fix, and bidding to raw form submits teaches Google to find more of them. Fixes in order.
16 min
GrowthIs Google Ads Worth It on a Small Budget? The Math
At the 2026 home services average of $8.33 a click, $300 a month buys about 36 clicks and 3 leads. Here is how to tell if your budget can prove anything.
17 min
Lead GenerationMeta Lead Form vs Landing Page: Which Books Jobs
In a 630-lead test, Meta instant forms cost $2.04 a lead vs $3.77 for a landing page. WordStream's data said the reverse. Here is how to pick by booked jobs.
16 min
GrowthShould I Let a Google Ads Rep Optimize My Account?
No, not with edit access. Google's own help page says rep changes made during consultations may not appear in change history. Take the list, test one thing.
16 min
GrowthWhy Is My Google Ads Cost Per Click So High?
Home services clicks average $7.85, but one uncapped click can cost $335. How Google prices a click, the 5 causes of high CPC, and how to cap it yourself.
16 min
Lead GenerationAre Door Hangers Worth It for Contractors: 3 Tests
The same 100 door hangers produce one $8k job or zero calls. Three questions decide which, and they have nothing to do with your design.
16 min
GrowthShould Contractors Use Broad Match in Google Ads
Broad match only works for contractors past four gates, and Google's own recommendation card still cites September 2020 data. Run this test first.
17 min
Lead GenerationAre Vehicle Wraps Worth It? The Honest Math
Wrap shops promise 62 customers a year from one van. The math does not hold. What a wrap really buys you, and the 5 tests that decide it.
16 min
Lead GenerationIs Direct Mail Worth It for Home Services? 5 Tests
Cost per booked job from mail runs $62 to $400, and only two numbers move it. The arithmetic that decides direct mail before you spend a dollar.
17 min
GrowthWhy Did My Google Ads Stop Working? 4 Causes
Ads that die overnight fail in four different ways, and the fix for each one is opposite. Compare your click drop to your lead drop and you know which you have.
17 min
Lead GenerationBest Time to Advertise Garage Door: Two Calendars
Garage door search CPL fell 27% from January to April 2026 while LSA CPL rose 28%. Your two paid channels have opposite calendars. Here is how to spend.
16 min
GrowthBest Time of Year to Advertise Pest Control: Q1
Rollins books 21.9% of revenue in Q1 and 27.3% in Q3. Demand swings 1.25x across the year. Clicks swing far harder. Buy the cheap quarter.
16 min
Lead GenerationGarage Door Facebook Ad Targeting: 2026 Fix
Meta removed homeowner targeting and on 15 January 2026 stopped ads using old interests. Only 66% of US homes have a garage: target those, by build year.
16 min
Lead GenerationGarage Door Facebook Ads: $35 Leads vs $173 Google
Meta garage door leads cost $25 to $45 against $173 on Google, so a $35 lead must book 7.4% of the time to pay off. The two jobs Facebook ads actually win.
16 min
Lead GenerationPest Control Meta Ads That Actually Work: Buy Q1
Meta CPMs run 10 to 25% below average in Q1 and 15 to 40% above in Q4. Pest control spends backwards. Here is the corrected buy, with operator numbers.
16 min
GrowthBest Time to Advertise Solar (Not Spring)
Homeowners working with installers surged 205% in late 2025, borrowing 2026 demand. Why the old solar ad calendar describes a market that already pre-bought.
7 min
Lead GenerationBest Time to Advertise Electrical (May, Not July)
Electrical is the flattest trade measured: 20-34% swing on routine searches. The two windows worth concentrating spend on are May and December, not July.
16 min
Lead GenerationBest Time of Year to Advertise Landscaping
Advertise landscaping before each service window, not by a generic calendar. Use frost, turf, search, and capacity triggers to time every campaign.
13 min
Lead GenerationBest Time to Advertise Plumbing: The 0.16% Trap
Frozen pipe searches are 0.16% of plumbing demand, and two years of data put the peak in a different month each year. What to spend against instead.
15 min
Lead GenerationBest Time to Advertise Restoration: Oct and Feb
NOAA's 47-year disaster record shows restoration storm exposure running 11x higher in May than November. Buy attention in October and February.
16 min
Lead GenerationElectrical Meta Ads That Actually Work (3 Jobs)
Electrical is the one trade where Meta is not the cheap channel. Search leads cost $39. Meta leads cost $45 to $110. Here is what Meta can still do.
16 min
Lead GenerationLandscaping Meta Ads That Work: The Route Rule
Landscaping Meta leads cost $58.56. A five-year contract is worth $3,300. The lead price was never the problem. The coordinates are. Here is the math.
17 min
Lead GenerationPlumbing Meta Ads That Actually Work (4 Rules)
The median plumbing shop can afford $68 per lead. Meta plumbing leads cost $34 to $58 and convert worse. Here is the ticket math that decides it.
17 min
Lead GenerationRestoration Facebook Ads: Why Emergency Ads Fail
Only 5 homes in 100,000 have a water or fire loss on a given day, so emergency Facebook ads fail. Restoration Meta ads win on rebuilds, referrals, hiring.
16 min
Lead GenerationSolar Facebook Ads That Work in 2026: Lease Rules
65% of 2026 solar sales are leases or PPAs, which forces Meta's financial ad category: no ZIP targeting, a 15 mile minimum radius. How solar ads work now.
16 min
Lead GenerationBest Time to Advertise Roofing: Winter, Not Spring
Roofing search volume swings only 20% across the year, but blended ad cost swings 30%. December and January buy the most urgent roofing buyers per dollar.
15 min
Lead GenerationBest Time to Advertise Security Alarm: January
Meta clicks cost $1.32 in November and $0.85 in January. Here is the security alarm ad calendar built on real demand triggers, not the summer burglary myth.
18 min
Lead GenerationRoofing Facebook Ads 2026: Real Cost Per Lead
Roofing Meta ads cost $40 to $80 per lead, but only about half are qualified, so double the sticker price. What works in 2026: sell the inspection first.
16 min
Lead GenerationSecurity Alarm Meta Ads That Actually Work
Only 5% of non-users want professional monitoring next year. That single number explains why alarm Meta ads fail, and where the 5% that work actually run.
17 min
Lead GenerationBest Time to Advertise HVAC (It Isn't July)
October is the busiest month in HVAC, not July. Which makes October one of the worst months to buy leads, and the reason most HVAC ad calendars are inverted.
11 min
Lead GenerationGoogle Local Services Ads for Contractors (2026)
$40 to $80 per lead against $149 for regular search, a 20-35% close rate, and only 19% of home service businesses use it. The economics and the catch.
12 min
Lead GenerationHVAC Facebook Ads: Homeowner Targeting Is Gone
Meta removed homeowner targeting for fair housing compliance, and on 15 January 2026 ad sets still using removed options stopped delivering. What replaces it.
12 min
Lead GenerationHVAC Meta Ads That Actually Work (2026 Data)
Nobody opens Instagram looking for a furnace. That single fact decides everything about how HVAC Meta ads have to be built, and why most of them fail.
11 min