Google Ads, Google Partner
Google Ads and PPC for Contractors
PPC for contractors, built around estimate requests instead of DIY clicks: contractor Google Ads on job-intent keywords, Local Services Ads where your trade qualifies, and every call tracked.
From $750 a month, month to month, no setup fees. See all plans
Overview
How Google Ads works for contractors
PPC for contractors means paying Google when someone clicks your ad after searching for the work you do: a new driveway, a kitchen remodel, a roof, a foundation repair. The catch is that most people typing those words are not hiring anyone. Some want a cost calculator. Some want a job. Some are pricing materials at the hardware store. Contractor Google Ads is a filtering job first and a bidding job second: decide which searches mean a real job, bid on those, and block the rest before they spend a dollar.
We run this today for a concrete contractor in Palm Springs. The search campaigns are built around service lines, driveways, patios, foundations and commercial work, with negative keywords set from day one and every call and form tracked as a conversion. The account has produced 48+ estimate requests at an 11.40% conversion rate, on keywords chosen for estimate intent, not volume. The report is on the Belcrete case study with only the cost figures covered. Greenflow is a current Google Partner. If you want the same discipline on your account, book a free strategy call and we will look at your Google Ads account with you.
A real contractor account
Belcrete Concrete Services: real Google Ads results
We restructured a Palm Springs concrete contractor's search campaigns around service lines and estimate-intent keywords, with calls and forms tracked as conversions.
- Estimate requestsMar 21 to Jun 18, 2026
- 48+
- Conversion rateMar 21 to Jun 18, 2026
- 11.40%
How we run it
What changes for contractors
Structure that follows the budget
A small repair and a large commercial job can come from the same broad keyword. When the budget supports it, each service line gets its own campaign, budget and ads, which is how the Belcrete account is built. When it does not, the services share one campaign with an ad group each, so Google's bidding still gets enough conversions to learn from.
Negatives against DIY, supplies and job seekers
Searches like concrete calculator, how to pour a slab, concrete jobs and bagged concrete look like your keywords and never turn into an estimate. We build the negative keyword list before launch and mine the search terms report every week, so those clicks stop before they get expensive.
One campaign for your service area
A single campaign can cover a city or a whole region, with location targeting set to the places your crew will actually drive to. We never split an account by zip code or neighborhood; that only fragments the budget and the data. A second market gets its own campaign only when it is truly different, with its own budget and landing pages.
Calls tracked, with a duration filter
Contractor customers phone. If the platform only sees form fills, it optimizes on the minority who type. We track calls as conversions with a minimum duration, so a wrong number or a quick hangup does not count, and budget moves toward the campaigns producing real estimate conversations.
The details
What contractor PPC needs to work
Tracking comes before everything else
A campaign cannot be judged, or improved, until real leads are measured. For a contractor, real leads are phone calls and estimate forms. We track calls from the ads and from the website with a minimum call length, so a wrong number does not count, and every estimate form is its own conversion.
Taps on a call button, direction requests from your Business Profile and page views are not leads, and we never let them steer the budget. Count the wrong thing and Google's bidding learns to buy the cheapest clicks instead of the best jobs.
Local Services Ads vs Search ads
Local Services Ads sit above every other result, charge per lead instead of per click and carry the Google Guaranteed badge. They are open to a list of trades, roofers, plumbers, HVAC and electricians among them, and you do not choose keywords: Google matches you to searches for your trade in your area.
Search ads are where you choose the exact jobs and words you pay for, a stamped patio, a foundation repair, an ADU, and write an ad and a landing page for each. Performance Max reaches the same buyers across Google's other placements from the same account. Where your trade qualifies, Local Services Ads belongs next to Search and Performance Max, not after them. See Local Services Ads management and our LSA cost guide.
Negative keywords for job seekers and DIY searches
Every contractor keyword has look-alikes that never become an estimate. Job seekers add jobs, hiring, salary, apprenticeship or license to the trade. DIY searchers add how to, calculator or tutorial. Supply shoppers add materials, wholesale or the name of a hardware store.
We block those groups from day one, before the first dollar is spent, then read the search terms report every week and add the new variations that show up. On a contractor account this list does more for the cost per estimate than any bid change.
A landing page for each service
A click on a driveway ad should land on a driveway page with a short estimate form, a click-to-call number and your reviews, not on a homepage that makes the visitor hunt. A page for each service beats a one-page site. If your site is still one page, we keep Google's final URL expansion off so Performance Max cannot send people somewhere you did not choose. Our website design team builds these pages when a site needs them.
What to budget for contractor Google Ads
Our management starts at $750 a month on the Starter plan, Google Search ads for one location. The Growth plan, $1,200 a month, adds Performance Max and Local Services Ads where your trade qualifies. Ad spend is separate and paid to Google from your own billing. Most of our clients start between $1,000 and $3,000 a month in ad spend, and contractor clicks sit at the higher end.
The useful test is conversions, not budget alone. A campaign needs roughly 30 conversions a month for Google's bidding to learn, so a smaller budget stays in one campaign, and the account splits by service line only once each piece can carry that on its own. The budget guide walks through the math.
What we are seeing in Google Ads this month
Updated
- Google changes how and when Local Services Ads charge for call leads on October 1, 2026. If you run LSAs, review your lead disputes before the switch.
- Mr. Birria's Google Ads have brought 10,800+ store visits and 1,500+ phone leads. Local campaigns and catering lead forms do most of the work.
- Belcrete's contractor campaign turned 11.40% of clicks into estimate requests, on job-value keywords with a tight negative list. Fewer clicks, better jobs.
How much does Google Ads management cost?
Google Ads plans start at $750 a month, month to month. Growth adds Performance Max and Local Services Ads where your category qualifies, and your ad budget is paid directly to Google, separate from our fee.
Growth
$1,200/ monthly
Search plus Performance Max and Local Services Ads, for businesses ready to cover more of Google.
- Everything in Starter
- Performance Max across Search, Maps, YouTube, Display and Gmail
- Local Services Ads, where your category qualifies
- Remarketing to people who visited but did not call
- More service areas and campaigns as you grow
Combine two or more monthly plans (Google Ads, Meta Ads or SEO) and save 10% on each monthly fee.
See bundle pricingGood to know
- Your ad budget is paid directly to Google and Meta from your own billing. You set it, you control it, and it never passes through us.
- Scale starts at $3,500 a month and is sized to your ad budget. We give you a firm number on the free strategy call.
No long-term contracts
Marketing plans are month to month. We earn your trust through results, not lock-in.
Free strategy call before we start
We look at your account with you and share a clear plan upfront.
No setup fees
Your monthly plan is the price. Anything optional is quoted upfront.
FAQ
Google Ads for contractors: questions we get
What is PPC for contractors?
PPC, pay per click, means you pay only when someone clicks your ad. For contractors it mostly means Google Ads: Search ads on the jobs you do, Performance Max across Google's other placements, and Local Services Ads where your trade qualifies, which charge per lead instead of per click. Done well, contractor PPC fills the estimate calendar with people ready to hire. Done loosely, it pays for DIY research and job hunters, which is why our Google Ads management starts with tracking and negative keywords.
How much does Google Ads cost for a contractor?
Our Google Ads management starts at $750 a month, month to month, with no setup fees and no contract. Ad spend is separate and paid directly to Google from your own billing. Most of our clients start between $1,000 and $3,000 per month in ad spend; contractor click prices sit at the higher end, so we size the budget to your city and to how many estimates your crew can run. Every plan is on the pricing page.
Should I run Local Services Ads or Google Search ads?
Both, if your trade is eligible. Local Services Ads sit above the regular ads, charge per lead instead of per click, and carry the Google Guaranteed badge. Search ads catch the specific searches you choose, like a stamped patio or a foundation repair. Local Services Ads management is included in our Google Ads Growth plan, $1,200 a month, wherever your trade qualifies, so there is no separate LSA fee. See Local Services Ads.
How fast will I see estimate requests?
Search ads start showing the day they go live. The first month is about data: which service lines get searched, which keywords produce calls, and which search terms need to be blocked. Google's bidding also needs conversions to learn from, roughly 30 a month for a campaign, so results build as the data does. Anyone promising a full calendar in week one is guessing.
Should I pause my ads in the slow season?
That is your call, but know the trade-off. Google's bidding learns from the conversions and search terms a campaign collects, and a paused campaign collects none, so it comes back with less to go on. Lowering the budget while keeping the highest-intent keywords running is the alternative to weigh against a full pause, and your own account history shows which months still produced estimates.
Do you have real results from a contractor account?
Yes. Our Belcrete Concrete case study shows the Google Ads overview from the client's own account: 48+ estimate requests at an 11.40% conversion rate. The screenshot is real, with only the cost figures covered. We would rather show you a report than a promise, and the same standard applies to every case study on the site.
What is the first step?
Book a free strategy call. We look at your account with you, or at your market if you have never run ads, and tell you what we would change: keyword themes, negatives, tracking and budget. There is no obligation. If it makes sense to work together, we start month to month with no setup fees, as a San Diego PPC agency that works directly with the owner.
Make your Google Ads pay for themselves
Book a free strategy call with the founder. We will size the budget for your market honestly and show you what the first 90 days look like.