Digital Advertising

1. 1

   Set goals and a budget

   Decide what you want from ads, such as calls, booked estimates or online sales. Then work out what a new customer is worth to you, using your average job size and profit, and what you can afford to pay for one.

   Start with a monthly budget you can lose without hurting the business while you test. Write down the goal, the budget and the most you will pay per lead. Give a test enough time and spend to learn something before you judge it. Ask your accountant how ad costs fit your tax picture.

   • Pick one goal such as calls or bookings
   • Work out what a customer is worth
   • Set a monthly test budget
   • Write down your top cost per lead
2. 2

   Own the ad accounts

   Open every ad account, such as Google Ads and Meta Ads Manager, under a business email you control and with your own payment method. Give your agency or helper access as a user or partner, not ownership.

   When an agency owns the account, you can lose the history, the tracking setup and the audiences you paid to build. Turn on two-step login, keep a list of who has access and remove people when they leave. Ask for access to the analytics and call tracking too, so the data stays with the business.

   • Open ad accounts with your business email
   • Pay with your own business card
   • Give helpers user access, not ownership
   • Keep your analytics and tracking access
3. 3

   Pick the right platforms

   Run ads where buyers already search or scroll. When people search for your service with intent to buy, such as emergency furnace repair, search and map ads often fit best. When you need people to know your name before they need you, social ads can fit.

   Start with one platform, learn it and add a second only when the first brings leads at a cost you accept. Look at Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising for Bing, and Meta for Facebook and Instagram. Apple also sells ads in Apple Maps to businesses that have claimed their location. Some service businesses also qualify for Google Local Services Ads, which require a screening process.

   • Match the platform to how buyers shop
   • Start with one platform
   • Check if Local Services Ads fit your trade
   • Add a second platform only after results
4. 4

   Search and map ads

   Build search ads around the exact services you sell and the towns you serve. Group keywords by service, write ads that match each group and send each group to the matching page on your site.

   Set your location targeting to your real service area. Add negative keywords to block searches you do not want, such as jobs, no cost or do it yourself. Link your Google Business Profile so your address and reviews can show with your ads on Google Maps. Turn on call ads or call assets during the hours someone can answer the phone.

   • Group keywords by service
   • Target only your real service area
   • Add negative keywords like jobs and DIY
   • Link your Google Business Profile
5. 5

   Social media ads

   Use social ads to reach people in your area before they need you, and to remind people who visited your site. Pick a clear audience by location and interest, use real photos of your work and give one simple next step.

   Install the platform's tracking pixel on your website so you can count leads and build retargeting lists. Run a lead form or send people to a landing page made for that ad. Housing, employment, credit and some other ad types fall under special rules on Meta, so check the platform's ad policies before you launch.

   • Target by location and interest
   • Use real photos of your work
   • Install the tracking pixel on your site
   • Check special ad category rules
6. 6

   Honest ads and landing pages

   Make every ad claim true and provable. Do not promise results you cannot back up, use fake urgency or show a price you will not honor. The Federal Trade Commission and your state attorney general enforce truth in advertising, and ad platforms remove ads that break their policies.

   Send each ad to a landing page that matches it. Repeat the offer, show your license where it applies, add real reviews and photos and make the phone number and form easy to use on a phone. Keep the page fast and focused on one action.

   • Make every claim true and provable
   • Match the landing page to the ad
   • Show reviews, photos and your license
   • Keep one clear action on the page
7. 7

   Track calls, forms and cost

   Track every lead an ad brings in. Set up conversion tracking in each ad platform for form fills and calls, and use call tracking numbers so you know which ad made the phone ring. Add tracking tags, called UTM tags, to the links in your ads so your analytics can show where visits came from.

   Then match leads to booked jobs in a spreadsheet or CRM. Divide what you spent by the number of leads and by the number of jobs. That cost per lead and cost per job tells you far more than clicks or views.

   • Set up conversion tracking for forms
   • Use call tracking numbers on ads
   • Add UTM tags to every ad link
   • Match leads to booked jobs monthly
8. 8

   Review and adjust monthly

   Set a monthly time to review your ads. Look at spend, leads, booked jobs, cost per lead and cost per job for each campaign, and compare them to the limits you set.

   Move money toward what brings paying work and pause what does not. Read the search terms report and add negative keywords for wasted searches. Test one new ad or landing page change at a time so you know what made the difference. Keep a short log of each change and its date so you can track cause and effect later.

   • Review spend and results each month
   • Shift budget to what books jobs
   • Add negative keywords from search terms
   • Change one thing at a time and log it

General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. See the Disclaimer.