How Google Ads Work for Plumbing Businesses

Key Takeaways:

• Google Ads can cost between $300 and $7,000/month, depending on the type of ad campaign
• Local Services Ads (LSAs) generate $45-$85 per lead and have the highest conversion rate
• A Click-Through Rate (CTR) between 4.5% and 7% for Search Ads is considered a healthy benchmark
  Tracking KPIs like CTR, Cost-Per-Lead (CPL), and the Close Rate can tell you if your ad campaign is doing good

Plumbers can and should use a variety of marketing strategies to increase their clientele and gain more market visibility. Among them, Google Ads are the most effective marketing channel when it comes to acquiring new customers fast.

They also require the least time invested and can be quite cheap, depending on the type of ads you opt for. This is great news for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs), which are already finding new ways to optimize their resource spending, including using AI automation in areas like customer support and administrative task management.

But what type of Google ads are there and which should you use throughout your business’s development cycle?

What Google Ads Can Plumbers Use?

Google Ads are as vital to a business’s market reach as are management tools to its operational functioning. There are three types of Google Ads that you can use as a growing plumbing business:

Local Services Ads (LSAs)

LSAs are pay-per-lead (PPL), which means you only pay whenever a client messages or calls you through that ad. The thing that makes LSAs so appealing to SMBs is the Google Guaranteed Badge that comes with them. The badge guarantees the business’s license, insurance coverage, and a background verification process, which establishes the business as legitimate.

Because you’re only paying per contact, LSAs are a great choice for smaller plumbing businesses with tight budgets. 

Typical Monthly Cost: $800-$2,000

LSAs will generate around $45-$85 per lead, which makes them the most cost-effective option on the list. Plus, the PPL system is more advantageous from a lead generation perspective. Not all messages or calls will convert to actual jobs, but the chances of it happening are higher than pay-per-click ads (PPC).

Search Ads

Search Ads are the text ads that Google displays at the top of its Search Engine Results Page (SERPs) and function on a pay-per-click system – you pay every time someone clicks the ad, whether they end up contacting you or not.

Search Ads require more careful management, because your business will rank based on specific keywords, each with different costs and market impact. This means Search Ads are better-suited for more established businesses that seek to increase their local exposure and have the budget to support it.

Typical Monthly Cost: $3,000-$7,000

The median monthly cost is around $5,000, depending on the keywords being used. The idea is that you will pay based on the specific keywords you want listed. Standard local keywords like “plumbing services near me” or “plumber repair service” can go for $8-$15 per click, while emergency keywords like “urgent plumbing repair” can go as high as $30-$50 per click.

Because the costs can ramp up fast, it’s important to make the most of it. Make sure that the ad leads to a dedicated landing page, instead of a generic homepage, because this increases the conversion rate.

Display Ads

Display ads are pretty much optional and only employed by businesses that want an extra visibility and market impact. These are businesses with an already solid market presence. Display ads are an optional channel for increased brand visibility and appear as banners on third-party websites.

Display ads have a low conversion and click-through rates by design; their real purpose, aside from an extra visibility push, is to target people who’ve already checked your website, but didn’t end up contacting you.

Typical Monthly Cost: $300-$1,000

You’ll be paying around $0.50-$3 per click, which is considerably cheaper than Search Ads and LSAs. Since these have little impact on your actual lead conversion rate, you should spend your resources on the previous two ad types and only consider Display Ads once you’ve already built a solid online market presence.

[CTA_INSERT]

How to Tell Whether Your Google Ads Campaign Works 

Since Google Ads can eat up a considerable chunk of your marketing budget, you need to make sure they’re worth it. 

Here are some of the metrics to track to determine whether your Google Ads campaign is doing good:

We cannot overstate the importance of tracking the campaign’s progression and performance, because looks can be deceiving. Just because your Cost-Per-Lead (CPL) is low and you get a lot of leads doesn’t mean that the campaign is successful.

LSAs only track people who’ve contacted you through that specific ad, not whether they’ve turned into actual paying customers; because many of them don’t. This is why you need to assess multiple performance metrics to make sure your ad campaign is a success.

How to Cut the Cost Per Lead For Plumbing Businesses

The average monthly spend cost per lead from ads is $5,000 or $333 per paying customer. Depending on your business’s size and resources, these may be numbers you can’t really afford consistently.

The following strategies can help you bring those costs down:

• Build a solid list of negative keywords: Start with 80+ negative keywords, divided by factors like geographical targeting and service type (emergency services, drain cleaning, general plumbing, water heater installation, etc.)
• Build dedicated landing pages: Each landing page should correspond to a specific service. This structure especially works great for high-volume services like emergency, drain cleaning, and water heater. 
• Track your KPIs: Track KPIs like over-the-phone lead conversion rates, which help you determine the true cost per lead from your ads and form submissions, which increase as your with your ad campaign’s effectiveness.

It’s also important to note that any marketing campaign, whether it’s Google Ads, on-field marketing, social media hooks, and so on, needs ongoing adjustments and optimization. This is why it’s critical to track your campaign’s performance to make sure you reach your goals fast.

FAQ

How much do Google Ads cost for plumbing businesses?

Google Ads cost between $300 and $7,000+ per month, depending on the type of ad campaign itself and your business’s scope and resources. Display Ads are the cheaper, starting at $300 per month, but they have the lowest lead generation potential, while Local Services Ads (LSAs) fall in the middle, between $800 and $2,000 and have the best cost per lead.

What’s a good cost per lead for plumbing Google Ads?

LSAs can generate between $45 and $85 per lead, which is the most cost-effective option, while Search Ads sit at $40-$80 per lead, but have a historically lower conversion rate. 

What’s the best Google Ad campaign for plumbing businesses?

LSAs should be your starting point because they function based on a pay-per-lead system (PPL), meaning you only pay for people who’ve contacted you through that ad. You also get Google’s Guaranteed Badge in the package, increasing your business’s brand trust factor.

What keywords should plumbers use for Google Ads?

As a plumbing business, you should target keywords related to your services and location, like “plumbing services near me”, “plumbing services in California”, or “urgent plumbing repair”. The latter is an emergency-related keyword, and emergency keywords are more expensive, so you need to adjust your ad campaign with that in mind.

How to tell if your plumbing Google Ad campaign is working?

To assess the effectiveness of your Google Ad campaign, you should track metrics like Click-Through Rate (CTR), Cost Per Lead (CPL), and Return On Ad Spend (ROAS). Tracking several metrics at once gives you a more informed idea of how your ad campaign is doing, compared to assessing the lead volume alone.

How long does it take for plumbing businesses to see results from their Google Ads?

There’s no minimum timeframe by which Google Ads will start to show visible results, but it’s sooner than SEO-related organic searches, which typically target a 6-12-month window. Google Ads push for fast market exposure, so you should see results considerably faster than 6 months.

How can plumbers lower their cost per lead for Google Ads?

You can lower your cost per lead by using a solid database of negative keywords, having dedicated landing pages for different services, and tracking your campaign’s performance to know when and what to adjust.