Google Ads for Local Service Businesses: The Lead-Gen Playbook

Roofing, plumbing, pest control, restoration: how I turn local searches into booked jobs, including $30 patient leads for a laser clinic.

How much should a local service business spend on Google Ads?

Enough to sustain real click volume on commercial terms inside your service area. A small budget spread across every service and a wide radius produces no usable data; the same budget concentrated usually produces leads.

Should local campaigns use broad match keywords?

Rarely without a mature negative list. Service categories carry a large and predictable research vocabulary, so broad match without exclusions mostly buys clicks from people who will never book.

What conversion action should a service business track?

Validated form submissions and tracked phone calls. Not contact page views, which produce a number with no relationship to how many people actually got in touch.

How wide should the geographic radius be?

The realistic catchment for a first appointment, which is usually tighter than owners expect. People will travel for an established relationship far more readily than for a first visit.