Your Google Ads are running. Money's leaving your account. But nobody's clicking. What the hell is going on? I'm Kelsey with KaeRae Marketing, and I've managed Google Ads for home service businesses since 2015. Low click-through rates are one of the most common problems I see — and the fix is usually simpler than you think. Let me show you the 4 reasons your ads aren't getting clicked and exactly what to do about each one. First — your headline is boring. I know that sounds h

Google Ads bidding strategies are one of those topics that looks simple on the surface ('you bid on keywords, right?') and turns out to be surprisingly consequential when you actually dig in. The bidding strategy you choose determines how Google spends your budget, what signals it uses to decide when to show your ads, and ultimately how efficiently you're generating leads. Pick the wrong strategy at the wrong time and you'll either overpay for clicks or miss auctions you shou

Quick Answer: The core difference: Google Ads captures people who are actively searching for a plumber right now. Facebook Ads interrupts people who weren't looking. For most plumbing companies, Google Ads (including Local Service Ads) should be the primary paid channel because plumbing is a demand-driven service — customers don't plan ahead, they search when they need you. Facebook can play a supporting role for brand awareness and seasonal promotions, but it's rarely where

Quick Answer: Yes — but only if you're set up to handle the leads and can commit to a realistic budget. Google Ads can be one of the fastest lead sources for a small plumbing company, but they don't work on a shoestring. You need at least $1,000-$1,500/month in ad spend, a website that converts visitors to callers, and someone who answers the phone. Get those three things right and Google Ads can be transformative. This is the question I get more than almost any other. And th

Quick Answer: Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) are Google's current standard ad format. You write up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, and Google automatically tests different combinations to find which ones perform best for your audience. For home service companies, RSAs work well when your headlines are specific, locally relevant, and focused on what customers actually care about — fast response, licensed techs, and real pricing. If you've logged into Google Ads recently and

Google Analytics 4 has a reputation for being confusing. That reputation is somewhat earned — Google completely rebuilt the platform from scratch, changed how almost everything is organized, and gave it a learning curve that frustrates people who were comfortable with the old version. But here's the truth for home service business owners: you don't need to understand all of GA4. You need to understand about 20% of it — the parts that actually tell you whether your website is

Clicks are not calls. Clicks are not leads. Clicks are not booked jobs. If your Google Ads reporting shows you clicks and impressions but can't tell you how many phone calls those ads generated — you're flying blind. And in the home service industry, where phone calls are the primary way customers contact you, that's a serious problem. Call tracking fixes this. Here's everything you need to know. Why Call Tracking Is Non-Negotiable for Home Service Google Ads Think about what

Your Google Business Profile is the most valuable piece of free real estate in local HVAC marketing. It's what appears when someone searches 'HVAC company near me' or 'AC repair [your city]' — the block of businesses with star ratings, phone numbers, and a map that sits above every other search result on the page. Getting into that Map Pack and getting clicked once you're there — that's what a fully optimized Google Business Profile does for you. And yet most HVAC companies h

Every day, people in your city are searching for a plumber. Right now, someone two miles from your shop is on their phone typing 'plumber near me' with a pipe leaking under their kitchen sink. The question is whether your company shows up — or whether your competitor does. That's the entire game with local SEO. It's not about having the fanciest website or the biggest marketing budget. It's about being the most visible, most credible plumbing business in your specific market

Quick Answer: The most common Google Ads mistakes plumbing companies make are: running broad match keywords without a negative keyword list, sending paid traffic to the homepage instead of a landing page, not setting up call tracking, setting a budget too small to generate data, and hiring an agency that doesn't specialize in home services. After auditing hundreds of home service Google Ads accounts, the same mistakes show up again and again. Not because plumbing business own

If there's one thing I could get every home service business owner to do today — just one thing — it would be this: look at your negative keyword list. Is it robust? Is it updated regularly? Does it go beyond the obvious? If the answer to any of those is 'I'm not sure' or 'what's a negative keyword list?' — this post is for you. What Are Negative Keywords? A negative keyword is a word or phrase you add to your Google Ads campaign to tell Google: do NOT show my ad when someone

Quick Answer: Quality Score is Google's 1–10 rating of how relevant your ad, keywords, and landing page are to what someone just searched. For HVAC companies, it matters a lot: a high Quality Score means you pay less per click and your ads appear higher on the page. A low score means you pay more for worse placement — or your ads don't show at all. Quality Score is one of those behind-the-scenes Google Ads settings that quietly determines whether your money is going far or be

You've invested in Google Ads. You're spending real money. But the calls aren't coming in the way they should. Before you blame your campaign structure, your keywords, or your budget — take a hard look at where your traffic is landing. Because in my experience, one of the most common reasons home service Google Ads campaigns underperform has nothing to do with the ads at all. It has everything to do with the website. The Connection Between Your Website and Google Ads Performa

Most plumbing Google Ads look the same. "24/7 Plumbing Service. Licensed & Insured. Call Today!" Repeat that across 50 different plumbing companies in your market and you've got a wall of identical ads that nobody really reads. The good news: that sameness is an opportunity. Writing better ad copy than your competitors isn't hard when your competitors are barely trying. Here's a practical guide to writing Google Ads that actually get your plumbing business's phone ringing — n

Quick Answer: A good conversion rate for home service Google Ads is 8–15%, meaning 8–15 out of every 100 clicks should result in a phone call or form submission. Below 5% usually signals a landing page problem, a keyword relevance issue, or both. Above 15% means things are running very well. Conversion rate is one of those metrics that can tell you a lot about your Google Ads — but only if you know what you're comparing it to. Too many home service business owners look at the

Keyword match types are one of the most important settings in your entire Google Ads account — and one of the most misunderstood. Get them right and your ads show up for people who are actively looking to hire a plumber, HVAC technician, or electrician. Get them wrong and you're paying for clicks from people who have absolutely no intention of calling you. Here's the plain-English breakdown. What Are Keyword Match Types? When you add a keyword to your Google Ads campaign, you

Quick Answer: Your Google Ads are working if they're generating tracked phone calls, form submissions, or booked jobs at a cost that makes financial sense for your business. Clicks, impressions, and CTR don't tell you if ads are working. Actual leads do. Here's how to measure what matters. This is one of those questions that sounds simple but exposes a real problem in how most Google Ads campaigns are reported. You look at your dashboard. Clicks are happening. Spend is happen

Quick Answer: Google Ads for a plumbing company typically take 30–90 days to fully optimize. The first 30 days is data collection. Months 2 and 3 are when real optimization happens and leads start flowing more consistently. Anyone promising immediate, consistent results from day one is overselling. This is one of the most common questions I get from plumbing business owners who are considering Google Ads — and it's the right question to ask before you spend a dollar. The hone

Quick Answer: A Google Ads agency builds your campaigns, manages your budget, optimizes keywords and bids, writes ad copy, and reports on results. For home service companies, they should also set up call tracking, build landing pages, and actively cut wasted spend — not just set things up and collect a monthly fee. Fair question. You're paying someone — sometimes $500, sometimes $2,000 a month — and the work feels invisible. No tangible product shows up at your door. Your pho

You've been there. You set up Google Ads — or paid someone to do it — and watched your budget drain away while your phone stayed quiet. A few random calls came in. Maybe one turned into a job. But mostly? Nothing you could point to and say that worked. Sound familiar? Here's the thing: Google Ads absolutely can work for home service companies. Plumbers, HVAC companies, electricians — I've seen campaigns turn struggling businesses into booked-out operations. But the failure ra