Google Ads for Contractors: A Success Story

Getting consistent, high-quality leads is one of the biggest challenges I hear about from construction businesses. The space faces a ton of competitors crowding the market, leaving contractors struggling to find reliable ways to attract new clients. Many turn to DIY Google Ads but end up wasting money on low-value inquiries, spam calls, or people looking for services they don’t even offer.

That’s exactly what happened to a Florida-based commercial & residential contractor. Instead of landing high-dollar home renovation or commercial projects their Google Ads campaigns were bringing in tons of requests for small repair and handyman jobs. Their marketing budget was being drained quickly and with little return.

About The Client

Mel owns a successful family-run commercial and residential construction company in Florida. She has a great team of craftsmen, a portfolio of beautifully completed jobs but she wasn’t as booked out as she wanted to be. She’s also an amazing mom managing two thriving businesses and a busy household. Talk about a busy contractor!

Her goals were clear:

• Build a consistent stream of high-quality leads
• Gain clarity on Google Ads performance without sifting through data herself
• Adopt a hands-free marketing approach — they’re an award winning construction company, not content creators or marketing experts

Mel came to me with campaigns she had set up herself. Despite her efforts, the results weren’t cutting it. Instead of attracting high-dollar construction jobs, her ads were pulling in spam calls and inquiries for handyman services. Not ideal.

After revamping their tech setup, implementing a strategic ad approach and optimizing for performance:

• Leads increased by 433%
• Cost per lead decreased by 57%

All while maintaining essentially the same ad spend.

We made that budget work harder AND smarter!

The Challenge: Getting Leads in a Highly Competitive Space

Google Ads for contractors in construction, plumbing and HVAC can be very expensive. The competition is high and costs can skyrocket if you don’t know what you’re doing. Before working with me they had tried to DIY their own Google Ads, and had worked with several Google Reps but weren’t getting the kind of leads they needed to grow their business.

They were frustrated and facing several challenges before our work together:

• Low Lead Volume: average of 10 leads per month, they needed more
• Low Lead Quality: most leads were for small repairs, not lucrative projects
• Sky-High Costs: Leads were costing over $200 each, with little ROI

Her ad budget was disappearing without bringing in the right leads. Frustrated and ready to quit Google Ads, she decided to bring in an expert (that’s me!)

When they reached out to me these were the goals she wanted to achieve:

• A steady flow of high quality leads
• An understanding of where and how their marketing dollars were being spent
• A hand-free approach, they’re a 3-time award winning construction company, NOT marketing experts

“We were wasting a lot of money on marketing that wasn’t showing nearly half the return until working with Olivia.”

Mel — Owner

The Approach: Accurate Tracking and Strategic Targeting

To address these challenges, we decided my full-service Google Ads management package would be the best fit. This would allow me to take the reins of implementation, strategy and continuous optimization and let Mel focus on her family and business. Here’s how I did it:

Accurate Conversion Tracking

Nearly every account I take over is missing the most critical piece of any ad campaign — accurate conversion tracking. Without it, it’s a bit like trying to build a house without a measurement tape or plans! Just like every well-crafted home starts with planning, measuring and tracking. Same goes for any Google Ads campaign I build. The first order of business starts with a deep dive into the existing conversion tracking and website interactions.

By implementing accurate conversion tracking, we ensured every actionable lead submission was precisely captured. With this accurate conversion data we were then able to get a clear picture of ad performance and make data-informed decisions about which areas were most profitable. This data is also the driving force behind Google’s automated Smart Bidding, which uses machine learning to optimize for conversions or conversion value in real-time.

Strategic Targeting

I built a custom campaign strategy designed to focus on leads for high-ticket jobs, like residential renovations and commercial build-outs. This ensured:

• No wasted budget on low-value inquiries like “handyman” searches
• A campaign structure that clearly showed the ROI for both residential and commercial services

This strategic campaign structure allowed us to clearly see the ROI between residential and commercial services. So when they decided to shift their main focus to commercial services, we had concrete data to guide our ROI goals and next steps.

Ongoing Performance Optimizations

The key to making Google Ads work well for contractors is to analyze the data, make adjustments, rinse and repeat.

I dug deep into search term reports, redirected budgets to top-performing areas and aggressively chopped wasted ad spend. 

The everyday work of reviewing data and making strategic decisions is what turns a lackluster account into a lean, mean lead-driving machine. It’s the kind of data analysis that makes my heart & mind happy but can be hard to find.

The Results: 6x Annual Increase in New Leads for A Lot Less

With air-tight tracking, a custom campaign strategy and expert optimizations they were finally getting the right kind of leads — the kind that helped them reach new growth.

In just one month, their lead volume was increased by 943% and their cost per lead decreased by 58%. After one year, they had 6x their annual lead volume and maintained a 58% less lead cost — with essentially the same monthly ad spend. I put that budget to work!

High-Fives & Happy Dances:

• Leads Increased by 433%: More high-quality leads meant better opportunities for growth.
• Slashed the Cost per Lead to $86 down from $200
• Measured ROI: Clear data gave them the confidence to expand into new service areas.
• Hands-Free Marketing: Mel had more time to focus on her family and business.

They’ve also expanded into BIG commercial projects.

“Over $1 Million in Sales Growth”

“Our construction company’s Google Ads account has flourished! Olivia’s strategic prowess not only attracted higher-quality clients but has also facilitated over a million dollars in sales growth. Her impact on our advertising efforts has been instrumental in achieving these impressive results.”

Mel L. — Owner, Coelum Construction

High quality leads for your construction business are closer than you think.

Let’s make your Google Ads work as hard as you do. Check out my Google Ads Management Service and let’s create a winning strategy for your construction business.

Use the button below to get started today!