What Does a Customer Really Cost from Google Ads?

These estimates are based on industry averages from Google Ads benchmarking data and our experience working with home service contractors. Your actual costs may vary based on location, competition, ad quality, and seasonality. Think of this as a ballpark to set realistic expectations.

Emergency keywords like "emergency plumber" have extremely high intent — when someone searches these terms, they're ready to pay immediately. This makes them incredibly valuable, so competition (and prices) skyrocket. You might pay $40-80 per click for emergency terms vs. $15-25 for general service terms.

Yes, with expertise. Better ad copy, tighter keyword targeting, negative keywords, and landing page optimization can reduce costs by 20-40%. But this requires significant time, testing, and usually a professional (adding $500-2,000/month in management fees). Even optimized campaigns are expensive.

For most contractors, the biggest opportunity isn't getting MORE leads — it's converting more of the leads you already have. Studies show 38% of calls to home service businesses go unanswered during business hours. Each missed call could be a $500-$5,000 job. Fix that first.

Google Ads can work, but it should be part of a complete system — not your only strategy. The smartest contractors first plug the holes (capture every lead that comes in), then invest in traffic. If you're spending $2,000/month on ads but missing 10 calls a week, you're throwing away money.