Calls From Ads
Google Ads and Local Services Ads for service businesses, judged by the calls they bring in, explained for owners.
You pay for ads every month and the phone does not ring as much as the bill suggests it should. Many owners stop there and decide ads do not work for their trade. This topic is for owners who want to know where the money goes before they make that call.
The posts cover paid search from the owner's side of the desk: which searches are worth paying for, how ads show in your service area, what Local Services Ads change, how to tell a real lead from a wasted click, and what to ask whoever runs your account. Each post takes one problem and explains it in plain words.
Every post is judged by one test: does it help you get more real calls for the money you spend? We link Google's own help pages when a post describes how a setting works, and we say plainly when something is our view rather than a documented rule.
Start by asking for last month's ad spend next to last month's calls from ads, side by side. If you want an account run with every call tracked, our PPC management page shows how we run paid search for service businesses.
Want to talk through your marketing?
Tell us where things stand and we'll tell you plainly what we'd do next.