Let’s face it.
In Biden’s economy, every advertising dollar counts.
As a home renovation contractor, it is crucial to accelerate your business in order to keep up with the rising costs of materials, cabinets, labor, and even competition.
We often advocate for marketing ideas that can be done at no cost, such as earning more customer referrals or enhancing your Google Business Profile.
Additionally, we tend to advise contractors not to pay for digital advertising if their website is not optimized to convert the traffic.
However, in this post, we want to talk specifically about home renovation companies considering Google Ads as a source of lead generation, which is our preferred bottom-of-the-funnel strategy.
Google Ads can certainly help you scale your business, but you must remain vigilant about certain 5 practices that create spending inefficiencies.
1. Avoid Smart Campaigns
Google Ads is an amazing platform.
But their Smart Campaigns are only a “smart” move for Google. They can give you the illusion that you are “doing marketing”, but in reality, you are spending your advertising dollars in places unknown.
We do not rule out they may actually generate leads, but they are so broad that in the long run, they will ultimately cost you more and become expensive.
Take a crack at the Expert Mode and opt for a tighter grip on your campaign and targeting.
2. Google Ads ≠ Google Search
In fact, Smart and Search campaigns will show your ads in several “networks”, which can perform terribly for your lead generation goal.
Opt out of any network settings and only show your ads on Google Search.
Here are the only two exceptions to that recommendation:
– Embrace Performance Max campaigns
In fact, we have witnessed campaigns get 200% more leads than regular Search campaigns. But then again, we never put all our eggs in the Performance Max basket.
These campaigns also give you an opportunity to showcase your best projects.
– Link Your Campaigns to Your Google Business Profile
This will help you leverage your customer reviews as well as your proximity in relevance to the user searching for your services.
3. Be Precise With Your Location Targeting
To further maximize your advertising budget, it’s important to only show your ads to people within your service area. By doing so, you can avoid wasting money on clicks from people who are outside of your service area. Use location targeting options such as radius targeting or zip code targeting to ensure your ads are being shown to the right audience.
We tend to start with a very tight grip on GeoTargeting, which we can then expand if the right indications manifest themselves.
Be sure to also select “Presence” only when selecting your Location Options. This will help you target users only (or at least regularly) in your targeted location. Otherwise, you may end up showing your home renovation ads to a person in Japan, who once “expressed interest” in your city.
You can learn more about Advanced Location options here.
4. Do Not Run Your Ads 24/7
Focus your budget on the times when potential customers are most likely searching for your services and you also have the ability to connect with them immediately.
We do not rule out your perfect buyer persona once searched for “luxury home renovation near me” at 3 am, but in general terms, you will get a much better quality click and the opportunity to convert during your core business hours.
5. Bid on High-Intent Keywords Only
Let Home Depot and Lowe’s pay for clicks for searches that are seeking “inspiration”, “ideas”, and “pictures”.
Again, that doesn’t mean none of those searches will ever convert, it just means that those searches are better suited for a big corporation with a much larger advertising budget.
In the name of running lean campaigns, we recommend bidding for more specific long-tail keywords, or location-based keywords such as “home renovation contractors in Miami” or “Kitchen remodeling contractors near me”.
High-intent keywords are more likely to result in clicks and conversions, but they can also be more expensive.
Don’t Forget to Use Negative Keywords
Here’s a starter list you can use in your campaign:
“Free”
“Amazon”
“eBay”
“School”
“Degree”
“Course”
“Job”
“Jobs”
“DIY”
“Supplies”
Running lean and efficient Home Renovation PPC campaigns is crucial in a tough economic climate.
By avoiding Smart Campaigns, only showing your ads on Google Search, targeting relevant locations, limiting ad scheduling, and targeting high-intent keywords, you can eliminate waste and focus on what matters for better ROI. These tips will help you get the most out of your advertising budget and grow your business in challenging times.
For advanced home renovation digital marketing strategies, connect with our team today and learn how we can guarantee your ROI.
