Contractor Advertising That Ties Ad Spend to Booked Jobs
You should know which ad booked which job. Most contractors don't.
You run ads. The phone rings sometimes. But you cannot say which dollar turned into a signed job. That is the problem with most contractors advertising: it reports clicks, not contracts.
Cadyen runs your ads and ties every call back to the search that drove it, and to the job it produced. Google Ads, Maps, retargeting and Meta, managed by one team and measured by booked work. No long-term contract. You own the ad accounts.
Where Contractors Should Advertise
Not every channel fits every contractor. Here is a fair look at the main options for contractors advertising, and which ones Cadyen runs for you.
| Channel | Best for | How fast | Cadyen manages it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search Ads | Bid-ready searches, urgent jobs | Days | Yes |
| Google Maps ads | Showing up in the local map pack | Days | Yes |
| Retargeting | Staying in front of past visitors | Days to weeks | Yes |
| Facebook and Instagram ads | Awareness, before-and-after proof, remodels | Days to weeks | Yes |
| Shared lead sites | Fast volume, low cost per lead | Instant | No, we build exclusive leads instead |
| Offline (truck wraps, yard signs, direct mail) | Local brand, neighborhood reach | Weeks to months | Direct mail only |
Our take: most contractors start with Google Search and Maps, since that is where bid-ready buyers show up first. Retargeting and Meta help with bigger, slower jobs like remodels and replacements. We skip shared lead sites and build leads that come to you alone.
Google Ads for Construction Companies
Google Ads for construction companies work when they reach the right search and block the wrong clicks. Here is how we run them.
Keyword targeting.
We aim at bid-ready searches for your trade and your cities, not broad terms that waste budget.
Negative keywords.
We block the junk: job seekers, DIY searches and the wrong service, so you stop paying for clicks that never book.
Call tracking.
Every call and form ties back to the keyword that drove it, so you see what books jobs.
Service-specific landing pages.
The ad for a kitchen remodel sends to a kitchen page, not a generic homepage. That lifts the booking rate.
Budget shifting.
We move spend toward what works and pull it from what does not, week by week.
Ad spend goes to Google and is never included in management. We report cost per lead and, where you track it, cost per booked job, every month.
Online Marketing for Contractors
Ads work best when they are not working alone. Online marketing for contractors is the whole system: ads bring the call, and the rest earns the trust that closes it.
- SEO lowers your cost per lead over time, so you are not renting every click forever.
- Google Business Profile wins the map pack and feeds the same searches your ads chase.
- Reviews give a buyer the proof they need before a big job.
- Phone answering makes sure a paid-for call does not hit voicemail.
Run ads with no reviews and a slow site, and you pay for clicks that bounce. Pair internet marketing for contractors into one system, and each piece makes the others cheaper and stronger. That is how we build it: one team, one plan, tracked to jobs.
You get a plain-language report every month: what we spent, what it booked, and what we are changing next. No jargon, no vanity charts. If a channel is not pulling its weight, we tell you and we fix it. You should never wonder what your marketing is doing.
Tie Every Dollar to a Booked Job
Most contractors cannot answer a simple question: which ad booked which job? That is the gap we close.
We put call tracking on every campaign. When the phone rings from an ad, we know the keyword, the search and the page that drove it. When that call turns into a signed job, you see the full path from click to contract.
That changes how you spend. You stop guessing and start moving budget toward the campaigns that book work. A roofer learns that storm-damage searches pay and a generic "roofer near me" click does not. A remodeler learns that kitchen ads book and the bathroom ads stall.
You own the ad accounts and the data. If you leave, it all stays with you.
This is how ad spend stops feeling like a gamble. You see the cost per lead and, where you track it, the cost per booked job. A $2,000 month that produces six signed jobs is not an expense. It is a return you can measure and repeat.
Five Contractor Advertising Mistakes
Here are five common contractor advertising mistakes, with a fix for each.
-
1
Measuring clicks, not jobs.
Fix: track every call and form to the booked job, and judge spend by cost per contract.
-
2
No negative keywords.
Fix: block job seekers, DIY and the wrong service so you stop paying for junk clicks.
-
3
Sending every ad to the homepage.
Fix: send each ad to a page about that exact service, so more visitors call.
-
4
Letting paid calls hit voicemail.
Fix: add a receptionist that answers 24/7, so a hard-won lead never rings out to a competitor.
-
5
Turning ads off in the slow season.
Fix: ease the budget down, but keep building SEO and reviews so you rank when demand returns.
Pricing
Simple plans, month to month. Ad spend is always separate and paid to Google or Meta.
Starter Plan: $1,500/mo.
A website plus Google Ads management, plus ad spend. Built for smaller and newer companies getting started.
Complete Plan: $3,978/mo.
All six core services: Local SEO and Map Pack, AI Search Optimization, Google Ads and Paid Media, Conversion-First Website, Reviews and Reputation, and the Intelligent Voice System. Plus ad spend.
À la carte: from $1,200/mo.
Single services on their own.
No long-term contract. You own the ad accounts and everything we build. We set the exact number on a free strategy call, once we know your market and goals.
Advertising Built for Your Trade
Advertising works better when it is built around how your buyers search. See the trade pages:
Contractor advertising questions
What's the best way for contractors to advertise?
Start where bid-ready buyers look first: Google Search Ads and the Google map pack. Add retargeting and Meta ads for bigger, slower jobs like remodels. Track every call to the job it produced, and pair ads with SEO and reviews. Skip shared lead sites, since they sell the same lead to your competitors.
How much should a contractor spend on advertising?
It depends on your market, your trade and your goals. Management starts at $1,500 a month with the Starter Plan or $3,978 a month with the Complete Plan, plus ad spend. Ad spend is separate and paid to Google or Meta. Measure it by cost per booked job, not clicks. We set a budget with you on a free strategy call.
Do Google Ads work for construction companies?
Yes, when they are run right. Google Ads for construction companies reach buyers searching for your trade at the moment they need it. The key is tight keyword targeting, negative keywords to block junk clicks, call tracking, and service-specific landing pages. We manage all of that and report cost per lead each month.
What's the difference between online marketing and advertising for contractors?
Advertising is the paid part: you pay to show up now. Online marketing is the whole system: ads, SEO, Google Business Profile, reviews and phone answering working together. Ads bring the call. The rest earns the trust that books it and lowers your cost per lead over time. We run both as one plan.
Do you sell leads?
No. We are not a lead vendor and we do not resell enquiries. We run your advertising, so the buyer finds your company and calls you directly. The lead is yours alone. You are never racing other contractors to call the same person first, the way you would on a shared lead site.
Should contractors use Facebook ads or Google Ads?
Start with Google. A contractor advertising on Google Search reaches buyers at the moment they need the work, so those clicks book faster. Facebook and Instagram ads build awareness and show off finished projects, which helps with bigger, slower jobs like remodels and replacements. Most contractors run Google first, then add social to stay in front of past visitors.
What is the fastest way to get contractor leads?
Google Search Ads and the Google map pack. Ads can bring calls within days of launch, and the map pack puts you in front of nearby searches. Pair them with a page built for that service and a phone that gets answered. Shared lead sites are faster to turn on, but they sell the same lead to your competitors, so the cost per booked job runs higher.
Do I have to sign a contract?
No. Every plan is month to month. You can cancel anytime, and you keep everything we build: your website, your ad accounts, your content and your leads. We would rather earn your business each month than lock you in.
Know which ad booked which job.
Book a free strategy call. We will review your current advertising, show you where the budget leaks, and tell you what we would do first.