Google Ads
Our Google Ads for contractors service puts your business at the top of the search results page so that it’s easier for people in your service area to find you and book you.
Playbook Digital builds Google Ads campaigns and SMS follow-up automations for for HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical, general contracting, and landscaping businesses across Ontario Canada.
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Here are just some of the small businesses who have achieved record growth by partnering with us.
Why Google Ads Are Better Than Relying On Referrals
Referrals are valuable, but they are difficult to control. You cannot predict when they will arrive, how many you will receive or whether they will be for the services you want to grow.
Google Ads put your business in front of homeowners actively searching for your services in the locations you serve. That gives you a more precise and scalable way to generate calls, quote requests and new opportunities.
Don’t replace referrals with Google Ads. Use both! Referrals build trust while Google Ads help keep the clients coming.
The Trades We Serve
We build Google Ads and AI follow-up systems for contractors in all of the trades.
- HVAC including furnace repair, AC installation, and emergency service
- Plumbing from drain calls to repipes and water heaters
- Electrical for service upgrades, panels, and EV charger installs
- Roofing where one signed quote can be a five-figure job
- General contracting and renovations including basements, kitchens, and additions
- Landscaping and exterior services where seasonal demand needs capturing fast
Client Spotlight
Onboard Drywall (Ontario-based contractor)
+620% revenue, +447% return on ad spend, after we rebuilt their Google Ads account and tracking from the ground up.
This isn’t a guarantee, but it is as an example of what a properly built Google Ads campaign can produce.
Full breakdown on our case studies page.
Google Ads + SMS Automation Bundle
Google Ads for Contractors
- Conversion tracking
- Targeting strategy
- Negative keyword strategy
- Conversion rate optimization
- Bid and budget management
SMS Automation
- CRM setup and integration
- Missed-call auto-responder
- Appointment reminders
- Follow-up review requests
- Monthly performance reporting
Should You Try Google Ads?
Good contractors lose jobs to weaker competitors every week simply because they don’t have good enough marketing.
If you already do good work and get referrals, you have the foundation. You just need a source of leads that brings in more of the right jobs, consistently.
Google Ads could make sense for you if:
- You already get referrals, but you can’t grow past what word-of-mouth brings in
- Your average job is worth $500 or more, so you could be profitable paying $45–$120 per lead
- You can commit at least $1,500 a month in ad spend to give the advertising campaign a real chance to work
Want to get answers right away? Take our 2-minute quiz to see where your current marketing is costing you jobs.
Working With Playbook
Playbook Digital’s 4-step service delivery system.
We analyze
your business for gaps.
You get
a plan to fix those issues.
We do all the work
to help you grow.
You see real results
and get ongoing support.
Get Your Own Growth Plan
Book a free strategy call. We’ll review your goals, pinpoint your biggest opportunities, and map out a clear path to more qualified leads. We stand behind our work. If you become a client and you’re not satisfied within the first 30 days, we’ll refund you, less any ad spend already used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Plan for at least $1,500 per month in ad spend, the practical minimum for a campaign to gather enough data to optimize. All-in budgets for trades businesses in Ontario typically run $1,500 to $3,250 per month including management, with GTA markets at the higher end. At typical lead costs of $45 to $120 depending on trade, that budget produces roughly 10 to 25 leads per month.
Yes, provided the math works: your average job value should comfortably exceed your cost per lead, and someone needs to be able to respond to leads quickly. A contractor with an $800 average job and a $75 cost per lead makes the numbers work easily. Businesses that struggle usually have broken tracking, weak landing pages, or slow follow-up rather than a broken channel.
Yes, when your average job value clears your cost per lead by a healthy margin and someone can respond fast. For most trades that math already works: a $75 to $120 lead against a job worth $500 to $5,000-plus wins easily. Google Ads is worth it as a scalable channel referrals can’t replace, not as a replacement for referrals themselves. The two work best side by side.
Most established contractors should eventually run both. Local Services Ads charge per lead and capture urgent “call now” demand, but volume is capped and you need strong reviews to rank. Google Ads scales with budget and wins the higher-consideration jobs where homeowners compare quotes. Canada’s LSA program covers 17 home service categories including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing.
Yes, HVAC and plumbing are two of the strongest fits because demand is urgent and job values are high. In Ontario, HVAC leads typically cost $45 to $90 and plumbing or electrical leads $50 to $100 through properly built campaigns. Emergency keywords like “furnace repair near me” convert at high rates because the searcher needs someone today.
Budget is the control. Raise it and Google shows your ad to more searches; lower it and volume drops, within days, not months. That’s the core difference from referrals, which you can’t turn up or down on demand. Most contractors start at the $1,500 per month minimum and scale budget once cost per lead and close rate are proven.
Google Ads, because search demand doesn’t dip just because your referrals do. Word-of-mouth naturally slows seasonally or between projects, but searches for “furnace repair near me” or “roof replacement quote” keep flowing regardless of who you worked for last month. Budget is the lever that controls volume, which is why contractors run Google Ads specifically to keep crews busy in the gaps between referral-driven work.
Our Google Ads management is a $3,500 90-day sprint to build, launch, and optimize your account, then $500 per month ongoing. That’s separate from your ad spend, which goes directly to Google and should be at least $1,500 per month. There’s no long-term contract, and if you’re not satisfied in the first 30 days we refund you, less ad spend already used.
Properly built campaigns typically generate their first leads within 2 to 3 weeks and reach full efficiency at 60 to 90 days, once Google has enough conversion data to optimize bidding. Any agency promising a full pipeline in week one is setting expectations the platform can’t meet.
We look at where you currently rank in your service area, how your website converts, and your Google Ads account if you have one, then tell you what’s working and what isn’t. It’s a conversation, not a sales pitch, and there’s no obligation. If it looks like a fit, we follow up with a full marketing analysis before you commit to anything. Book your free discovery call here, or if you’d rather see where you stand first, take our 2-minute quiz.