what are Google Ads?
When you pay for Google Ads, you are essentially “leasing” space at the top of Google search. Your ad is shown at the top of the search engine result page, for your target keywords, within your target geographic areas.
It’s an easy way to get visibility, traffic, phone calls, and leads for “money keywords” – that is, people searching for a keyword that indicates they are looking to hire someone. So, they are a very high quality lead.
✅ Money keyword example: when a user searches “handyman near me” they are prequalified to 1) have a need, and 2) be looking to hire. Also, Google is used by people who have INTENT! They actually need something done and are serious; thus, on the whole, they are looking for the best quality, rather than the best price. This underscores of value of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and using Google for paid digital advertising.
Different Types of Ads: PPC, LSA & Retargeting/Display
With the primary objective of lead generation, there are 2 types of Google Ads: Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and Local Service Ads (LSA).
Display and Retargeting Ads are visual ads that follow people around online – news websites, weather, blogs, articles, etc. These ads are great for brand awareness and “staying top of mind” with potential leads. Here at Handyman Marketing Pros, we call them “Digital Billboard” Ads.
⚠️ Quick takeaway: if your handyman business is under $250K annual revenue, use your entire paid ads budget on LSA before considering PPC. It’s significantly easier to manage, doesn’t require an optimized site, and has built-in lead tracking so you get a true cost per lead. PPC is a science and, if you don’t know what you’re doing, an easy way to blow through cash. Digital Billboard Ads are also effective early-on since they’re super cheap (~$50-$100/mo).
Local Service Ads (LSA)
Google Local Service Ads (LSA) – also known as Google Guaranteed – is a great paid advertising platform to generate a predictable flow of high quality leads.
Unlike PPC, it’s incredibly easy to manage for the average small business owner.
For this reason, it’s our recommendation for most small, family-owned handyman businesses that are doing less than $250K annual revenue.
For larger businesses, with paid advertising budgets larger than $2-3K/mo, it is prudent to diversify your ad dollars between LSA and PPC.
To be clear, LSA is a “pay per lead” platform so you are only charged for actual leads.
Pros:
- Set what jobs you want
- Accurate cost per lead
- Transparent reporting & ROI
- Ability to refund bad leads
- Overall, easy to manage
Cons:
- Does not drive website traffic
- Not available in some markets
- Requires verification process to setup
- Occasional issues with spending budget on new accts
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
PPC is Google’s traditional advertising solution.
Compared to LSA’s “pay per lead” mode, you pay for each click.
For marketing experts, this is great! The keyword and audience targeting can be very granular, and fine-tuned over time with regular optimizations to maximize the campaign performance.
For the average small business owner, PPC can be a dangerous platform – it’s easy to waste money and/or not understand the true Return On Investment without proper tracking in place.
While Google’s “smart campaigns” and automated setups have improved over the years, for most handyman business owners, your paid ad dollars are better spent on LSAs.
Pros:
- Granular keyword targeting
- Drives website traffic (then can retarget)
- High control over targeting
Cons:
- Complex to properly manage
- Easy to waste money
- Expertise required to setup full lead tracking
- Requires regular check-ins and optimizations
- Expensive to outsource
✅ Handyman Marketing Pros does offer PPC services, but we don’t recommend unless you’re a larger business with at least a $4K/mo paid advertising budget to diversify between LSA and PPC.
Digital Billboard Ads
Retargeting and Display Ads (Digital Billboard) are fantastic for staying top-of-mind with prospective leads, and for general brand awareness.
These are the ads that follow you around on news websites, blogs, articles, etc. You might see ours after leaving this site! 👀
Most people that visit your website aren’t ready – juuust yet – to contact you about their project. Digital Billboard Ads are the solution for this.
These visual ads will stay in-front of prospective clients for 30 days after they’ve searched for a handyman on Google, even if they never visited your website – because Google is creepy like that.
Pros:
- Inexpensive (~$50 - $100/mo)
- High impression count (lots of people see them)
- Great for brand awareness
- Great for staying top-of-mind with prospects
Cons:
- Does not drive significant short-term leads like LSA and PPC