Google Ads for contractors: one campaign per project type, one page per project
A homeowner searching for a kitchen remodel and one searching for a deck are different customers with different budgets and different questions. Contractor ads work when the account mirrors that: a campaign per project type, a page that answers the questions for that project, and negatives that keep out the DIY and “cost to build” research that never becomes an estimate.
Long consideration, high value, and a lot of research traffic
Contracting projects are researched for weeks. A searcher may read about costs, look at photos and compare three firms before requesting an estimate — so the ad has to lead to a page that carries that research rather than a contact form. The value of a won project is high enough to justify a real cost per estimate, but only if the account filters out the large volume of DIY, cost-curiosity and supply searches around every project term.
The second issue is scope. “Contractor near me” is broad and expensive; “deck builder Puyallup” or “bathroom remodel contractor Tacoma” is specific and converts. We bid on the projects you actually want, not the category.
The searches worth paying for — and the ones that waste budget
Keywords are grouped by project type, so each ad names the project and lands on the page for it.
- Remodels: “kitchen remodel contractor Tacoma”, “bathroom remodel Puyallup”, “basement finishing”
- Exterior: “deck builder near me”, “siding replacement contractor”, “fence installation”, “exterior painting”
- Additions & structural: “home addition contractor”, “ADU builder”, “garage conversion”
- Specialty: “interior painter”, “drywall contractor”, “flooring installation” — whichever trades you actually offer
Negative keywords we add on day one
Project terms attract huge research and supply volume. The negative list is long and grows every week.
DIY · how to · cost to build (for research pages) · jobs · salary · licence · exam · software · plans · kits · Home Depot · Lowe’s · free · course
| Search type | Example | What the searcher wants | Our response |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project search | “bathroom remodel contractor Tacoma” | A firm for this project | Project page with estimate form |
| Exterior | “deck builder near me” | Seasonal project | Spring/summer campaign, gallery page |
| Addition | “ADU builder” | A big, slow decision | Process page, higher bid, wider radius |
| Research | “cost to build a deck” | To learn | Content page, not an ad |
How we build a contractor account
One campaign per project family you want more of — typically Remodels, Exterior, and Additions — with ad groups per project (kitchen, bathroom, deck, siding). Each ad group lands on its own project page with photos, process, timeline, price range and an estimate form. A small brand campaign protects your name from competitors bidding on it. Every campaign carries a tracking number and an estimate-form goal so the report shows estimates by project type.
Business hours, project seasons, real service area
Contractor searches happen in evenings and weekends as much as office hours, but estimate requests are forms more than calls, so ads can run wider hours as long as the page carries the load. Exterior work is seasonal — decks, siding and painting search volume rises in spring and peaks in early summer — while remodels are steadier with a late-winter surge. Geography is the area you will actually drive to for a project of that size; a bathroom remodel radius is smaller than an addition radius.
- Wider hours than trades with a phone-first funnel; forms carry after-hours
- Seasonal weighting: exterior in spring/summer, remodels steady with a winter surge
- Radius per project type — bigger for additions, smaller for small remodels
- Brand campaign to protect your name
- Weekly negatives from the search-term report
What the page behind the ad has to do
One page per project
Kitchen, bathroom, deck, addition — each with its own photos, process and estimate form.
Show the process
Design, permit, build, timeline — homeowners want to know what living through it looks like.
Price range
A typical range or “projects from $X”. Contractors who talk about money get the estimate; those who do not get skipped.
Proof
Licence and bond numbers, insurance, years, reviews, and photos of local projects with the town named.
Estimate form above the fold
Short: project type, town, timeline, contact. Photos optional.
Portfolio depth
Before/after galleries per project type. This is where the research-phase visitor decides.
We build or fix landing pages under web design & development; a campaign is only as good as the page it lands on.
From project search to contract
Judge on cost per estimate and estimate-to-contract
Contractor leads are expensive and project values are high; the account is judged on cost per qualified estimate and, when you share it, on estimates that became contracts. Budgets are set per project family so a deck campaign does not starve a remodel campaign, and adjusted to the season. We also watch estimator capacity: buying more estimates than you can attend within a week produces cancellations, not contracts.
Illustrative budget weighting through the year
Illustrative — not client dataRelative emphasis only — a real plan uses your estimate data.
A hypothetical first 90 days
Scenario: a design-build remodeler in Tacoma doing kitchens, bathrooms and additions, with a portfolio site, 60 reviews and a past ads account that ran on “contractor near me”.
rebuild the account around Remodels and Additions campaigns with project ad groups; install form and call tracking; publish kitchen and bathroom pages with price ranges and estimate forms.
add the addition/ADU page and campaign; add negatives from the first month; test a price-range headline against a timeline headline.
review estimates by project type, cut ad groups producing only research clicks, and shift budget to the project family with the best estimate-to-contract rate.
Every number in a real plan comes from your own account data; we do not publish or promise results.
What we report every month
Google Ads questions from contractors
Should I bid on “contractor near me”?
Rarely. It is broad, expensive and lands on a homepage. Project-specific terms convert better and cost less per estimate.
Do I need a page for every project type?
For every project type you want more of, yes. It is the biggest conversion factor in contractor accounts.
How do you handle the research traffic?
Negatives for DIY, cost-curiosity and supply searches, plus pages that carry the research so a researcher who is close to hiring converts.
Can ads work for a one-crew contractor?
Yes, with a small budget and a tight radius — as long as you can attend estimates within a week.
Do you charge a percentage of spend?
No. Flat fee; you own the account.
Get a free Google Ads review for your contracting business
Send us your company name and the projects you want more of. We will review an existing account or tell you what a project-based setup would look like.