You didn’t start your business to become a marketer, but here you are, running ads and hoping they turn into paying customers. If you’ve ever asked, “Are these ads even working?” this guide is for you. Spoiler: you’re not alone.
Digital marketing for home services doesn’t have to be confusing. You just need to track a few key numbers and know what to look out for, especially if you’re working with an agency or a freelancer. Let’s break it down in plain English.
Return on ad spend (ROAS): are you getting paid back?
ROAS = job revenue from ads ÷ cost of ads. Say you run a plumbing company and spend $1,200 on Google Ads in March, and book $6,000 in jobs from those leads. Your ROAS is 5×, you’re making $5 for every $1 you spend. But if you spend $1,200 and only get $1,100 in booked work, that’s 0.91×, you’re losing money: 91 cents back on every dollar.
Bottom line: ROAS should at the very least be above 1 to start, and ideally closer to 3–5× depending on your margins once you account for payroll, parts, and overhead. If you have recurring customers, you might accept a lower ROAS up front to win a client for the year, or the decade.
Customer acquisition cost (CAC): what does a new customer cost?
CAC = ad spend ÷ new customers in that period. An HVAC company spending $10,000 a month across Google Ads, Facebook, and Local Services Ads that brings in 40 new customers has a CAC of $250. If the average job is worth $2,000–$8,000, that’s reasonable and profitable. If that same $250 only buys a $300 maintenance call, you’ll need to upsell or bundle to make it work. Knowing your CAC helps you set realistic goals and push back on anyone whose spend isn’t performing.
How to track lead sources (without being a marketing nerd)
Understanding where your leads come from is the foundation of smart marketing. Between Local Services, Search Ads, Facebook, Yelp, email and text, door hangers, mailers, and yard signs, you need a way to tell them apart:
- Use UTM links on all your digital ads so each click is tagged with its source.
- Use call-tracking numbers, a unique phone number per platform.
- Create separate landing pages per service and campaign where you can.
- Connect it all to your CRM so every lead is tagged with its marketing source.
A landscaping company that uses a different number for Facebook than for its Google Business Profile knows exactly where each call came from, no guessing. We bring all these channels into one dashboard so you can actually see what’s working and what isn’t.
Track what people actually do, not just clicks
Clicks don’t pay the bills, calls and booked jobs do. Track phone calls (still the #1 converter for trades), form fills, live chat and AI-to-text conversations, online booking, and Facebook or Google messages. One roofing company noticed phone leads converted 4× better than form leads and shifted strategy to drive more calls. We’ve had a client cut cost per lead 25% just by adding our AI chat-to-text tool.
Red flags when working with an agency
A good partner helps you grow, not just sends charts with pretty colors. Ask tougher questions if your agency:
- Only reports impressions, clicks, or likes, none of which pay payroll.
- Never talks about ROAS or CAC, dollars in versus dollars out.
- Doesn’t ask for access to your CRM or booking software, so they can’t match leads to revenue.
- Can’t tell you where your best leads come from. If everything’s a “win,” nothing is.
One electrical company’s old agency tracked Facebook leads but not the jobs from them. After switching to a team that integrated with their CRM, they found 70% of their best customers came from Google Local Services, not Facebook. Game changer.
Take control of your performance marketing
Marketing for home services doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to be measured. Know your ROAS, your CAC, and your lead sources, and you can spend with confidence, cut what isn’t working, and double down on what is. If you’re tired of spreadsheets and guesswork, that’s exactly what we help with, every lead, every dollar, and every booked job in one place. Your marketing should work as hard as you do.
