What these guides cover
Guides for local service businesses: home services, roofing, solar, salons and spas, car rental, logistics. They cover what to spend, which channel to start on, how to set up Facebook and Google campaigns, and what happens after the lead arrives.
The rules we follow on every local account are simple. Draw a tight radius around the area you actually serve. Lead with the offer, not the logo: a free estimate, a first-visit price, a same-day slot. Use Google Search for people who are ready now and Meta to fill the calendar between those searches at a lower cost per lead. Answer every lead within five minutes, because speed to lead matters more than the ad. A boosted post that collects likes from outside your service area does not book jobs.
Real numbers from our accounts: the best campaigns for an Illinois logistics company delivered $6 to $9.36 per action and held it while budgets scaled through peak season, and a beauty business got leads at $0.16 on Instagram. For a solar installer we ran two Google Ads strategies head-to-head, and the winner became the template for new regions. Never run ads before? Start with the budget guide.
Start here: budget and setup
How much should a small business spend on ads?Set a small business ad budget from your own numbers: customer value, maximum cost per lead, minimum test size and capacity, with worked examples.Facebook ads for local businesses: a step-by-step setupHow to set up Facebook and Instagram ads for a local service business: radius, offer, lead form, budget and a 7-day test. With real cost-per-lead numbers.
Boosted posts vs Ads Manager campaigns: why boosting rarely books jobsWhy the Boost button wastes local ad budgets, what Ads Manager does that boosting cannot, when a boost still makes sense, and how to switch step by step.
Retargeting ads for small businesses: a practical setupHow small businesses can use retargeting on Meta and Google: which warm audiences to build, what to show them, budgets, frequency and how to check it works.Google Search, Maps and Local Services
Google Local Services Ads vs Google Search adsLocal Services Ads or Google Search ads? How each is priced, when each wins for service businesses, the cost-per-job math and how to run both together.Google Maps ads: how to show up in local searchHow local search and Google Maps ads work for small businesses: Business Profile basics, linking a location asset, targeting, what to count as a lead and costs.Google Ads for solar companies: keywords, budgets and lead qualityHow solar installers can run Google Ads that book homeowner appointments: keywords to buy, negatives to block, tracking real appointments and setting a budget.Getting leads that turn into jobs
Facebook lead forms vs landing pages: which brings better leadsInstant Forms or a landing page for your Facebook ads? When each wins, how to set both up, fix tracking and run a fair test judged by booked appointments.Speed to lead: why answering in 5 minutes beats a better adWhy local businesses lose paid leads to slow follow-up, how to measure your response time, and a simple alert, call script and follow-up system that books more.Playbooks by business type
Facebook ads for home service businesses: what actually books jobsHow HVAC, plumbing, roofing, remodeling and cleaning companies use Facebook and Instagram ads to book estimates: targeting, offers, lead forms and tracking.
Facebook and Google ads for roofing companiesHow roofers can run Facebook and Google ads that book inspections: split job types, keywords and negatives, lead forms, storm ads and tracking signed jobs.
Lead generation ads for solar companiesHow solar installers can run Google and Meta ads that book real homeowner appointments: lead value math, offers to test, qualifying forms and follow-up.
Instagram ads for salons and spas that fill the calendarHow to run Instagram ads for a salon or spa that turn into booked appointments: first-visit offers, campaign setup, lead forms vs booking links and creative.Ads for car rental businesses: how to get more direct bookingsHow independent car rental companies use Google Search and Meta ads to win direct bookings: niches to target, keywords, booking flow, tracking and budgets.Paid ads for logistics and trucking companiesHow trucking and logistics companies use Google Search and Meta ads to win freight customers and hire drivers: keywords, employment ad rules, forms, tracking.How we run local business ads
Our process, results and FAQ for this niche are on one page: Local business ads: how we work →
Want a test plan for your business? Book 30 minutes with Nick. You leave with a concrete 7-day ad test, whether you hire us or not.
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