PPC for Plumbers: Google Ads, Local Services Ads and Retargeting

PPC for plumbers means paying Google, and sometimes Facebook, to put your company in front of people who need a plumber right now. Set up well, it's the fastest way to fill a slow week. Set up badly, it spends your budget on DIY searchers and people looking for plumbing jobs.

You'll find the two Google ad products compared below, plus the keywords to bid on, the setup that keeps waste down, the cost math, and where retargeting and social ads fit.

Local Services Ads or Google Ads?

Google runs both, and they show up in different spots on the results page.

• Local Services Ads (LSA). The listings at the very top with the Google Guaranteed badge. You pay per lead (a call or message) instead of per click. Google checks your license and insurance before you go live, and you can dispute leads that weren't real jobs. Your reviews, your hours and how fast you respond all affect where you show.
• Google Ads (search ads). The text ads below LSA. You pay per click, write your own ads, choose your own keywords and send people to a page you control.

Start with LSA. It takes less work to run and the cost per lead is easier to predict. Add Google Ads when you want more volume, want to push a specific service like water heater installs, or need to reach searches LSA doesn't cover.

Which keywords should plumbers bid on?

Bid on searches from people ready to hire.

• Emergency: "emergency plumber," "24 hour plumber," "burst pipe repair"
• Service plus town: "water heater replacement Tulsa," "drain cleaning Broken Arrow"
• Near me: "plumber near me," "slab leak detection near me"

Build a negative keyword list before you spend a dollar. Start with: DIY, how to, YouTube, jobs, salary, apprenticeship, school, license, parts, wholesale, Home Depot, Lowe's. Check the search terms report every week for the first month and add whatever doesn't belong.

How to set up plumbing campaigns that don't waste money

• Target by zip code or a tight radius. Exclude areas your trucks can't reach in under an hour.
• Split campaigns by service. Emergency, water heaters and drains each get their own budget, so one can't starve the others.
• Send each ad to a matching page. A water heater ad should land on a water heater page with your phone number at the top. Your homepage won't convert that click as well. More on that in plumbing website design.
• Count calls as conversions. Use Google's call tracking or a tracking number on the landing page, and count calls over 60 seconds. Without call tracking, Google optimizes for clicks.
• Run ads when someone answers. If nobody picks up after 8 p.m., route calls to an on-call tech or pause ads overnight.
• Start with the Maximize Conversions bid strategy. Switch to a target cost per lead once you have a few dozen tracked calls.

What does PPC cost for a plumber?

Plumbing clicks cost more than most home-service keywords, because emergency jobs pay well and every competitor bids on them. Prices swing by city and season, so set your budget from your own numbers:

1. Your average ticket for the service you're advertising.
2. How many of your calls turn into booked jobs.
3. What you can afford to spend to win one job.

Say your average drain job is $350, you book half the calls you get, and you'll spend $70 to win a job. You can pay up to $35 per call. Run that math before you set a daily budget, then judge the campaign by cost per booked job. Cost per click tells you little.

Where retargeting fits

Retargeting shows ads to people who visited your site and left without calling. For emergencies it does little, because the person with the burst pipe called somebody an hour ago. It pays off on planned jobs where people shop around: water heater replacements, repiping, sewer line work and bathroom remodels. Keep it cheap with a small daily budget and a 30-day window, and lead with financing or an offer.

Do Facebook and Instagram ads work for plumbers?

They work for planned work and repeat customers. Nobody scrolls Instagram for a plumber while water runs across the floor. Use social ads for seasonal offers like a water heater flush before winter, for financing on replacements, and for reaching past customers by uploading your customer list. For organic posting, see social media for plumbers.

PPC for plumbers FAQ

Is PPC worth it for a small plumbing company?

Yes, if someone answers the phone. PPC buys calls this week while your Google Business Profile and SEO for plumbers take months to build. A one-truck shop should start with Local Services Ads on a small budget and grow what books.

Should I run Google Ads myself or hire someone?

You can run Local Services Ads yourself. Google Ads gives you more ways to waste money: broad keywords, missing negatives and no call tracking. If you hire help, keep the ad account in your name. Our guide to hiring a plumbing marketing agency lists what else to ask.

How fast do plumbing ads get calls?

Local Services Ads can produce leads within days of approval, once Google finishes its license and background checks. Google Ads can ring the phone on day one if tracking and budget are set up.

Want your ads run for you? See our marketing services and pricing. Related: SEO for plumbers · Email marketing for plumbers · What a plumbing marketing agency does.