Let’s get something straight.
PPC does not make you money.
Your operation does.
Paid search only works in home services when your phones are answered, your calls are booked correctly, and your schedule can actually handle the demand. If any of that breaks, PPC doesn’t “struggle.” It exposes you.
That’s why so many contractors feel burned by marketing agencies. The ads weren’t the real problem. The system behind them was.
This article is here to give you a truth serum. Not hype. Not promises. Just how PPC really works in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical businesses.
Most agencies sell PPC like this:
more clicks
more leads
lower cost per click
That sounds nice. It also doesn’t pay your bills.
In home services, the only thing that matters is:
booked, sold, profitable jobs
Clicks don’t matter if no one answers the phone.
Leads don’t matter if they don’t get booked.
Booked calls don’t matter if they don’t sell.
PPC is not e-commerce. You’re not selling shoes.
You’re feeding a dispatch board under pressure.
These are not opinions. They’re physics.
If your schedule is full, PPC can’t help you.
All it can do is waste money faster.
A perfect ad can’t save a missed call.
Speed to answer matters more than ad copy.
Ten booked calls beat thirty tire-kickers every time.
Bad jobs drain techs, kill morale, and wreck margins.
Bad CSRs, weak dispatch, poor offers. PPC makes them louder.
If any agency ignores these laws, you’re not buying strategy. You’re buying hope.
Most owners think in monthly spend.
That’s a mistake.
PPC should be managed daily, based on:
how many calls you can run
how well your office is booking
how your techs are performing
Some days you spend more.
Some days you spend less.
That’s not a problem. That’s control.
If your agency can’t explain how spend adjusts to your dispatch board, they’re flying blind.
Here’s what actually matters:
PPC spend → calls → booked → showed → sold → gross margin
If any step breaks, the whole funnel lies to you.
That’s why reporting matters. Not fancy dashboards. Real numbers.
Every owner should know:
how many PPC calls came in today
how many were answered
how many were booked
how many sold
how much money they actually made
If you don’t have that, PPC is guesswork.
This is where owners win back control.
You should have rules like:
if answer rate drops, pause ads
if booked calls go up but revenue drops, fix qualification
if cost per booked call spikes, audit search terms
PPC should never be “set it and forget it.”
That’s how budgets disappear.
Here’s the gap.
Agencies talk about:
impressions
clicks
learning phase
more data
Operators care about:
booked calls
sold jobs
margin
capacity
If your agency can’t speak both languages, you’re paying for reports, not results.
Before you sign anything, ask:
how do you pace spend to our schedule?
what happens if our phones miss calls?
how do you spot bad jobs early?
what data do you need from us weekly?
If they dodge, deflect, or talk in circles, you have your answer.
PPC is not evil.
Marketing agencies are not the enemy.
But PPC without operational control is gambling.
When phones are tight, dispatch is disciplined, and feedback is honest, PPC becomes a weapon.
When those things are loose, PPC becomes expensive noise.
If this made you uncomfortable, that’s good.
Discomfort usually means truth.
And truth is cheaper than wasted ad spend.