Locals Ads Guide

I’m Daniel Dimsey. In this guide I’ll walk you, step‑by‑step, through the exact Google Ads setup I use in 2025 for contractor and construction businesses — the same process I run on real campaigns to generate high‑intent local leads. If you follow this exactly, you’ll avoid rookie mistakes, reduce wasted ad spend and get a campaign built to scale.

What this guide covers

• How to research the right keywords and bid levels before you create a campaign
• How to structure a Search campaign for contractors (bids, targeting and settings)
• How to write ad copy that converts and set ad assets the right way
• How to avoid wasted spend and make sure only high‑intent prospects click

Step 1 — Sign up and grab the ad credits

If you’re brand new to Google Ads, take any sign‑up credits Google is offering in your country — it’s free money. Once you’ve claimed that, sign into Google Ads and let’s get practical.

Step 2 — Do keyword research first (use Keyword Planner)

Before you create ads, use Tools → Keyword Planner → Discover new keywords. The key here is to find the exact search terms people use and the real cost to appear at the top for those terms.

• Enter a core search term for your service (e.g. “bathroom remodeling”).
• Change the location to your target city/region — this gives accurate local search volumes and bid estimates (I used Austin, TX in my example).
• Click Get results and review Average monthly searches and the Top of page bid (low & high ranges).

Why this matters: Google shows a top‑of‑page bid range for each keyword. Ads are charged per click, and those ranges tell you how much competitors are spending. Use these numbers to set realistic maximum cost‑per‑click (max CPC) caps so you don’t overpay or underbid and disappear from the results.

How I pick a starting max CPC

I usually target roughly 70–75% of the high end of the top‑of‑page range. If the high range is $88, set max CPC around $60. That keeps you competitive on the front page without always paying the absolute top price.

Step 3 — Create the campaign (campaign structure & core settings)

1. Campaign objective: Leads — we want form submissions or calls from your site.
2. Conversion tracking: Make sure you track form fills and website thank‑you page views. (I have a separate detailed conversion‑tracking walkthrough.)
3. Campaign type: Search — you want to show when people search for services like yours.
4. Goal to reach: Website visits — this gives more control. Avoid Google’s lead forms and phone call focused goals for initial setup.

Notes on conversion bidding:

• Do NOT start on a conversions bidding strategy if your account has no conversion history. Google needs data to optimise; otherwise you’ll get expensive conversions.
• Start with Manual/Max CPC (focus on clicks) and switch to a conversions strategy once you have ~30+ conversions for Google to learn from.

Step 4 — Important campaign settings to prevent wasted spend

• Disable Google Search Partners and Google Display Network — these placements are harder to track and often waste budget for local service businesses.
• Locations: Use Advanced search and target specific towns/areas individually (don’t rely on a single radius pin unless absolutely necessary).
• Targeting behaviour: Set Locations to “People in or regularly in your targeted area” (presence) — NOT “presence or interest”. This prevents showing ads to people interested in your area but who aren’t local.
• Audience segments: Leave them on Observation (not Targeting). Targeting here can unnecessarily restrict traffic; observation lets you increase bids later based on performance.

Why target areas individually? If one suburb converts better than another, you want to be able to increase bids there and reduce bids in low‑performing areas. That optimisation can save thousands over time.

Step 5 — Build your ad groups and choose the keywords

You can let Google suggest ad groups and assets, but always replace suggested keywords with your researched list from Keyword Planner. Use the high‑intent, highest‑search keywords you recorded (and the top‑of‑page bid ranges).

Match types — crucial

• Initial setup often ends up with Broad match suggestions. Change every keyword to Exact Match (or Phrase Match if you prefer) immediately after publishing.
• Why exact match? With contractor services you’re often paying $20–$80 per click. Exact match ensures only people searching for your specific service see your ads, increasing intent and reducing wasted clicks.

Step 6 — Ad copy that converts: the four core pillars

Your ads should be hyper‑relevant and built around these pillars:

• Call to action — tell people what you want them to do (Get a quote, Book now).
• Keyword relevance — match the user’s search in your headline and description.
• Social proof — show trust (highly recommended, reviews, years in business).
• Offers — discounts or promotions when applicable.

Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion for relevance

A quick trick: use keyword insertion to put the user’s search term into your headline ({Keyword: default}). Pin that headline in position 1 if you want it to always show first. This makes the ad read exactly like the search phrase and massively increases relevance and click‑through rate.

Pinning & split testing

Pin different headlines to different positions across two ads to run a clear split test. For example:

• Ad A — Headline 1 pinned to “Bathroom remodeling near me”
• Ad B — Headline 1 pinned to the same, Headline 2 pinned to “Get a free quote”

Pinning lets you know which headlines are responsible for performance instead of leaving it up to Google to mix and match unpredictably.

Step 7 — Ad descriptions, images and assets

• Descriptions: Clearly state what you do, add a call to action, a bit of social proof and reference the local area.
• Images (for responsive search assets): Use photos of finished projects and team photos — team photos build instant trust because people want to see who’s coming to their house.
• Sitelinks: Add links to your services, quote page, reviews, and past projects to increase trust and CTR.
• Call extension: Add your phone number as a call extension so people can call directly from the ad. Many prospects prefer talking on the phone.
• Callouts: Add short trust signals like “Highly recommended”, “Licensed & insured” — they increase ad size and credibility.
• Avoid: Messages, lead forms and structured snippets at the start — they rarely perform well for this vertical out of the box.

Step 8 — Budgeting and publishing

• Set a daily budget you can afford for initial testing.
• Publish the campaign. You may see a bidding warning because you’re on Max CPC (clicks) instead of conversions — ignore this warning until you have conversion volume.

Step 9 — Immediately change keyword match types to exact

After publishing, go to Keywords → change all match types → change to Exact (or Phrase if you must). This prevents irrelevant queries from consuming expensive clicks and ensures only high‑intent searches trigger your ads.

When to switch to conversion bidding

Once you’ve recorded about 30 conversions in the account for that campaign, switch your bidding to a conversions‑focused strategy (Target CPA, Maximise Conversions or Target ROAS if you have revenue data). Before that, Google doesn’t have enough account‑specific data and conversion bidding can be wildly expensive.

Quick checklist before you walk away

• Claim sign up ad credits (if new)
• Keyword Planner: gather keywords + top‑of‑page bid ranges for your city
• Campaign: Search, Objective = Leads, Goal = Website visits
• Bidding: Start on Max CPC (set around 70–75% of high bid range)
• Disable Search Partners & Display
• Location targeting: target individual areas & set Presence only
• Audience segments: Observation not Targeting
• Ad copy: use keyword insertion, strong CTA, social proof, local relevance
• Add call extension & sitelinks, upload project and team images
• Publish, then switch all keywords from Broad to Exact match
• Switch to conversion bidding after ~30 conversions

Final thoughts

Google Ads for contractors works extremely well when you combine precise keyword research, strict location targeting, exact match keywords and very relevant ad copy. Start on clicks, cap bids using local bid ranges, and switch to conversion bidding only after you have real conversion history. That approach will dramatically reduce wasted spend and bring you steady, high‑intent leads.

If you want to go deeper, I teach full conversion tracking, campaign optimisation and advanced scaling strategies in my Home Service Marketing course and in a dedicated conversion‑tracking walkthrough. Those resources cover automation, Facebook ads and the complete blueprint I use across multiple service businesses.

Remember: be specific, be local, and protect your budget by targeting the people who actually need your service today.