Locals Ads Guide

I’m Daniel Dimsey. If you run a cleaning business — house cleaning, window cleaning, gutter cleaning, pressure washing — this is the exact Facebook Ads system I use in 2025 to generate consistent, low-cost leads. Below I walk through setup, targeting, creative, instant forms and the small tweaks that save money and bring better-quality enquiries.

Quick overview: what this system does

• Objective: Lead generation (instant forms preferred).
• Budget: Scaleable daily budget for consistent results.
• Targeting: Pin-based service area with exclusion zones to avoid wasted spend.
• Creative: Genuine, personal images + short, community-focused copy.
• Form: 3–4 qualifying questions + contact + address for accurate quotes.
• Speed: Fast follow-up is critical — respond quickly to convert leads.

Step 1 — Campaign setup

Open Ads Manager and tap Create. Choose the Leads objective — we want people to complete an instant form or website form so we can get their details and send a quote.

Campaign budget: I recommend around AUD $50–100 per day (roughly US$35–75 / UK £25–50). Set it and move on — there’s nothing more you need to tweak in the campaign section for this setup.

Step 2 — Destination: instant forms vs website

If you have a strong website with a good quoting flow, sending traffic there can work. Most of the time I use Facebook Instant Forms because they keep people on the platform and convert better. Instant forms reduce friction — people complete the form without leaving Facebook.

When choosing performance goals, pick “Maximize number of leads” rather than conversion-focused bidding. In my testing, instant forms and the way the form is structured create conversion-focused leads without paying the premium for conversion bidding. That gives you cheaper leads with the same intent.

Step 3 — Targeting: pin + exclude to save spend

Target precisely: type in one of your service suburbs, drop a pin on the map and set a radius. If you serve a larger area, increase the radius; if smaller, shrink it.

Important: add exclusion pins around the main area. Facebook can sometimes spend outside your intended zone, generating leads from places you don’t service. Excluding neighbouring areas prevents wasted ad spend and time chasing jobs you can’t take.

Step 4 — Creative strategy: keep it personal, real and testable

Ads that perform best in local cleaning niches lean heavily on authenticity. People want to hire a person, not a faceless company. Use a personal photo — you or a team member — and keep it genuine.

• Format: I prefer single-image ads for fast testing, though videos work well too.
• Image size: 1080 x 1080 (square) is ideal for feed ads.
• Avoid stock photos. Use real photos of real people and real jobs.
• Do not let Facebook auto-enhance or add overlays — keep control of the message.

Testing approach: keep the ad copy and headline identical and rotate multiple images. That way you quickly learn which photo and angle convert best. I’ve split-tested dozens of images — little differences can change results significantly (fun fact: one test of me holding a cat outperformed a photo holding my kids).

Ad copy framework I use

• Lead sentence: short, local and genuine — speak like a neighbour.
• Introduce yourself: one line saying who you are and what you do.
• Social proof: number of Google reviews or number of happy customers.
• Headline: clear and direct — e.g. “Get your house cleaned”.
• CTA: “Get quote”.

Example elements: a personal image, headline “Get your house cleaned”, description “400+ Google reviews” and CTA “Get quote”. Keep the top copy conversational and local — not corporate-speak.

Step 5 — Build the Instant Form that screens for quality

Create a new instant form and name it clearly. Choose “More volume” by default — if you’re getting a lot of dud callers you can switch to “Higher intent” and require phone verification, but I rarely need to.

Intro: skip it. Intros add friction without much benefit in my experience.

Questions — the golden formula

Ask 3–4 pre-qualifying questions so people put in a little effort to request a quote. This weeds out tyre-kickers while giving you better information to quote accurately.

1. Is your property single-story or double-story?
2. How many bedrooms do you have?
3. What service would you like? (Maintenance clean / Deep clean / Other)
4. Any add-ons? (Oven clean / Fan clean / etc.)

These questions do two things: they increase lead quality, and they give you enough context to provide a meaningful quote rather than a vague range.

Contact information to collect

• Full name
• Phone number
• Email
• Street address (important for accurate quotes)

Having the street address helps you estimate based on property size, check photos on real-estate sites if needed, and avoid surprises when you quote.

Step 6 — Legal copy, thank you message and call option

Privacy policy: paste a link to your privacy policy (your website or a Google Doc). Don’t use a random link — keep it professional.

Confirmation message: keep it short and set expectations. Examples:

• If you use flat-rate instant quotes: “Thanks — you’ll receive your quote within 5 minutes.”
• If you manually review forms: “Thanks — expect your quote within 24–48 hours.”

Speed is key. Fast responses convert much better.

Additional action: add a “Call business” button and your phone number so people who need urgent service can ring directly from the form.

Testing and optimization tips

• Duplicate the ad with the same copy but different images — test 6–20 images to find winners quickly.
• Keep overlays and auto-enhancements off to ensure you measure actual message performance.
• Monitor which images and which form answers correlate with booked jobs — use that to refine targeting and questions.
• Adjust budget after you identify a winning creative — scale slowly to maintain lead quality.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Targeting too broadly — you’ll waste spend on people outside your service area.
• Using stock photos — these convert poorly for local services.
• Overloading the ad with features and benefits — be human and local.
• Ignoring the form structure — a poor form invites tyre-kickers or incomplete leads.

Fast checklist to launch a converting cleaning ad

1. Campaign objective: Leads.
2. Daily budget: AUD $50–100 (~US$35–75 / UK £25–50).
3. Destination: Instant form (unless your website is exceptional).
4. Performance goal: Maximize number of leads.
5. Targeting: Drop pin on service area + exclude surrounding zones.
6. Creative: Real image (1080×1080), personal, no stock or auto-enhance.
7. Form: 3–4 qualifying questions + name, phone, email, street address.
8. Confirmation: Clear timeframe for quotes and a call button.

Want to go deeper?

If you want templates, swipe files and the full system I use — including the bits I can’t share for free here — I run a Home Service Marketing course that walks through Facebook Ads, Google Ads and automating lead follow-up. Check the video description for the course link.

Final thoughts

This system is simple but effective: target the right people, use real photos and personal copy, qualify leads with a short form, and reply fast. Small setup choices — pin exclusions, genuine creative, 3–4 form questions — save money and deliver higher-quality jobs.

If you run a cleaning business and are struggling to get consistent clients, use this setup, test aggressively, and prioritise speed of follow-up. It’s how I scale reliable, profitable leads week after week.