2/10/26
Ben Desjardins
TL;DR: The $37 CPL, 2,898% ROI Playbook in 10 moves
Here’s a proven local marketing strategy for contractors to become a local favorite in their area :
Day 0-2: Install UTM tagging, call tracking, and lead-source fields. Calculate your target CPL using job value × margin × 10% rule.
Week 1: Claim Google Business Profile, complete every field, upload 30+ photos, and launch Local Services Ads with $20/day starting budget.
Week 1: Request 15 reviews from your last 30 jobs using text messages sent within 48 hours of completion.
Week 2: Build three exact-match search campaigns around “city + service + urgent modifier” queries with mobile-first quote pages.
Week 2: Mail 500 postcards with QR-to-quote links to every home within 0.5 miles of your last three completed jobs.
Week 3: Set up retargeting at $5/day with a seven-day frequency cap of three impressions per person.
Week 4: Deploy one city-specific FAQ page answering the top five permit, timeline, and cost questions for your core service.
Week 5: Test bid modifiers by ZIP code using margin data and adjust budgets every Monday by marginal CPL.
Week 8: Build a two-message SMS sequence for every estimate not accepted within 72 hours.
Week 12: Reallocate 20% of budget from the worst-performing ZIP to the best, track booked rate for 14 days, and lock the change if CPL drops.
Being able to measure outcomes is paramount, because every move ties to a number, and every number ties to profit.
What $37 CPL and 2,898% ROI actually mean for contractors
CPL is cost per lead. It’s what you paid to get a phone call, form fill, or text message from someone who wants a quote. CAC is customer acquisition cost. It’s CPL divided by your close rate. If you close 25% of leads at $37 CPL, your CAC is $148.
ROI is return on investment. Revenue you booked minus what you spent, divided by what you spent, expressed as a percentage. A roofer who spends $500 on postcards and books three $7,000 jobs at 30% margin earns $6,300 in gross profit. That’s a 1,160% ROI.
Here’s a 30-second example. You run Google Local Services Ads at $50 per lead. You get 20 leads in a month for $1,000. You close four jobs at an average ticket of $12,000. Your revenue is $48,000. At 35% margin, you earn $16,800 in gross profit. Subtract the $1,000 ad spend and you net $15,800. That’s a 1,480% ROI.
Those numbers aren’t outliers. A client of Sure Shot Systems, a Bakersfield roofing contractor hit $37.42 CPL and booked $100,000+ in 90 days using the exact structure you’ll see next. A construction firm mailed 500 postcards at $0.60 each and generated $87,000 in signed contracts for a 2,898% return.
The math works when you measure every source, know your margin by job type, and allocate spend only to channels that beat your target CAC.
Phase 0 (Day 0-2): Measurement, margins, and offer
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. You can’t bid smart without knowing your margin. Phase 0 locks both in place before you spend a dollar on ads.
Tracking stack set-up: UTMs, call tracking, and lead source fields
Every campaign needs four UTM parameters in the destination URL. Use utm_source for the platform, utm_medium for the channel type, utm_campaign for the specific promotion, and utm_content for the creative variant.
Example: https://yoursite.com/quote?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=roofing-emergency&utm_content=ad-A
Set up call tracking with a unique forwarding number for each channel. Google Ads gets one number, Local Services Ads gets another, postcards get a third. Map those numbers to the same UTM structure in your CRM so every call shows its origin.
Inside your CRM, create a required dropdown field labeled Lead Source with values like Google LSA, Google Search, Postcard, Nextdoor, Referral, Yard Sign. Train every team member to tag the source when logging a new contact. Export the source field weekly and join it to job closed dates and revenue.
Run a test. Send yourself a tracked link, click it, and confirm the UTM values populate in your analytics. Call your tracking number and verify the system logs the source. If both pass, you’re ready.
Profit guardrails: target CPL/CAC by trade and ticket size
Use this equation: Target CPL = (Average Job Value × Margin %) × 10%
A landscaper with a $15,000 average job and 40% margin can spend up to $600 to acquire a customer. At a 20% close rate, the target CPL is $120.
Realistic CPL ranges by trade:
Roofing: $35-$90 for residential reroofs, $80-$175 for commercial or storm.
Landscaping (residential): $25-$70 for maintenance, $60-$140 for hardscaping.
Landscaping (commercial): $90-$220 for multi-site bids.
General contracting: $50-$150 for remodels under $50K, $100-$300 for new builds.
HVAC replacement: $40-$100 for furnace/AC, $80-$180 for full systems.
These aren’t absolutes, see them more like decision guardrails. If your CPL climbs 30% above target for two consecutive weeks, pause that campaign and diagnose the leak.
Proof-led offer: warranty, before/after, and review bundle
Everyone offers “free estimates.” That’s not a great offer. A better offer is proof that you finish on time, don’t cut corners, and stand behind your work.
Bundle three proof elements on every landing page, postcard, and quote:
Warranty specifics: “10-year workmanship warranty, transferable if you sell.”
Before/after gallery: Five local jobs in the visitor’s ZIP or adjacent neighborhoods.
Recent reviews: Three five-star snippets citing speed, cleanliness, or price transparency.
Example: A roofer in Long Beach added a warranty callout, six neighborhood before/afters, and a review mentioning “finished in two days, no mess” to his landing page. His form-fill rate jumped from 4.2% to 7.8% in three weeks without changing the ad copy.
If you’re just starting, offer a photo release discount. Knock $200 off the job in exchange for permission to photograph the site and use images in your marketing. You’ll build your proof library in 60 days.
Phase 1 (Week 1): Own Google Local
Google Business Profile and Local Services Ads are the fastest path to visibility. You don’t wait for domain authority or backlinks. You can appear in the map pack and at the top of search results within 72 hours of setup.
Google Business Profile overhaul that gets you in the map pack
Open your Google Business Profile dashboard and complete these fields:
Primary category: Choose the most specific option, like “Roofing contractor” not “Contractor.”
Services: Add every service you perform with keyword-rich descriptions. Don’t write “Roofs.” Write “Asphalt shingle roof replacement and repair.”
Attributes: Select “Online estimates,” “Eco-friendly,” “Locally owned,” and any that apply.
Q&A: Answer the top five questions prospects ask before calling. Post them yourself if no one else has.
Photos: Upload 30+ images in the first week. Include team shots, truck wraps, completed jobs, and close-ups of materials.
Posts: Publish one update every Monday highlighting a recent job or seasonal offer.
Request a Quote button: Enable it and link to a mobile-optimized form.
Quick Win: Spend one hour uploading 10 before/after pairs and posting a Q&A about permits. Profiles with 30+ photos and answered questions rank higher in local pack results than profiles with five photos and no Q&A.
Local Services Ads fast start: budget, targeting, and disputes
Local Services Ads put you at the very top of search results with a green “Google Guaranteed” badge. Start with $20 per day and set your service area to a 15-mile radius from your office.
Enable weekend coverage if you answer calls on Saturdays. Leads generated outside business hours won’t convert if no one picks up. Set a maximum lead budget of $100 per lead for roof replacement and $60 per lead for repairs.
When a lead comes in, respond within five minutes. Text the prospect immediately with “Got your request. Can I call you in two minutes?” then call. If the lead is a wrong number, spam, or outside your service area, dispute it within seven days through the LSA dashboard to get a refund.
Track every LSA lead in a separate column in your CRM. Compare close rate and job value against other channels weekly. If LSA leads close at 18% and Google Search leads close at 22%, adjust your LSA bid down by 15% and reallocate that budget.
Review surge plan (10-day) without breaking rules
Send a text message to every customer whose job you completed in the last 90 days. Keep the message short: “Hi [Name], thanks for trusting us with your [service]. If you’re happy with the result, would you mind leaving a quick review? Here’s the link: [Google review URL]. Thanks, [Your Name].”
Send 10 requests per day over 10 days. Don’t batch them. Stagger the timing between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays.
Warning: Don’t gate the review request behind an email asking if they’re satisfied first. Google treats that as review gating and can suspend your profile. Don’t offer discounts or entry into a contest in exchange for reviews. Send the link to everyone and let them decide.
Respond to every new review within 24 hours. Thank the reviewer by name, mention the specific service, and close with an invitation to call again. When you hit 15+ reviews with a 4.7+ average, your map pack position will improve.
Phase 2 (Weeks 1-4): High-intent search + retargeting
Search ads capture people who already want what you sell. Retargeting keeps you in front of prospects who visited your site but didn’t convert. Together, they form the demand-capture core of your paid strategy.
Account structure: exact/phrase themes and negatives that matter
Organize campaigns by service and match type. Create three campaigns:
Exact match: Queries like
[roofing contractor Irvine],[emergency roof repair near me],[metal roof installation cost].Phrase match: Queries like
"roof replacement","roof leak fix","new roof estimate".Negatives: Add “DIY,” “free,” “how to,” “salary,” “jobs,” “training,” and “courses” at the account level to block non-buyer traffic.
Group keywords by intent. Emergency terms like “roof leak” go in one ad group with same-day response messaging. Project terms like “new roof cost” go in another with financing callouts.
Do: Set exact match bids 20-40% higher than phrase match. Exact queries convert better and deserve more spend.
Don’t: Dump 200 keywords into one ad group. Keep groups under 15 keywords so you can write tightly matched ad copy.
Conversion-first landing pages for contractors
Your landing page has one job: turn the click into a call or form fill. Strip out everything else.
Above the fold, include:
Headline that echoes the search query: “Emergency Roof Repair in Irvine (Same-Day Service)”
Subhead with proof: “Licensed, insured, 4.9 stars from 87 local families.”
Click-to-call button in the top right with your tracking number in 20-point font.
Three trust signals: Warranty badge, years in business, Google Guaranteed logo.
Form with three fields max (name, phone, ZIP) and a “Get My Quote” button.
Below the fold, add five before/after images from the visitor’s city, a short FAQ addressing permit and timeline concerns, and a second form.
Your page must load in under two seconds on mobile. Run it through PageSpeed Insights and fix any issues flagged in red. A one-second delay cuts conversions by 7%.
Retargeting stack with frequency caps and budget floors
Set up retargeting audiences for visitors who spent 20+ seconds on your site or visited two+ pages but didn’t convert. Start with a $5 daily budget and a frequency cap of three impressions per person over seven days.
Use a single image ad featuring a recent local job with text: “Still thinking about your [service]? Get a free quote in 60 seconds.” Link to the same landing page they originally visited.
Don’t retarget anyone who already converted. Exclude form-fill thank-you page visitors and people who called your tracking number if your call platform supports audience syncing.
Tie retargeting to booked jobs, not clicks. If you spend $150 on retargeting over 30 days and book one $8,000 job at 35% margin, you’ve netted $2,650 after ad spend. That’s a 1,667% ROI.
Pause any audience segment that hasn’t generated a conversion after $100 in spend.
Phase 3 (Weeks 2-6): Neighborhood offline-to-online
Mail and yard signs put your name in front of neighbors who see your crews working and trust you more because you’re already local. QR codes and unique URLs make every offline tactic trackable.
Saturation postcards and door hangers around recent jobs
Within 48 hours of finishing a job, mail postcards to every address within 0.25 miles for small jobs or up to 1.0 mile for large projects. Use a service like PostcardMania or GotPrint to automate mailing by radius.
Front of the card: Photo of the completed job, your truck in the driveway, and a headline like “Your neighbor on Maple Street just trusted us with their new roof.”
Back of the card: Offer (10% off if booked within 14 days), three trust badges (licensed, insured, warranty), and a QR code linking to a quote form pre-tagged with utm_source=postcard&utm_campaign=maple-street-radius.
For door hangers, print 100 at a time and task a crew member with placing them on doors the morning after you finish a job. Pay a $50 bonus for every hanger-sourced booking.
One construction company mailed 500 postcards for $300 and booked three $29,000 remodels within 21 days. The ROI was 2,898%.
QR-to-quote funnel and PURLs for attribution
Generate a unique QR code for each offline piece. Link it to a landing page URL tagged with the campaign name:
https://yoursite.com/quote?utm_source=qr&utm_medium=postcard&utm_campaign=neighborhood-roof-2024-03
Use a URL shortener like Bitly if you want to track scans before they hit your site. Some postcard printers offer QR analytics dashboards.
For high-value campaigns like trade shows or sponsorships, create a personalized URL (PURL) like yoursite.com/springfest and track visits, form fills, and bookings tied to that URL. Map the PURL to your CRM’s lead source field.
When a lead converts, check the UTM source in your CRM. If it says “qr” or matches your PURL, you’ve closed the attribution loop. Export a monthly report showing offline-sourced revenue.
Yard signs, Nextdoor, and local sponsorships with trackable CTAs
Place a yard sign at every job site from day one through final inspection. Use bold letters with your company name, phone number, and “Text ROOF to [tracking number].”
On Nextdoor, post a neighborhood thank-you after completing a job: “Thanks to the Smith family on Oak Ave for trusting us with their roof replacement. If you saw our crews this week, feel free to reach out with questions.” Include a link tagged with utm_source=nextdoor&utm_campaign=oak-ave-organic.
Sponsor a Little League team or community event only if the sponsor package includes a dedicated promo code or short URL you can track. Avoid logo-only placements unless you’re running a brand awareness campaign with separate measurement.
Pro-tip: Use unique promo codes by ZIP. A contractor in three towns used codes NORTH10, SOUTH10, and WEST10 for a spring mailer. He discovered the north ZIP closed at 32% and the south at 14%, then shifted spend accordingly.
Phase 4 (Weeks 2-8): Inbound engine that compounds
Ads and mail get you leads today. Content, nurture sequences, and fast routing get you leads tomorrow and next quarter. Inbound compounds because every page you publish and every sequence you build works 24/7 without new spend.
Local content hubs: city + service FAQs and job stories
Build one FAQ page per city per core service using this format:
Title: “Roof Replacement in [City]: Cost, Permits, and Timeline FAQs”
Sections:
How much does a roof replacement cost in [City]? Answer with a range tied to square footage and material.
Do I need a permit for a new roof in [City]? Link to the local building department page.
How long does a roof replacement take? Give a realistic timeline and note weather delays.
What’s included in your warranty? Spell out workmanship and material coverage.
Can you work in winter? Address seasonality honestly.
Add one job story per page: “We replaced a 2,400 sq ft asphalt shingle roof on Elm Street in [City] in October. The project took three days, passed inspection on the first try, and the homeowner left this review: [quote].”
Update each page quarterly with new job stories and price ranges. Link to these pages from your Google Ads and postcard QR codes.
A Irvine roofer published 12 city-service FAQ pages in eight weeks. Organic traffic grew 94% in 90 days and six visitors booked quotes without any ad click.
Nurture: SMS/email sequences for estimates and rain days
SMS Sequence for Estimates:
Day 1 (immediately after sending estimate): “Hi [Name], just sent your [service] quote to [email]. Let me know if you have questions. Reply YES to schedule or CALL to talk now.”
Day 3 (if no reply): “Checking in on your [service] project. We have openings [date range]. Reply BOOK or call [number].”
Email Sequence for Rain Days:
When weather delays a scheduled job, send an email within two hours: “Hi [Name], today’s rain pushed your [service] to [new date]. We’ll text you the morning of to confirm. Thanks for your patience.”
Include a soft cross-sell: “P.S. If you’ve been thinking about [related service], now’s a great time to bundle and save 10%.”
These sequences take 20 minutes to build in any CRM with automation. They recover 8-12% of estimates that would otherwise go cold.
Lead routing and speed-to-lead under 60 seconds
Set up lead routing rules in your CRM:
Business hours (8 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays): Route to the on-call estimator’s cell phone via SMS and push notification.
After hours: Route to an answering service or auto-reply with “Got it. We’ll call you by 8:30 a.m. tomorrow.”
Weekends: Route to a weekend estimator if you staff Saturdays, or auto-reply and move to Monday 8 a.m.
Assign backup owners for every lead. If the primary estimator doesn’t respond within 60 seconds, move to the office manager or owner.
Track response time weekly. Calculate median and 95th percentile. If your 95th percentile exceeds five minutes, you’re losing 15-20% of hot leads to competitors who answer faster.
One landscaper cut his speed-to-lead from eight minutes to 45 seconds by enabling Slack alerts for every new form fill. His close rate jumped from 19% to 27% in 30 days without changing his pitch.
Sure Shot Systems helps contractors automate lead routing, follow-ups, and multi-channel tracking so no opportunity slips through the cracks.
Phase 5 (Weeks 5-12): Scale and refine
Once your campaigns generate positive ROI, the question shifts from “does it work?” to “where does it work best?” Scale only what the data validates and pull back everywhere else.
Bid modifiers by ZIP, hour, and weather windows
Export 60 days of lead data by ZIP code. Calculate CPL and close rate for each ZIP. Increase bids by 20% in ZIPs where close rate exceeds your account average and CPL sits below target. Decrease bids by 15% in underperforming ZIPs or exclude them entirely.
Adjust bids by hour of day. If leads between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. close at 29% and leads after 6 p.m. close at 14%, raise morning bids by 25% and lower evening bids by 20%.
Integrate weather data if your service is weather-sensitive. A roofer in Ontario paused all “roof maintenance” ads when precipitation exceeded 50% probability and shifted that budget to “emergency roof repair” keywords. His CPL dropped from $68 to $41 during storm weeks.
Simple weather integration: Use IFTTT or Zapier to pull daily weather forecasts and pause specific campaigns when conditions match your criteria.
Query sculpting and negatives: a weekly cadence
Every Monday, export the search terms report from Google Ads. Filter for queries with 10+ impressions and zero conversions. Add irrelevant terms to your negative keyword list.
Common negatives by trade:
Roofing: “DIY,” “how to,” “cost calculator,” “software,” “jobs near me,” “salary.”
Landscaping: “artificial grass,” “minecraft,” “landscaping ideas,” “app,” “design software.”
General contracting: “license lookup,” “school,” “apprentice,” “courses,” “association.”
For queries that generated clicks but no form fills or calls, check the landing page. If the page doesn’t match the query intent, either improve the page or add the query to negatives.
One contractor found “metal roof snow guards” driving 40 clicks per month at $6.80 CPC with zero conversions. He added “snow guards” as a negative because he didn’t sell them separately. He saved $272/month.
Budget allocation by marginal CPL and booked rate
Calculate marginal CPL each week: the CPL of the last $100 you spent in each campaign. If Campaign A’s marginal CPL is $55 and Campaign B’s is $95, shift $200 from B to A.
Track booked rate by campaign. Booked rate is the percentage of leads that turn into signed contracts. If Campaign C generates leads at $40 CPL but only books at 8%, and Campaign D generates leads at $70 CPL but books at 30%, Campaign D delivers better ROI.
Simple decision guide:
Marginal CPL below target + booked rate above 20%: Increase budget by 20%.
Marginal CPL above target + booked rate below 15%: Decrease budget by 30% or pause.
Marginal CPL at target + booked rate at 18-22%: Hold steady and test new ad copy.
Reallocate 10-20% of your total budget every two weeks based on these rules. Let the numbers guide you, not gut feel.
Case studies: roofing and commercial landscaping
Real campaigns. Real numbers. Real contractors who followed this playbook and posted measurable lifts.
Roofing: 81 to 600 leads/month, what changed
A metal roofing contractor in Ontario started with 81 leads per month from referrals and a basic website. He averaged $8,200 per job and closed 22% of leads.
Three levers moved the needle:
Google Business Profile overhaul: Added 40 photos, posted weekly updates, and seeded 12 Q&A entries. Map pack visibility jumped 170% in 45 days.
Phrase match search campaigns: Built six campaigns around “metal roof cost,” “metal roof installation,” and “standing seam roof” with city modifiers. Started at $30/day, scaled to $180/day as CPL held at $52.
Postcard radius targeting: Mailed 1,200 postcards within 0.5 miles of every completed job. Generated 38 quote requests at $31.58 per lead, closed nine jobs.
Results: Lead volume grew from 81 to 347 in 90 days and hit 600/month by month six. The company hired a call center to handle intake and added two estimators. Booked revenue increased 420% year-over-year.
Commercial landscaping: +274% search views and +107% SALs
A commercial landscaping company targeting property managers and facility directors struggled with unpredictable RFP flow and long sales cycles. Average contract value was $44,000 and close rate sat at 18%.
Key playbook steps that drove gains:
CRM and Marketing OS integration: Tagged every lead source, tracked bid stage, and built automated follow-up sequences for stalled proposals.
City + service FAQ pages: Published 15 pages targeting “commercial landscaping [city]” and “property maintenance contracts [city].” Organic search views increased 274% in 120 days.
Gated case study e-book: Created a PDF showcasing five multi-site projects and gated it behind a two-field form. Generated 63 marketing-qualified leads in 10 weeks.
LinkedIn retargeting: Ran retargeting ads to website visitors emphasizing “record bid season” messaging. Sales-accepted leads grew 107% month-over-month.
Results: Eight organic SALs booked $60,000 in contracts. The sales team gained 90-day pipeline visibility and reduced bid turnaround from four days to under two.
30/60/90-day implementation plan and KPI checkpoints
Timeframe | Key Tasks | Owner | Budget | KPI Checkpoint |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Days 0-2 | Install UTMs, call tracking, lead-source CRM fields, calculate target CPL | Marketing/Ops | $0 | 100% of leads tagged with source |
Week 1 | Overhaul Google Business Profile, launch Local Services Ads at $20/day, request 15 reviews | Marketing | $140 | 30+ GBP photos, 3+ reviews live |
Weeks 1-4 | Build 3 search campaigns (exact/phrase/negative), create mobile landing pages, set up retargeting at $5/day | Marketing/Dev | $600-$1,200 | CPL under target, 5%+ landing page conversion rate |
Weeks 2-6 | Mail 500 postcards around recent jobs, place yard signs, post on Nextdoor | Marketing/Crew | $300-$500 | 2+ booked jobs from offline sources |
Weeks 2-8 | Publish 6 city+service FAQ pages, build SMS/email nurture sequences, set speed-to-lead SLA under 60s | Marketing/Sales | $0 | Median speed-to-lead under 60s, 3+ organic conversions |
Weeks 5-12 | Apply bid modifiers by ZIP/hour, run weekly query sculpting, reallocate 20% of budget to best performers | Marketing | Existing budget | Marginal CPL drop 10-15%, booked rate above 20% |
Review KPIs every Monday. Celebrate wins and diagnose misses the same day.
Budgets and channel benchmarks for contractors
Channel | Expected CPL Range | Close Rate | Payback (Months) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Google Local Services Ads | $30-$90 | 20-30% | 0.5-1.0 | Roofers, HVAC, emergency services |
Google Search (exact match) | $35-$110 | 18-28% | 1.0-2.0 | High-intent project keywords |
Google Search (phrase match) | $25-$80 | 14-22% | 1.5-2.5 | Broader service terms |
Retargeting (display/social) | $40-$150 | 8-15% | 2.0-3.0 | Warm audiences, long sales cycles |
Postcards (radius mail) | $20-$50 | 10-18% | 1.0-2.0 | Neighborhood saturation |
Nextdoor organic + sponsored | $15-$60 | 12-20% | 1.0-2.0 | Residential trust-building |
SEO (organic content) | $0 (time investment) | 15-25% | 3.0-6.0 | Long-term compounding visibility |
These ranges assume small-metro and suburban markets. Dense urban areas skew 20-40% higher. Rural areas skew 15-25% lower.
Tool stack and setup checklist
Call tracking: CallRail or CallTrackingMetrics with unique numbers per channel.
CRM: HubSpot, Jobber, ServiceTitan, or Salesforce with required lead-source field.
UTM builder: Use a spreadsheet template or ga-dev-tools.google.com/campaign-url-builder.
Landing page builder: Unbounce, Leadpages, or WordPress with a mobile-first theme.
Postcard automation: PostcardMania, GotPrint, or Postcard Mania with radius targeting.
Review request tool: Podium, Birdeye, or manual SMS via CRM automation.
Google Business Profile: Claimed, verified, and linked to Google Ads account.
Local Services Ads: Background check completed, license uploaded, insurance current.
Google Ads conversion tracking: Tag installed on thank-you page and call conversions enabled.
Analytics: Google Analytics 4 with goals for form submissions and call clicks.
Project management: Asana, Trello, or Monday.com for tracking implementation tasks.
Weather API (optional): OpenWeatherMap or Weather Underground via Zapier for bid pausing.
Complete this checklist within 48 hours. Delegate setup to a VA or junior marketer if needed.
Mini-FAQ: a few questions our readers asked
What is the average ROI for Google Ads in contractor marketing?
Most contractors see 400-800% ROI on well-optimized search campaigns when CPL stays below target and close rates exceed 20%.
How did a roofing contractor generate 300+ exclusive leads monthly?
By overhauling Google Business Profile, running exact-match search ads, and mailing radius postcards around every completed job.
Can postcards deliver 2,000%+ ROI for construction firms?
Yes, when mailed to neighbors within 0.5 miles of recent jobs and paired with a QR-to-quote funnel and time-limited offer.
What CPL benchmarks work for local roofing or landscaping ads?
Residential roofing: $35-$90. Residential landscaping: $25-$70. Commercial landscaping: $90-$220. Adjust by market density.
How do I measure marketing ROI for construction bids?
Track lead source in your CRM, join it to closed jobs and revenue, subtract ad spend, and divide net profit by ad spend.
What are proven tactics for consistent leads in seasonal contractor markets?
Pause maintenance keywords during off-season, shift budget to emergency and project terms, and use weather-triggered bid adjustments.
If you’re ready to automate lead routing, multi-channel follow-ups, and attribution tracking, visit Sure Shot Systems and see how contractors are closing more jobs with less manual effort.
Common mistakes and how to fix them fast
Mistake: Sending all leads to one inbox and losing track of source.
Fix: Create a required lead-source dropdown in your CRM and train every team member to tag every contact within 60 seconds.
Mistake: Running broad match keywords without negatives and paying for “roofing jobs” or “roofing software” clicks.
Fix: Start with exact and phrase match only, and add a 20-term negative list on day one.
Mistake: Building landing pages with five-field forms, long paragraphs, and no click-to-call button.
Fix: Strip the form to three fields, add a giant click-to-call button, and test on mobile before launch.
Mistake: Setting Local Services Ads budgets too low and missing evening and weekend leads.
Fix: Start at $20/day, enable weekend coverage, and respond to every lead within five minutes or dispute no-shows.
Mistake: Requesting reviews only from your happiest customers and skipping the rest.
Fix: Text every customer after job completion, no gating, and let them decide whether to leave a review.
Mistake: Reallocating budget based on clicks or impressions instead of booked revenue.
Fix: Track booked rate and marginal CPL weekly, and shift spend only to campaigns that beat both benchmarks.
Fix one mistake per day this week and you’ll recover 10-20% of wasted spend by Friday.
Your next 72 hours
Hour 1-4: Set up UTM tagging template, install call tracking numbers, and add the lead-source field to your CRM. Test one tracked link and one call to confirm everything logs correctly.
Hour 5-12: Claim and overhaul your Google Business Profile. Upload 30 photos, seed five Q&A entries, enable Request a Quote, and schedule your first post. Launch Local Services Ads with a $20 daily budget and weekend coverage turned on.
Hour 13-24: Text 10 recent customers and request reviews. Build a three-field mobile landing page with a click-to-call button, before/after gallery, and warranty callout. Link it to a new exact-match Google Ads campaign targeting “city + service + urgent modifier” queries at $10/day.
Hour 25-48: Export lead data from the last 90 days. Tag every source retroactively. Calculate your current CPL, close rate, and target CPL using the equation from Phase 0. Identify your best and worst sources.
Hour 49-72: Order 500 radius postcards around your three most recent jobs with a QR code linking to your new landing page. Place yard signs at every active job site. Set a Monday morning calendar reminder to review your first week’s lead volume, CPL, and speed-to-lead.
Expect three to seven new leads in your first week. Expect 12 to 20 by week four if you follow the playbook exactly. Expect measurable ROI by week eight and compounding results by month four.
You now have the same playbook that took contractors from 81 to 600 leads per month and generated 2,898% ROI on postcards. The only variable left is execution. Start your 72 hours now.
If this marketing roadmap for contractors makes sense for your business but you don’t have time to implement all this, check out Sure Shot Systems. We offer a done-for-you monthly subscription to implement a tailored marketing strategy that works for your local business.
About the Author
Ben Desjardins is the founder of Sure Shot Systems and a three-time entrepreneur with 20+ years of marketing experience helping local contractors scale profitably. Ben built Sure Shot Systems after witnessing too many small businesses overpay for mediocre agency work or struggle with ineffective DIY marketing. He's personally managed Google Ads campaigns generating $37 cost-per-leads and local marketing strategies returning 2,898% ROI. Ben works directly with roofing, flooring, painting, and home service contractors to build marketing systems that consistently outperform industry benchmarks. Follow his marketing insights on LinkedIn, where he shares behind-the-scenes data from client campaigns and no-nonsense marketing tips for contractors.
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