- Search platforms answer demand. Social and video platforms create it.
- Project size and sales cycle decide the platform more than your trade name does.
- Each platform runs on a different asset: keywords, reviews, or video.
- Start with one or two platforms you can run properly.
Decide when you want to meet the homeowner
A homeowner with a leaking water heater searches today and hires today. A homeowner thinking about a backyard pool talks about it for a year. Ad platforms split along that line.
Search platforms show your ad when someone asks for the job. Social and video platforms show your work to people in your area who haven’t asked anyone yet. Know which kind of homeowner pays your bills before you compare anything else.
Google Search ads and Local Services Ads
Search ads let you choose the keywords, write the ad, and send the click to a page you built. They fit any trade with real search volume and reward contractors who keep up with search terms and pages. They fall short when few people search for your work, and crowded trades make every click a bidding fight.
Local Services Ads put a verified listing above the regular results and charge per lead. They fit repair and service trades with plenty of reviews and someone who answers the phone. They fall short for big planned projects, and they only cover the trades and areas Google supports.
Meta: Facebook and Instagram
Meta reaches homeowners by area while they scroll, which makes it the platform for projects people plan rather than search: remodels, roofs, pools, outdoor living, ADUs. Video of your own jobs does most of the selling.
It falls short for emergencies and for contractors with nothing real to show. Without a page that qualifies and a team that follows up fast, Meta inquiries can arrive lukewarm.
YouTube: the same video, more room
YouTube ads run through Google Ads and can show your video to people in your service area. Longer walk-throughs and project stories fit here better than in a fast-moving feed.
It works best as a second platform for contractors already producing video. As a first platform it’s harder to tie to booked estimates, and the creative has to hold attention for longer.
Nextdoor and Yelp: local supporting players
Nextdoor is organized around neighborhoods, and its ads show local businesses to people who live nearby. It can suit trades where neighbors recommend each other, like painting, fencing, and landscaping. Its reach is narrower than the big platforms.
Yelp sells promoted placement to people already browsing local businesses. It fits markets and trades where homeowners use Yelp to choose. It falls short where your customers never open it, and results lean heavily on the reviews you have there.
Pick your first platform
Whatever you pick, track it to booked estimates and signed jobs before you add the next one.
- Homeowners search for you when something breaks: start with Local Services Ads and Google Search
- Your best jobs are planned months ahead: start with Meta video ads and a project page
- Both kinds of work: Meta for planned projects, Google Search for people already looking
- Strong neighborhood word of mouth: test Nextdoor once a main platform is working
