How Jersey Shore Service Companies Should Actually Run Google Ads
August 12, 2026 · 6 min read · Google Ads
Most local service accounts I audit are burning 30-50% of their budget on searches that were never going to call. Here's the setup I use for shore-area contractors.
Start with the searches that already have intent
A homeowner typing "emergency ac repair long branch" is a different human than one typing "how does a heat pump work." One is holding a phone in a hot house. The other is browsing. Your first campaign should only speak to the first person.
Build tight ad groups around service + town: repair, replacement, installation, emergency. Everything else waits until the money-makers are profitable.
- Exact and phrase match only until you have 30+ conversions
- Location targeting set to "presence" — not "presence or interest"
- Radius by drive time, not miles
Negative keywords are the whole job
Adding negatives is unglamorous and it is where the profit is. Jobs, salary, DIY, free, cheap, parts, near me + a town you don't serve — all of it should be blocked before your ads run for a week.
Review the search terms report weekly for the first month, then every other week. You will find money every single time.
Count calls, not clicks
If your conversion action is "visited contact page," you're optimizing for the wrong thing. Track phone calls over 45 seconds, form submissions and click-to-call taps as separate conversions, and give Google a value for each.
Once the account has real conversion data, a target CPA bid strategy will beat manual bidding almost every time.
Send traffic to a page built for the ad
Sending an emergency plumbing ad to your homepage is the most expensive mistake in local advertising. The landing page should match the search word-for-word, put the phone number in the first screen and prove you're licensed, insured and local.
That single change routinely doubles conversion rate — the same budget, twice the calls.