Solved: Need help with digital marketing for trench shoring equipment

Hi there,

Thanks for getting in touch. I had a look over the situation you described with your father's business. It sounds incredibly frustrating, especially when you know there's more potential there but your hands are tied by an agency that isn't being transparent. Dealing with a "set it and forget it" agency is a common problem, but its one you definately don't have to put up with.

I'm happy to give you some of my initial thoughts and a bit of guidance based on my experience. This is a very specific niche, which is both a challenge and an opportunity. You just need the right approach to find your customers without wasting a load of money.

We'll need to look at the agency situation first...

Right, first things first. The lack of transparency and access is a massive red flag. You're spending $3.5k a month. It is absolutely your right to have full, unfettered access to the Google Ads account. It's your data, paid for with your money. End of story.

I'd suggest you approach them one last time. Don't be confrontational, frame it as a collaborative request. Say something like, "To help us provide you with better insights on our customers and projects, and to understand performance better on our end, we'll need full admin access to the Google Ads account going forward." If they push back, refuse, or make excuses, I'd say that's your signal to terminate the contract as soon as you can. Tbh, any reputable agency or freelancer would give you this without you even having to ask. It shows a lack of confidence in their own work if they hide it.

The "set it and forget it" approach is lazy. In paid ads, especially in a competitive B2B space, you need constant monitoring and optimisation. Things change, new competitors pop up, search trends shift. An agency should be your partner, actively looking for ways to improve your ROAS, not just a service provider who presses a button once a month. The fact you feel they dont understand your business is the core of the problem. They can't optimise what they don't understand.

You probably should know what to look for in an audit...

Once you get access (or start fresh with someone new), you or your new partner needs to do a deep audit of the campaigns. For a niche like trench shoring equipment, the devil is always in the details. Here’s what I’d be looking at immediatly:

-> Keyword Strategy: This is everything. Are they targeting broad, expensive keywords like "construction equipment"? That'll burn through your budget with irrelevant clicks. You need to be targeting people with real intent. These are your long-tail keywords. Think like your customer, a site manager or contractor with a problem to solve.

Some examples of what I'd expect to see:

• "trench box hire near me"
• "aluminium trench shoring systems"
• "excavation support equipment rental"
• "manhole box for sale"
• "emergency utility shoring"

You get the idea. It's about specificity. Someone searching for "excavation support" is a much better lead than someone searching "construction".

-> Negative Keywords: This is just as important. You need a huge list of negative keywords to stop your ads showing up for irrelevant searches. You need to be excluding terms like "jobs", "training", "DIY", "software", "trench coat", "photos". Every irrelevant click is wasted money that could have gone towards a real lead. A lazy agency often neglects this, and its a huge source of wasted spend.

-> Ad Copy & Relevancy: Does the ad copy speak the language of a contractor? Does it mention things they care about, like "OH&S compliant", "fast delivery to site", "heavy-duty", "certified"? Or is it just generic business-speak? The ad copy should match the keyword and lead to a landing page that continues that conversation. If the user journey feels disjointed, they'll just leave.

If you're getting lots of clicks but few leads (a low conversion rate), the problem is often that the ad promises one thing and the landing page doesn't deliver, or the page itself isn't persuasive enough.

I'd say you should also think beyond just Google Search...

While Google Ads is probably your strongest channel because you're catching people actively searching for a solution, it shouldn't be your only channel. Your customers exist outside of the Google search box. The real question is, where are they and how can we reach them?

I've run alot of campaigns for B2B clients, including for high-ticket industrial products, and you often find untapped potential on other platforms. For you, the most obvious one is LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Ads: This platform is built for B2B. You can get incredibly specific with your targeting in a way you just can't on Google or Meta. We could target users based on:
-> Job Titles: "Project Manager", "Site Foreman", "Civil Engineer", "Excavation Manager", "Utilities Contractor".
-> Industry: "Construction", "Civil Engineering", "Utilities".
-> Company Size: Focus on the size of contracting firms that are you're ideal customers.
-> Company Name: You could even build a list of the top 50-100 contracting firms in your service area and target their decision-makers directly.

This is powerful stuff. You're not waiting for them to search; you're putting your brand and equipment right in their professional feed. I remember one client where we used LinkedIn ads to target B2B decision makers for a software, and we achieved a cost per lead of $22. You'd probably want to run ads pointing to a page on your site with a spec sheet download or a "request a quote" form. You're generating leads, not making direct sales, so the goal is to start a conversation.

You'll need a website that actually converts traffic...

You mentioned you could do better with branding and organising assets, and this is a really honest and important insight. Tbh, you can have the best ads in the world, but if they send traffic to a website that doesn't look trustworthy or is hard to use, you'll get nowhere. Your website is your digital storefront and your number one salesperson.

For a business selling heavy, critical safety equipment, trust is paramount. Your website needs to scream professionalism and reliability. This means:
-> High-Quality Imagery & Videos: Show the equipment in action on real job sites. Generic stock photos won't cut it. Videos are even better.
-> Clear Calls-to-Action (CTAs): What is the one thing you want a visitor to do? "Request a Quote"? "Download Catalogue"? "Speak to a Specialist"? Make that button big, bold, and obvious on every page.
-> Trust Signals: These are vital. Do you have testimonials from well-known contractors? Case studies of projects you've supplied? Logos of clients? Industry certifications? Your physical address and phone number? All these things reduce perceived risk and make a potential customer feel more comfortable getting in touch.
-> Professional Copywriting: The text on your site needs to be persuasive. It should focus on the benefits for the contractor – increased safety, improved efficiency, meeting deadlines, avoiding fines – not just the features of the equipment.

Fixing the website should be a priority. Any money you spend on ads will see a much better return once your 'shop' is in order. It'll also make any agency or freelancers job much easier.

This is the main advice I have for you:

I know that's alot to take in, so I've put the main recommendations into a table for you to get a clear overview.

A final thought on freelancers versus an agency...

You asked about hiring a freelancer versus an agency. Tbh, the label doesn't matter as much as the quality of the person or team you're working with. A great freelancer can be better than a bad agency, and vice-versa. What you're looking for is a partner, not just a supplier.

When you talk to potential new partners, ask to see case studies relevant to your field (e.g., B2B, industrial, construction). See how they talk about strategy. Do they ask smart questions about your business and customers, or do they just talk about clicks and impressions? You want the former. A good partner will be obsessed with your business goals, not just their campaign metrics.

Working with an expert in a niche like yours is less about just running ads and more about avoiding costly mistakes. They bring the experience of what works (and what doesn't) from hundreds of other campaigns, which accelerates your path to getting a return on your investment.

I hope this detailed breakdown has been a helpful starting point for you. It's a solvable problem, and you're right to feel there's a lot of untapped potential. If you'd like to have a more in-depth chat about your situation and how we might be able to help you implement a strategy like this, we offer a free, no-obligation initial consultation. We could walk through your current setup and give you some more specific, actionable advice.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh