Solved: Need Someone to Run My Facebook Ads for Business

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out!

I had a read through your situation. It's great that you've built up your window cleaning business with door-to-door sales, thats proper hard graft. Deciding to move into paid advertising is a smart move to free up your time so you can focus on running the business itself. You're right, the learning curb can be steep, and it's easy to waste a lot of money if you don't get it right from the off.

I'm happy to give you some of my initial thoughts and guidance based on my experience with other service-based businesses. Hopefully this'll give you a clearer picture of what to expect and how to approach it.

I'd say you need to think beyond just Facebook...

Okay, so your first question was about finding someone for your Facebook ads. This is what most people think of first, but for a service like window cleaning, it might not actually be the best place to start spending your money. It's not a bad idea, but there's probably a better one.

You've got to think about how your customers find you. When someone's windows are dirty and they decide they want them cleaned, what do they do? Most of the time, they don't scroll through Facebook hoping an ad pops up. They go straight to Google and search for something like "window cleaner near me".

This is what we call 'demand capture'. The customer already has the need, they are actively looking for a solution right now. Google Search Ads are built for this. You put your business right in front of them at the exact moment they need you.

Facebook (or Meta) ads are more about 'demand generation'. You're showing your ads to people who are just going about their day, hoping to catch their interest and make them think, "Oh yeah, my windows are a bit manky, maybe I should get them done". It can definatly work, and we'll get to that, but it's often a slower burn and the leads can be less motivated than someone who is actively searching.

My advice for most local service businesses is to nail Google Ads first. It's where the most motivated customers are. Once that's working well and bringing in a steady stream of jobs, you can then look at using Facebook to expand your reach and build your brand in the local area.

We'll need to look at Google Search Ads first...

So, let's pretend for a minute that you agree to start with Google. What does that actually look like?

It's pretty straightforward in principle. You choose a list of keywords you want your ad to show up for. When someone in your area searches for those keywords, your ad appears at the top of the results. The goal is to get them to either click through to your website or, even better, call you directly from the ad.

-> Keywords are everything here. You'd want to target things people are actually typing in. We'd do proper research, but off the top of my head, you'd be looking at things like:
- "window cleaner in [Your Town]"
- "local window cleaning service"
- "window cleaning prices [Your Town]"
- "residential window cleaning"
- "emergency window cleaner"

-> Your ads need to be direct. You want to make it as easy as possible for someone to contact you. Google has a feature called 'Call Extensions' which puts a clickable phone number right in your ad. If someone is searching on their mobile, they can just tap it and call you straight away. This is gold for service businesses. If you can't always take calls, you can schedule the ads to only run when you're available, or direct them to a form on your website.

-> Now, the big question: what does it cost? This is the "how long is a piece of string" question, as it really depends on how competitive your area is. But I can give you some real-world examples from campaigns we've managed. For B2C services, we've seen costs per lead range quite a bit. I remember one campaign we ran for a home cleaning company where we got the cost down to about £5 per lead, which was brilliant. On the other end of the spectrum, we're currently running a campaign for an HVAC company in a very competitive city, and their cost per lead is closer to £45-£50. For a window cleaning business, I'd expect you to land somewhere in the middle, maybe in the £10-£30 range per qualified lead, but you won't know for sure until you start testing.

To get started and gather enough data, I'd usually recommend a starting ad spend budget of at least £500-£1000 for the first month. This lets you test enough to see what's working and what isn't, without breaking the bank.

You probably should still consider Facebook, but for different reasons...

Right, so let's get back to your original question about Facebook. Like I said, it can work, but the approach is different. Here, you're interrupting people, so your ad needs to be a bit more compelling.

The main power of Facebook is its targeting. Even for a local business, you can get quite specific. For a new ad accout, we wouldn't have any data for fancy audiences, so we'd start with what's called 'Detailed Targeting'.

Here's how I'd approach it:
-> Location Targeting: This is the most important bit. You'd set a radius around the areas you're willing to travel to. Say, 10-15 miles from your base. No point showing ads to people you can't service.

-> Demographic & Interest Targeting: Who are your likely customers? Probably homeowners. You can target people based on that. You could also layer on interests like "home improvement", "DIY", or pages related to local community groups. The trick is not to go too broad. For instance, targeting an interest like "local news" is probably too wide - everyone is interested in that. You need interests that a significant number of your ideal customers have, but that the general population doesn't. We'd have to test a few different combinations here to see what sticks.

-> Ad Creative: On Facebook, visuals are king. You can't just have a text ad. You'd need good quality photos or, even better, short videos. A simple video showing a satisfying "before and after" of a dirty window becoming sparkling clean can work wonders. Or a quick video of you talking about a special offer. It needs to grab attention quickly.

The goal on Facebook would usually be to get someone to fill out a lead form. This is a form that pops up directly within Facebook, pre-filling their name and number, making it super easy for them to enquire. The leads can sometimes be lower quality than from Google, as the person wasn't actively looking, but it can be a great way to fill your diary during quieter periods.

You'll need a solid website or landing page...

This is a point that a lot of people miss, and it's probably the most important part of the entire puzzle. It doesn't matter how good your ads are or how perfect your targeting is. If you send that traffic to a poor-quality website, you are just throwing money away. Your website is your digital shopfront.

Before you spend a single pound on ads, you need to make sure your website is up to the job. It doesn't need to be a 50-page masterpiece, in fact, a simple one-page 'landing page' is often better. But it has to do a few things very, very well.

-> Have a Single, Clear Goal: When someone lands on your page, what is the one thing you want them to do? It's probably "Get a Free Quote". Every single element on that page should be pushing them towards that action. A big, obvious button. A simple form to fill out. Your phone number, nice and large at the top of the page.

-> Build Trust Instantly: People are handing over their contact details and inviting you to their home. They need to trust you. Your page should have real photos of your work (before and afters are great). A picture of you and your van. Any reviews or testimonials you have from your D2D customers. Your business address and contact details. All these small things add up to make you look like a legitimate, professional operation.

-> Use Persusive Copy: The words on the page matter. You need to quickly explain what you do, why someone should choose you over the next person, and what they need to do next. Some professional copy could really go a long way in convincing visitors to take that next step.

Getting this right will have a huge impact on your cost per lead. If your page converts 1 in 20 visitors into a lead, your cost per lead will be double what it would be if it converted 1 in 10. Optimising this page is just as important as optimising the ads themselves.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

As you can see, there's a fair bit to think about. You mentioned you want to hire someone to skip the "steep learning curb," and that's exactly why people work with experts. It's not just about setting up a campaign; it's about the ongoing process of testing, analysing, and optimising. It's about knowing which levers to pull to bring your costs down over time. I recall helping a client in the environmental controls niche reduce their cost per lead by 84% by optimising their LinkedIn and Meta Ads campaigns. That's the sort of difference an experienced hand can make.

Getting an expert to manage this for you means you can be confident your budget is being spent effectively, and it frees you up to do what you do best – running your business and keeping your customers happy.

I hope this detailed breakdown has been helpful and gives you a much better understanding of the landscape. This is just an initial overview, of course. If you'd like to chat further, we offer a free initial consultation where we can discuss your specific business goals and map out a more concrete plan of action for you.

Let me know if that's something you'd be interested in.

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh