Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out!
Happy to give you some initial thoughts on your situation. It sounds like you've made a solid start in your first few months, which is often the hardest part. The fact you're already thinking about scaling lead generation is a great sign. The problem usually isn't about finding more channels, but about building a truly scalable and predictable system to get customers, and that almost always starts with perfecting the channels you're already on before branching out too far.
I've taken a look at what you've sent over and have put together a pretty detailed breakdown of my thoughts and recomendations. It's a bit of a read, but I reckon it'll give you a clear path forward.
TLDR;
- Your website is probably the biggest leak in your marketing budget. Before you spend another dollar on ads, you need to turn it into a machine that converts visitors into leads.
- You're right to be on Google Ads, but "slowly but surely growing" isn't good enough. You need to get much more aggressive with high-intent keywords to dominate your local area.
- Stop guessing your marketing budget. This letter includes an interactive calculator to figure out your customer lifetime value (LTV) and how much you can actually afford to pay for a lead while staying profitable.
- Your messaging is likely too focused on what you do (remove junk) instead of the problem you solve (give people their space and peace of mind back). We'll fix that.
- Thinking about Facebook ads? Be careful. Most businesses waste money on 'awareness'. I'll show you how to use it for direct, measurable conversions, but only after you've maxed out Google.
We'll need to look at your foundations first: Your Website
Right, let's be brutally honest. Nearly every service business I've audited, from plumbers to software consultants, makes the same mistake. They spend a fortune on ads to drive traffic to a website that's about as effective as a sieve for holding water. You mention your agency is running Google Ads, and that's great, but if your website isn't optimised to convert that expensive traffic, you're just lighting money on fire. Every click costs you, so every visitor needs to have a clear, easy path to becoming a lead.
Before you even think about scaling, you have to plug the leaks. Your website should be your best salesperson, working 24/7. What does that mean in practise? It means when someone lands on your homepage, they should know within three seconds what you do, where you do it, and how to hire you. There should be no confusion.
Think about your sales process. What's the one action you want a potential customer to take? Is it to call you? Fill out a quote form? Book a slot online? Whatever it is, that needs to be the most obvious thing on the page. Big, bold buttons with clear calls-to-action (CTAs) like "Get a Free Quote Now" or "Call Us For Instant Removal". Don't make them hunt for a tiny 'contact us' link in the footer.
Trust is another massive factor, especially for a service where you're sending people to someone's home or business. Your website needs to scream 'professional and reliable'. This means:
- High-Quality Photos: Show your branded truck, your team in uniform (looking friendly!), and before-and-after shots of jobs you've done. Stock photos are a massive red flag.
- Reviews & Testimonials: You said your Google Business Page reviews are growing. Fantastic. Plaster them all over your website. Real reviews from real local people are marketing gold.
- Clear Contact Info: A visible phone number, an address (even if it's just a service area), and an email should be on every page. It shows you're a real, legitimate buisness.
The entire journey from ad to lead should be seamless. A potential customer sees your ad, clicks, lands on a page that directly reflects the ad's promise, and is immediately presented with an easy way to get in touch. Anything else is friction, and friction kills conversions.
I'd say you need to double down on Google Search, but properly
You're absolutely right that for a service business, reaching people who are *already looking for help* is the most effective use of your money. That's why Google Ads is your primary growth engine. Forget flyers and Facebook groups for scaling; you can't pour money into them and predictably get more customers out. With Google, you can.
But the phrase "slowly but surely growing" worries me. It suggests a passive, perhaps overly cautious approach from your current agency. To scale, you need to be aggressive and strategic. This means owning your local market for the search terms that make you money. These are what we call 'high commercial intent' keywords. You're not looking for people researching "how to dispose of old paint"; you're looking for people typing "junk removal near me" or "furniture collection sydney" with their wallet already half-open.
Your agency should be all over this. They need to be testing and optimising bids for keywords that signal an urgent need. Here's a quick look at the kind of keywords you should be dominating:
| Keyword Category | Example Keywords | User Intent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urgent / Local | "junk removal near me", "same day rubbish removal [city]" | High | These are your money-makers. People need a solution now. Bid aggressively. |
| Specific Item | "old sofa collection", "fridge disposal", "mattress removal" | High | Create specific ads for these to increase relevance and click-through rate. |
| Service Type | "estate cleanout services", "garage clearance [city]", "construction debris removal" | Medium-High | These are often larger, more valuable jobs. Worth targeting specifically. |
| Competitor | "1800 got junk alternative", "[competitor name] reviews" | High | A bit cheeky, but you can legally bid on competitor names to capture their customers. |
Now, let's talk numbers. You need to know your Cost Per Lead (CPL). If your agency isn't reporting this to you clearly, that's a problem. Every single marketing decision should be based on data. From my experience with similar service businesses, CPL can vary wildly. We're currently running a campaign for an HVAC company in a competitive area, and they are seeing costs of around $60 per lead. On the other hand, one of our best consumer services campaigns was for a home cleaning company which got a cost of £5/lead. Your junk removal business will be somewhere in that range, and finding out exactly where is step one. Once you know your CPL, you can set a predictable budget for growth.
Here’s a simple calculator to see how ad spend directly translates into leads once you know your average CPL. Play around with the numbers to see what it would take to hit your growth targets.
You probably should understand the maths behind scaling
This is where we get into the stuff that separates the businesses that potter along from the ones that truly scale. The question isn't "how cheap can I get a lead?" but rather "how much can I *afford* to pay for a customer and still be wildly profitable?" The answer lies in understanding two key metrics: Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).
For your business, LTV might sound complicated, but it's simple. It's the total profit you expect to make from an average customer over the entire time they're your customer. This includes their first job, any repeat business (e.g., yearly spring cleans), and any referrals they send your way. If an average customer gives you one job worth $500 in profit, and one in five customers comes back for another $500 job, your LTV is higher than just $500.
CAC is simply what it costs you in marketing and sales to get one new paying customer. If you spend $1000 on Google Ads and get 20 leads, and you close 10 of those leads into jobs, your CAC is $100 per customer ($1000 / 10 customers).
The magic ratio for healthy, aggressive growth is an LTV to CAC ratio of at least 3:1. This means for every dollar you spend acquiring a customer, you get at least three dollars back in lifetime profit. If your LTV is $900, you can afford to spend up to $300 to acquire a new customer. Suddenly that $60 lead from Google Ads doesn't look so expensive, does it? It looks like a bargain.
Knowing these numbers frees you from the tyranny of cheap leads and allows you to make intelligent decisions. It tells you exactly how much firepower you can put into your advertising before it stops being profitable. This is the engine of scale. Most of your competitors are guessing. You can use maths.
Let's build a simple model for your business. Use the sliders below to plug in your own estimates and see what your LTV and target CAC could be.
You'll need to craft a message they can't ignore
Once your website is solid and you understand your numbers, you need to look at *what* you're actually saying in your ads and on your site. Most service businesses make the mistake of selling the service, not the solution. Nobody wakes up in the morning excited to hire a junk removal company. What they're excited about is the *outcome*: a clean garage they can finally park their car in, a clear home ready for sale, the relief of having a massive problem simply disappear.
Your marketing message needs to speak directly to that pain and promise that relief. I use a simple framework called Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS).
- Problem: State the customer's problem in their own words. "Got a garage full of junk you can't face?"
- Agitate: Poke the bruise. Remind them why it's a problem. "Is it stopping you from parking your car inside? Worried about what the neighbours think?"
- Solve: Present your service as the quick, easy solution. "We'll clear it out in 2 hours. Get your space back this weekend. Call now for a free quote."
This is so much more powerful than a generic "Junk Removal Services in [City]". You're entering the conversation already happening in your customer's head. This approach should be reflected everywhere: your Google Ad headlines, the text on your landing page, even how you answer the phone.
Headline 2: Professional & Affordable
Description: We offer fast and reliable junk hauling services for residential and commercial clients. Call us.
Headline 2: Fast Junk Removal | Free Quote
Description: Overwhelmed by clutter? We'll make it disappear. Same-day service available. Get your free, no-obligation quote online in 60 seconds.
And only then, should you think about scaling to other platforms
I see you've tried Facebook Marketplace and groups, and you're right, they aren't scalable. But what about proper Facebook (Meta) ads? This is where you need to be extremely careful. Here is a truth that most agencies won't tell you: for a local service business, running 'brand awareness' campaigns on Facebook is like throwing cash into a furnace.
When you tell Facebook's algorithm to get you "Reach" or "Brand Awareness," you give it one command: "Find me the cheapest eyeballs possible." The algorithm does its job perfectly. It shows your ad to people in your area who are least likely to click, least likely to engage, and absolutely least likely to ever need your service. Why? Because their attention is cheap. You are literally paying to reach the worst possible audience.
Forget awareness. Awareness is a byproduct of doing a great job and getting real customers who leave great reviews. If you are going to use Facebook, you must use it for one thing only: **conversions**.
So how can it work for a business like yours?
- Retargeting: This is your first and most important step. Anyone who visits your website from a Google Ad but doesn't fill out a form is a warm lead. You can run simple ads on Facebook and Instagram showing them a testimonial video or a special offer ("Get 10% off your junk removal") to bring them back to your site to convert. This is incredibly cost-effective.
- Targeting "Life Events": Meta's data is powerful. You can target people who have recently been marked as "Likely to Move". Who needs junk removal more than someone who's moving house? This is as close as you can get to the intent of a Google searcher on a social platform. You can also target interests like "Home Improvement" or "DIY".
But this should come *after* you have squeezed every last profitable lead out of Google Search. Google is your foundation. Social media is an accelerator. Don't get distracted by the shiny object until your core business engine is running at full throttle. Your initial budget split should heavily favour intent.
This is the main advice I have for you:
To wrap this all up, scaling isn't about finding a magic new channel. It's about building a robust, repeatable system based on data. It's a process of optimising each step of the customer journey, from the ad they see to the moment they book a job. Here are the actionable steps I'd recomend you focus on, in order.
| Step | Action | Why It's Important |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Overhaul Your Website | Your website is the foundation. All your ad spend is wasted if it doesn't effectively convert visitors into leads. Focus on a clear call-to-action, trust signals (reviews, photos), and mobile-friendliness. |
| 2 | Get Aggressive on Google Ads | Move from "slowly growing" to dominating your local market for high-intent keywords. Track your Cost Per Lead (CPL) relentlessly and optimise for the terms that bring you actual jobs. |
| 3 | Calculate Your LTV & Target CAC | Stop guessing. Use the maths to figure out exactly how much you can afford to spend to acquire a customer. This gives you a data-driven budget and a clear target for your ad campaigns. |
| 4 | Refine Your Core Message | Shift your ad copy from what you do ("we haul junk") to the problem you solve ("reclaim your space"). Use the Problem-Agitate-Solve framework to connect with customers on an emotional level. |
| 5 | Test Meta Ads for Conversions | Only after mastering Google, start testing Meta. Begin with retargeting website visitors, then expand to high-probability audiences like "Likely to Move". Optimise for leads, never 'awareness'. |
I know this is a lot to take in. Executing all of this correctly requires expertise and constant attention, which is tough when you're also trying to run the day-to-day operations of your business. Getting any of these steps wrong—choosing the wrong keywords, setting the wrong bids, writing ineffective ad copy—can get very expensive, very quickly.
This is often where working with a specialist can make a significant difference. Not just an agency that "runs ads," but a partner that understands the entire system, from the underlying business maths to the psychological triggers in the ad copy, and can build and manage that growth engine for you.
If you'd like to chat through any of this in more detail, I'd be happy to offer you a free, no-obligation 20-minute strategy session where we can look at your current setup and identify the single biggest opportunity for growth right now.
Hope that helps!
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
