Solved: SMS Verification Stops Leads - Keep or Remove?

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out! I had a look over the notes on the situation with your roofing repair ads on Meta and I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance. It's a really common problem to get a flood of low-quality leads, or none at all, so please don't think you're alone in this. It can be incredibly frustrating when you're spending money and getting tyre-kickers or just plain wrong numbers in return.

The immediate instinct, which you've followed, is often to try and filter out the bad leads by adding more hurdles like SMS verification. It seems logical, but in my experience, it almost always has the effect you've seen: it kills your lead flow completely. The real issue isn't that it's too easy for people to enquire; the issue is that you're showing your ads to the wrong people, or your ads aren't speaking to the right people in the right way.

What you're doing is treating the symptom (bad leads) rather than the disease (poor ad strategy). We need to take a step back and fix the foundations of your campaigns. Below, I’ve detailed the main areas I'd focus on. It’s a bit of a read, but I wanted to be thorough for you. This is all based on what we've seen work for other B2C service businesses, including trades like HVAC and cleaning services that face similar challenges.

We'll need to look at your lead capture process...

First things first, let's talk about that SMS verification. I would remove it immediately. In the world of online advertising, especially on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, friction is your biggest enemy. People are scrolling on their phones, often distracted, and their attention span is incredibly short. You have a tiny window to capture their interest and get them to take action.

Think about the user journey. Someone sees your ad, maybe they have a nagging worry about a loose tile or a small leak. They're interested enough to click. They land on your form, start to type their name and number, and then they're told they have to go to their phone's messaging app, wait for a code, and come back to enter it. In that time, they've had a notification from WhatsApp, seen a funny video, or just decided it's too much faff. You've lost them. It’s the online equivalent of having a brilliant shop display but forcing customers to solve a riddle before you'll unlock the door. Most will just walk away.

The fact that your leads stopped entirely when you added this step is the clearest possible signal that it’s the problem. You need to make the process as seamless and easy as possible. A simple lead form asking for the absolute bare minimum is what you need:

• -> Name
• -> Phone Number
• -> Postcode (this is a great way to qualify them based on your service area without adding much friction)
• -> A small, optional text box for "Briefly describe the issue" could also work to get more detail upfront.

The goal of your ad campaign isn't just to get 'a lead'; it's to start a conversation with a potential customer. As the advice suggests, you have to think about your sales process. For a roofer, the first step is getting their contact details so you can call them, understand their problem, and arrange a visit for a proper quote. Your entire ad campaign and website should be relentlessly focused on making that one single step as easy as humanly possible.

The wrong numbers and poor-quality leads are a seperate problem that needs to be solved with better targetting and better ad creative, which we'll get into next. By trying to solve a targetting problem with a technical barrier on your form, you've inadvertently just blocked the good leads along with the bad. We need to fix the root cause, not the symptom.

I'd say you need to fix your targeting...

This is the absolute core of the issue and where the most significant improvements can be made. If you're showing your ads to the right people, the quality of your leads will skyrocket. Right now, your "broad campaign" is likely the main culprit. Running broad targeting on Meta can work, but only once your advertising pixel has a huge amount of data (think thousands of conversion events) to understand who your ideal customer is. When you're starting out, or with a smaller budget, going broad is like shouting into a crowded stadium and hoping a potential customer hears you. You're wasting money showing your ads to renters, students, people outside your service area, and people who have no interest in roof repair. You have to give the algorithm clues.

Refining Your Meta Ads Targeting

Your "audience campaign" is the right idea, but the devil is in the detail. What audiences are you actually targeting? Following the logic from our experience with other niches, targeting generic interests like "Home Improvement" or "DIY" is far too broad. It captures millions of people who might watch a home renovation show but have no power or need to commission a £5,000 reroofing job.

You need to get much more specific and layer your targeting. Here’s how I would approach it:

1. Demographics are Non-Negotiable: Your first layer, for every single ad set, should be location and homeownership status. Target your specific service area (e.g., a 20-mile radius around your base) and, crucially, select 'Homeowners' under the detailed demographics. This immediately filters out the vast majority of people who can't use your service.


2. Test Specific, Relevant Interests: On top of the homeowner demographic, you can test interests that a homeowner is more likely to have than a non-homeowner. Think about it: what pages, brands, or topics do established homeowners engage with? You could test interests like property websites (e.g., Rightmove, Zoopla), high-end furniture brands, home insurance companies, or magazines aimed at homeowners. The goal is to find interests that have a high concentration of your ideal customer persona. You need to be creative and test different combinations.


3. Build a Funnel with Retargeting: As you start to get traffic, you need to set up retargeting audiences. People rarely convert on the first touch. They might see your ad, visit your site, and then get distracted. You need to stay in front of them. I'd structure your campaigns around a funnel, similar to how we do it for eCommerce but adapted for leads:
   • -> Top of Funnel (ToFu): This is your cold audience campaign. Target the layered 'Homeowner' + 'Interest' audiences we just discussed.
   • -> Middle of Funnel (MoFu): This is a retargeting campaign. Show different ads to people who have visited your website in the last 30-90 days but haven't enquired. You can also retarget people who have watched a good portion of your video ads. These people have shown some interest; they just need another nudge.
   • -> Bottom of Funnel (BoFu): This is for people who went to your 'contact us' or lead form page but didn't submit. They were so close. A specific ad here saying "Still thinking about it? Get your free, no-obligation quote today" can be very effective.

Once you have enough data (you need at least 100 conversions, but ideally more), you can start building Lookalike Audiences. A Lookalike of people who have actually submitted a lead form is gold. You're telling Facebook, "go and find me more people who look exactly like the people who have already become a lead."

Considering an Alternative: Google Search Ads

Honestly, for a service like roofing repair, Meta ads might not even be the best place to start. As the B2C services advice highlights, you want to reach people who are already looking for help. Social media is about discovery; search engines are about intent.

When someone's roof is actively leaking, they don't scroll through Instagram hoping to see a roofer's ad. They go straight to Google and type in "emergency roofer near me". Being at the top of Google at that exact moment is incredibly powerful. This is where Google Search Ads come in.

You would bid on keywords that your potential customers are searching for. Things like:

• -> "roofer in [Your Town]"
• -> "emergency roof repair"
• -> "local roofing company"
• -> "fix leaking roof"
• -> "roof tile replacement"

The leads from Google Search are often more expensive per lead, but they are typically much higher quality and have a more urgent need, meaning they are more likely to convert into a paying job. You can also add phone call extensions so people can call you directly from the ad, which is perfect for emergency work. If you can only take calls at certain times, you can even schedule your ads to only run when you're available to answer. It’s a channel I would strongly urge you to explore alongside a more refined Meta strategy.

You probably should overhaul your ad creative...

Getting your targetting right is half the battle. The other half is the ad itself—the images, the videos, and the words you use. Your ad creative has two jobs: attract the right person and, just as importantly, repel the wrong one. If your ads are generic, you'll get generic, low-quality enquiries.

Your ads need to pre-qualify viewers. They should speak directly to a specific problem. Instead of a generic "Local Roofer - Call for a Quote," your ad copy should be hitting on specific pain points. For instance:

• -> Hook them with a question: "Is a leaking roof causing you stress?", "Worried about your roof's condition after the recent storm?", "Spotted missing or broken tiles?" This immediately grabs the attention of someone experiencing that exact problem and causes everyone else to scroll on by.
• -> Offer a clear solution: "We provide fast, reliable roof repairs in the [Your County] area. Get a FREE, no-obligation inspection and quote." This tells them what you do, where you do it, and removes the risk of enquiring.
• -> Build trust and authority: Add a line about being "Fully insured," "Family-run," or mentioning "20+ years of experience." Show photos of your team, your vans, and your work. People are letting you work on their most valuable asset; they need to trust you.

The principle of using specific language to filter your audience is universal. I remember one campaign we worked on for a B2B software client. We generated 4,622 high-quality registrations at just $2.38 each by using industry jargon and speaking to very specific problems only their ideal customer would understand. You need to apply that same thinking here: speak only to the homeowner with a roof problem.

For your visuals, you should test both images and videos:

• -> Images: High-quality 'before and after' photos are incredibly powerful for trades. A clear shot of a damaged roof next to a photo of the finished, perfect repair tells a story instantly. Photos of your clean, professional-looking team and branded vans also build immense trust.
• -> Videos: Don't overthink this. A simple, 30-second video shot on your phone can work wonders. You could do a quick walkaround of a finished job, pointing out the quality of the work. Or, a short "talking head" video of you explaining a common problem (e.g., "Here's why moss on your roof can be a serious issue...") positions you as the expert. We've seen SaaS clients get great results with simple user-generated style videos; the authenticity often outperforms slick, professional productions.

Your ads need to work together with your targetting to ensure that by the time someone clicks through to your lead form, they are a genuinely interested homeowner within your service area who has a problem you can solve.

You'll need to think about your ad spend and expected costs...

It's vital to go into this with realistic expectations about costs. Paid advertising is an investment, not a magic money machine. Based on our experience with other B2C service businesses, you should be prepared for what a good lead will cost.

From the data we've seen across various service campaigns, you're likely looking at a cost per lead (CPL) of anywhere from $10 to $50 (£8 - £40). However, for a high-value, competitive trade like roofing, it can easily be higher. We are currently running a campaign for an HVAC company in a competitive area, and they are seeing a cost of around $60 (£48) per lead. Given the similarities in the business model (high-value home service), I'd expect your costs to be in a similar ballpark once things are optimised. On the other end of the scale, we've had home cleaning clients get leads for £5, but that's a much lower value, higher volume service. Your's is a high-value service, so the cost to acquire a customer will naturally be higher.

This might sound expensive, but you have to do the maths. If you close 1 in 5 leads, and your average job value is £3,000, then a cost per lead of £50 means you're spending £250 on ads to generate £3,000 in revenue. That's a fantastic return.

For a starting ad spend, I usually recommend a minimum of $1,000 - $2,000 (£800 - £1600) per month. This gives you enough budget to gather data quickly and test different audiences and ads properly. The budget should be based on your goals: (Your Target Number of Leads per Month) x (Your Expected Cost Per Lead) = Your Monthly Ad Spend.

To give you an idea of how the numbers break down, here is a general model based on typical performance in developed countries like the UK. Please note, these are general estimates and your actual performance will vary.

The goal isn't just to get the cheapest lead possible, but to find a profitable and scalable source of new business. Tracking your CPL and your return on ad spend (ROAS) is absolutely essential.

This is the main advice I have for you:

As you can probably tell, there are a lot of moving parts to get right here. It's an entire system where the targeting, the creative, the lead form, and the budget all have to work in harmony. To summarise my main recommendations, I've put them into a table for you below.

I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I think that by implementing these changes, you will see a big improvement in the quality of your leads and the overall performance of your campaigns.