Solved: Google Ads in Phoenix, AZ (A Step-by-Step Fix)

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out!

I can definitely give you some thoughts on this. It's completely normal to feel overwhelmed by Google Ads, it's a massive platform with loads of options and it's easy to burn through a lot of money very quickly if you don't know what you're doing. A lot of people dive straight into the technical settings, but the real trick to making it work, especially for a local business in a place like Phoenix, is to forget about 90% of the features and focus relentlessly on what your potential customers are actually searching for *right now*.

The goal isn't to master Google Ads; it's to get your phone to ring with new customers. I'll walk you through how I'd approach that, starting with the stuff that actually matters way more than your campaign settings.

We'll need to look at your offer and website first...

This is probably the most common mistake I see. Business owners think their ads aren't working, so they tweak bids or change ad copy. Tbh, 9 times out of 10, the problem isn't the ad, it's the destination. Sending paid traffic to a weak website is like pouring water into a bucket full of holes. You can pour all you want, but it'll never fill up. Your website is your digital shopfront and your most important salesperson.

Before you spend a single dollar on ads, you have to ask yourself a few brutally honest questions:

• Is it painfully obvious what I want the visitor to do? Within three seconds of landing on your page, can a potential customer see a phone number to call and a simple form to request a quote? If they have to hunt for it, they'll just leave.
• Does my website look trustworthy? Does it have professional photos (not stock images)? Do you have reviews from real customers in Phoenix? Is your physical address and contact info clearly visible? People are handing over their hard-earned money and inviting you into their homes; they need to feel you're a legitimate, professional operation. A cheap-looking website screams 'cowboy builder'.
• Is it fast? Especially on a mobile phone. If your page takes more than a few seconds to load, people are gone. They'll just click back to Google and choose your competitor.

Getting this right is not optional. It's the foundation for everything. No amount of clever advertising can make up for a website that doesn't build trust and make it easy for a customer to take action. This is the difference between a campaign that costs you money and one that makes you money.

I'd say you need to understand customer intent...

Once your website is solid, the next step is to get inside the head of your ideal customer. The beauty of Google Search is that people tell you exactly what they want. Your job is to listen. There's a massive difference between someone searching for "how to fix a leaking tap" and someone searching for "emergency plumber phoenix az".

The first person is in research mode. They're probably looking for a DIY solution. They are not ready to hire anyone. Targeting them is a waste of money for a local service business. The second person has a problem *right now*. Their floor is getting wet, and they need a professional immediately. This is what we call 'high commercial intent'. These are the people you want to reach.

Your entire starting strategy should be built around capturing this high-intent traffic. Forget everything else for now. Your goal is to create a small, highly targeted list of keywords that scream "I need to hire someone like you today!"

You also need to aggressively use 'negative keywords'. These tell Google what searches you *don't* want to show up for. Common ones for service businesses include "jobs", "training", "free", "DIY", "course", "cheap", and "salary". Adding these will save you a fortune by filtering out irrelevant clicks.

You probably should start with Google Local Service Ads...

Okay, so you've got a great website and a list of high-intent keywords. Now, where do you actually start advertising? For most local service businesses, my first recommendation is *not* traditional Google Search ads. It's a related but much simpler program called Google Local Service Ads (LSAs).

You've probably seen them at the very top of the search results, even above the normal ads. They show a company's photo, rating, and a "Google Guaranteed" or "Google Screened" badge. This badge is incredibly powerful becuase it means Google has done a background check on your business and will even reimburse a customer up to $2,000 if they're not satisfied with the work.

The best part? With LSAs, you don't pay per click. You pay per lead. A lead is defined as a phone call or a message from a potential customer through the LSA platform. This completely changes the game. You're no longer gambling on whether a click will turn into a customer; you're only paying when a legitimate potential customer contacts you. For a small business starting out, this is a much safer and more predictable way to generate leads.

The setup is also simpler. You don't have to write ads or manage keywords. You set your budget, define your service area (e.g., Phoenix) and the types of jobs you do, and Google handles the rest. Your ranking in the LSA results is based on things like your proximity to the customer, your review score, and your responsiveness to inquiries. It rewards good businesses, not just good advertisers.

I strongly recommend you check if your business category is eligible for LSAs in Phoenix. If it is, this should absolutely be your starting point. It's a lower-risk, higher-trust way to get your foot in the door with Google advertising.

You'll need to structure your Search campaigns properly (if you go that route)...

If LSAs aren't available for your industry, or if you want to expand your reach, then you'll need to venture into traditional Google Search ads. This is where it can get complicated, but you can avoid most of the pain by keeping things simple and structured.

The biggest mistake people make here is dumping all their keywords into one single Ad Group. This is a recipe for disaster. It means someone searching for "emergency ac repair" sees the same generic ad as someone searching for "new ac installation". The ad isn't relevant to either search, so your click-through rate will be terrible, Google will charge you more per click (because your 'Quality Score' is low), and your conversion rate will suffer.

The solution is to create tightly-themed Ad Groups. Essentially, you group your keywords based on the specific service they relate to. Each Ad Group then gets its own set of ads that are written specifically for those keywords.

Here's what a simple, effective structure looks like for an HVAC company:

This structure ensures maximum relevance. The person searching sees an ad that speaks directly to their problem, and they land on a page that gives them the exact information they need. This alignment leads to higher click-through rates, lower costs, and, most importantly, more leads.

Let's calculate what you can afford to spend...

This is the final piece of the puzzle. How much should you budget, and how do you know if you're getting a good deal? You need to know your numbers. Specifically, you need to figure out your maximum affordable Cost Per Lead (CPL). Forget industry benchmarks; this number is unique to *your* business.

From my experience, lead costs can vary wildly. We're running a campaign for an HVAC company in a competitive area, and they are seeing costs of around $60/lead. On the other hand, we’ve run ads for childcare services where the CPL was around $10 per signup, and a home cleaning company that got leads for just £5. For a skilled trade in a major US city like Phoenix, you're probably looking at something in the $25-$75 range per lead, but you need to calculate your own number.

To do this, you need three pieces of information:

1. Average Revenue Per Job: How much money do you typically make from a new customer acquired through ads?
2. Gross Margin: What percentage of that revenue is profit, after accounting for materials and labour?
3. Lead-to-Sale Conversion Rate: What percentage of your leads do you successfully turn into paying customers?

Once you have those numbers, you can work backwards to find your break-even CPL, and from there, decide on a target CPL that ensures you're profitable. I've built a simple calculator below to help you do the maths.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

To pull this all together, here is the step-by-step plan I would follow if I were in your shoes. This is a simple, logical process that focuses on building a solid foundation before you even think about scaling your ad spend.

This might all seem like a lot, and in some ways it is. Getting this right takes time, experience, and a willingness to test and learn. The reality of paid advertising is that it's very easy to make expensive mistakes, especially when you're also trying to run the day-to-day operations of your business.

Working with an expert can help you bypass the costly learning curve. We can help you implement this entire strategy, from auditing your website to building and managing your campaigns, ensuring every dollar you spend is working as hard as possible to grow your business. It's not about just setting up ads; it's about building a predictable system for attracting your ideal customers.

If you'd like to chat through your specific situation in more detail, we offer a free, no-obligation initial consultation. We can take a look at your website and business and give you a clear plan of action.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh