Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out! I saw your situation and I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance based on my experience. It’s a really common problem you're facing, so don't feel like you've done something drastically wrong. A lot of people find themselves in the exact same spot when they first start out with paid ads, especially for service-based businesses.
You've spent a fair bit of cash for very little in return, and that's obviously frustrating. The good news is that I think the issue is quite clear and, with a change in approach, you should be able to get much, much better results. I'll walk you through my thinking below.
I'd say your main problem is the ad platform...
Right, let's get straight to it. The single biggest issue I can see from what you've described is your choice of platform. You're using Facebook ads, and while they can be incredibly powerful for certain things, for a service like bathroom remodelling, it's often like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Think about how people use Facebook or Instagram. They're scrolling through photos of their mates, watching funny videos, catching up on news. They're in a passive, entertainment-focused mindset. An ad for a bathroom remodel pops up – even if their bathroom is a bit dated, it's highly unlikely that's what's on their mind at that exact moment. It's what we call *interruptive* marketing. You're interrupting their flow to try and sell them something they weren't looking for.
Now, for some products, like a cool t-shirt or a new gadget (eCommerce stuff), this works. Impulse buys are common on social media. But a bathroom remodel? That's a huge decision. It costs thousands of pounds, takes weeks of work, and causes major disruption to a home. It's not an impulse decision. People only start seriously considering it when they have a genuine need. Maybe a leak has forced their hand, they're planning to sell their house, or they've just saved up enough money and can't stand the sight of their 1980s avocado-green suite any longer.
So, you're spending $33 a day showing your ads to thousands of people in your area, but probaly 99.9% of them are not in the market for a new bathroom *right now*. You're paying to reach all those people just on the off chance you hit that one person who happens to be thinking about it. That's why your cost per conversion is $600. You basically paid $600 to find that one person. That's not a sustainable model for any business.
This isn't a failure of your ad creative or your targeting settings on Facebook, necessarily. It's a fundamental mismatch between the user's mindset on the platform and the type of high-consideration service you're offering. You're pushing a message to people who aren't ready to pull the trigger.
You probably should focus on Google Search Ads...
So where do you find people who are actively looking for a new bathroom? Simple: you find them where they go to look for things. And that's almost always Google.
This is what we call *intent-based* marketing. Instead of interrupting people, you're placing yourself directly in their path when they have a clear intention to find a service like yours. When someone's toilet breaks for the final time or they decide they need a walk-in shower, their first action is often to pick up their phone and type something like "bathroom fitters near me" or "cost to remodel small bathroom" into Google.
This is where you need to be. By running Google Search Ads, your business can appear right at the top of the search results for those exact queries. You're not trying to convince a passive scroller they need a new bathroom; you're presenting your solution to someone who has already decided they need one and is actively looking for a supplier. The difference is night and day. These leads are 'hot'. They have a problem and they're looking for someone to solve it, now.
From my experience, this is definately the way to go for most B2C service businesses. I remember one campaign we ran for an HVAC company in a pretty competitive market, and they saw leads come in at around $60 each. We’ve also managed campaigns for childcare services where signups were only $10. And one of our best ever campaigns was for a home cleaning company where we got their cost per lead down to just £5. For bathroom remodelling, which is a higher-ticket service, your cost per lead will likely be higher than the cleaning company, probably closer to the HVAC example or maybe even a bit more, but the return is also much, much greater. Paying $60 or even $100 for a qualified lead that could turn into a $15,000 project is a fantastic return on investment. Paying $600 for one is not.
Another option on Google is Local Service Ads (LSAs). These appear right at the very top of the page, even above the regular search ads. They feature your reviews, a "Google Guaranteed" badge which builds immense trust, and you only pay when someone actually contacts you directly through the ad (a pay-per-lead model), not just for a click. This could be a brilliant channel for you to explore as it massively reduces risk.
We'll need to look at your keywords...
If you move to Google Ads, the foundation of your campaigns will be keywords. These are the search terms you bid on to make your ads appear. Getting this right is so important. You want to be specific and target people with commercial intent – meaning, people who are looking to hire someone, not just looking for ideas.
You'll want to structure your campaigns around different types of services you offer. For example, you might have one ad group for "full remodels," another for "shower installations," and another for "wet rooms." This allows you to show super-relevant ads for each search.
Here are some examples of the kind of keywords you should be thinking about targeting:
| Keyword Theme | Example Keywords | User Intent |
|---|---|---|
| General Remodelling | bathroom remodeling [your city] bathroom renovation contractors local bathroom fitters best bathroom company near me |
High commercial intent. User is actively looking for a company to hire for a full project. |
| Specific Installations | shower installation service walk in shower fitters wet room specialists [your city] new toilet installation cost |
User has a specific job in mind. These can be valuable, smaller projects. |
| Problem/Emergency | leaky shower repair emergency bathroom plumber cracked tile replacement |
Urgent need. These users are often less price-sensitive and need a quick solution. |
| Cost-Related | how much to remodel a bathroom bathroom fitting quotes cost of a new bathroom suite |
User is in the research and budgeting phase. Still a very valuable lead to capture early. |
Just as important as the keywords you target are the ones you *exclude*. These are called 'negative keywords'. You add these to your campaigns to stop your ads showing for irrelevant searches that would just waste your money. This is a step many beginners miss. You'd want to exclude terms like:
- -> jobs
- -> careers
- -> training
- -> course
- -> DIY
- -> ideas
- -> pictures
- -> free
- -> cheap
By adding these, you prevent your ads from showing to people searching for "bathroom fitter jobs" or "DIY bathroom remodel ideas". It’s a simple tweak that makes your budget go so much further by focusing it only on potential customers. Getting your keyword strategy spot on takes some work and testing, but it's the bedrock of a successful Google Ads campaign.
You'll need to set realistic expectations for costs...
This is a big one. It's easy to get scared off by the "cost per lead" (CPL). As I mentioned, for a high-ticket service like yours in a competitive area, a CPL of $50, $80, or even over $100 isn't out of the question. Your first reaction might be "That's so expensive!". But you have to look at it in the context of the value of a customer.
Let's do some back-of-the-napkin maths. You're not selling a £20 t-shirt; you're selling projects that are worth thousands. Let's break down the potential ROI.
| Sample ROI Calculation for Bathroom Remodelling | |
|---|---|
| Metric | Example Value |
| Average Project Value (Revenue) | $12,000 |
| Gross Profit Margin (e.g., 30%) | $3,600 |
| Average Cost Per Lead (CPL) from Google Ads | $80 |
| Lead-to-Customer Close Rate (e.g., 1 in 8 leads becomes a customer) | 12.5% |
| Cost to Acquire One Customer (CAC) (8 leads x $80/lead) | $640 |
| Profit Per Customer (Gross Profit - CAC) | $3,600 - $640 = $2,960 |
| Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) (Project Value / Ad Cost) | $12,000 / $640 = 18.75x or 1875% |
When you look at it like that, paying $640 in advertising to make nearly $3,000 in profit is an incredible deal. You'd do that all day long. The mistake is focusing on the $80 CPL in isolation instead of the final profit. Your current campaign has a Cost Per Acquisition of $600 with no clear path to profitability. A well-run Google Ads campaign has a very clear and profitable path.
In terms of budget, your $33/day ($1000/month approx) is a perfectly reasonable starting point for Google Ads. The example I always give clients is to start with at least $1k-$2k a month for a local service business. This is enough to gather meaningful data and start generating a consistent flow of leads. Once you prove the model and see the positive ROI, you can then confidently increase the budget to scale up the number of jobs you're getting.
I'd say you need to overhaul your landing page...
Getting someone to click your ad is only half the battle. Once they land on your website or landing page, you have to convince them to take action. You mentioned you have a page where they answer questions and then book an appointment. This could be a point of friction.
A multi-step questionnaire can be good for qualifying leads, but it can also scare people away. They might not know the answers, or they just want to speak to a person first. For an initial inquiry, you want to make it as easy as humanly possible for them to get in touch.
Here's what a high-converting landing page for a service business typically includes:
- -> A Crystal Clear Headline: Something like "Stunning Bathroom Remodels in [Your City]. Get Your Free Quote Today." It immediately confirms they're in the right place and presents the call to action.
- -> A Prominent Phone Number: Make it massive and clickable on mobile. Many people, especially for urgent jobs, would rather just call. Add a line like "Call Us Now For A Free Consultation".
- -> A Simple Contact Form: Don't ask for too much. Name, Email, Phone, and a box for their message is often enough. You can ask the qualifying questions on the phone call.
- -> Trust Signals: This is huge. Your current website probably needs more of these. Show photos of your team. Include testimonials from happy customers. Display logos of any certifications you have (e.g., Gas Safe Register equivalent, electrical certs). If you have a before-and-after gallery of your work, that's pure gold. People need to feel they can trust you with their home.
- -> Professional Copy: The text on the page needs to be persuasive. It should focus on the benefits to the customer (e.g., "a relaxing sanctuary," "increase your home's value") not just the features of what you do. Investing in some professional sales copy can make a massive difference to your conversion rate.
- -> No Distractions: A good landing page has one goal: to get a lead. Remove links to other parts of your website, your blog, etc. Give them one clear path to follow, which is filling out the form or calling you.
Think of your landing page as your digital salesperson. If it looks unprofessional, is hard to navigate, or doesn't build trust, people will just click the back button, and you've wasted your ad spend. Fixing your landing page should be a top priority before you even think about spending more money on ads.
I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:
I know that's a lot of information to take in. To make it easier, here is a summary table of the action plan I'd suggest for turning your advertising around.
| Area of Focus | My Recommendation | Why It's Important |
|---|---|---|
| Ad Platform | Pause your Facebook Ads immediately. Reallocate the budget to Google Search Ads & Local Service Ads. | To target users with active 'intent' who are searching for your services, rather than passive social media users. This will dramatically improve lead quality and lower your cost per *qualified* lead. |
| Targeting | Build keyword lists focused on commercial intent (e.g., "bathroom fitters near me"). Use negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic (e.g., "jobs", "DIY"). | Ensures your budget is spent only on showing ads to people who are actual potential customers, maximising your ROI. |
| Landing Page | Create a dedicated, simple landing page for your ads. Focus on a clear headline, a simple form, a prominent phone number, and lots of trust signals (reviews, photos of your work). | Increases the conversion rate of the traffic you pay for. A leaky landing page wastes your ad spend, no matter how good the ads are. |
| Offer/CTA | Make your Call to Action (CTA) clear and low-risk. "Get a Free, No-Obligation Quote" is much better than "Book an Appointment". | Reduces friction and makes potential customers more likely to get in touch. You can book the appointment during the follow-up call. |
| Tracking | Ensure conversion tracking is set up perfectly on Google Ads to track both form submissions and phone calls from your ads and landing page. | Without accurate tracking, you're flying blind. You won't know which keywords and ads are actually making your phone ring, so you can't optimise your campaigns effectively. |
Executing all of this correctly requires a fair bit of technical knowledge and experience. It's not just about flicking a switch from Facebook to Google. It involves careful campaign setup, ongoing monitoring, and constant optimisation to make sure you're getting the best possible return for your money.
This is where expert help can make a huge difference. An experienced professional can avoid the common pitfalls that cost beginners a lot of money, implement advanced strategies from day one, and manage the campaigns to continually improve performance, freeing you up to do what you do best – remodelling bathrooms.
If you'd like to go over this in more detail and have a look at your specific situation together, we offer a free initial consultation. We could review your landing page, discuss a potential keyword strategy, and map out what a successful Google Ads campaign would look like for your business. There's no obligation at all, but it might provide you with a very clear path forward.
Hope this helps give you a better sense of direction!
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
