To get more leads for your contracting business, combine paid and free lead sources: Google Ads to show up the moment people search, Meta ads to reach homeowners before they search, SEO and a fully built Google Business Profile for free leads every month, Local Services Ads for pay-per-lead placement, steady reviews, dedicated landing pages, and fast follow-up on every lead. If you’re starting from scratch, my top four are Google Ads, Meta ads, SEO and Google Business Profile optimization.
Most contractors get their work from word of mouth and referrals. Those are great leads, but they aren’t predictable. You can’t turn referrals up when the schedule is light or point them at the jobs you want more of. The eight methods below give you that control. They’re what we use at Altura for home-service contractors, along with real numbers from our accounts.
1. Google Ads: show up the moment they search (top pick)
When someone’s water heater fails or they decide to replace their roof, they search Google. Google Ads put your business at the top of those results the same day you launch.
Real result: a Connecticut junk removal company we manage got 188 leads in its first 23 days (113 phone calls and 75 form submissions) from $5,460 in ad spend, or $29.04 per lead. Read the full case study.
How to do it:
- Build a separate ad group for each service you sell, each with its own landing page and offer.
- Target only the cities or ZIP codes you actually serve.
- Block jobs, DIY and parts searches with negative keywords from day one.
- Track every call and form so you know which keywords bring booked jobs.
More: Google Ads management, Google Ads for home services, and trade costs like plumbing, roofing and HVAC.
2. Meta ads: reach homeowners before they search (top pick)
Facebook and Instagram ads reach people who aren’t searching yet: the homeowner who’s been thinking about new landscaping, a bathroom remodel or a deck. That fills your pipeline before competitors ever see the customer.
How to do it:
- Use real photos and video of your jobs, not stock images. Before-and-afters work especially well.
- Use the Leads objective, not Engagement or Traffic.
- Target your service area and add qualifying questions to lead forms.
- Retarget people who visited your website but didn’t call.
More: Meta ads for contractors, how to set up a Meta ads campaign, and which trades perform best on Meta.
3. SEO: get leads without paying per click (top pick)
SEO brings in leads month after month without paying for each click. Service and city pages that rank keep producing calls long after they’re built.
How to do it:
- Build a dedicated page for every service you sell. That’s the top organic local ranking factor in Whitespark’s 2026 survey.
- Add city pages only where you have real work and reviews to show.
- Add FAQs to service pages so both Google and AI tools can quote you.
- Keep your business details identical across the web.
More: SEO for contractors and what contractor SEO should include.
4. Google Business Profile: win the map pack (top pick)
Your Google Business Profile is what shows in the map results, often the first thing a homeowner sees. It’s free, and most contractors leave half of it empty.
How to do it:
- Pick the most specific primary category for your main service, plus accurate secondary categories.
- Complete every section: services, service areas, hours, description and attributes.
- Add real job photos regularly.
- Post weekly with recent projects, seasonal services or offers.
More: Google Business Profile optimization.
5. Local Services Ads: pay per lead, not per click
Local Services Ads show above regular Google ads with a verification badge, and you pay per lead instead of per click. Google calls the badge Google Verified; many contractors still know it as Google Guaranteed. Google moved LSAs into Google Ads in 2026, which changed how bidding and budgets work.
How to do it:
- Pass Google’s screening and verification for your trade.
- Choose only the job types and service areas you want.
- Answer calls fast. Responsiveness affects how often your ad shows.
- Run LSAs alongside Google Ads, not instead of them.
More: how Local Services Ads work and pay-per-lead advertising.
6. Reviews: more reviews, more calls
Reviews decide whether people call you or the next contractor. In BrightLocal’s 2026 survey, 68% of consumers said they only use businesses rated 4 stars or higher, and 89% expect owners to respond to reviews.
How to do it:
- Ask every customer for an honest review right after the job, with a direct link by text. Google’s policy doesn’t allow asking only the customers you think are happy, or offering anything in exchange.
- Reply to every review, good or bad, in your own words.
- Make it part of your job-completion process so it happens every time.
More: how to get more Google reviews.
7. Landing pages: stop sending ads to your homepage
A homepage tries to say everything. A landing page has one service, one message and one call to action. When someone clicks an ad for “windshield replacement,” they should land on a windshield replacement page, not your homepage.
Real result: with a dedicated landing page, an auto glass company we work with got 30 leads in 17 days on $405 in ad spend, or $13.50 per lead.
How to do it:
- One page per service you advertise, with a headline matching the ad.
- A click-to-call number and a short form above the fold.
- Real photos, reviews and a clear offer.
- Fast load times on mobile.
More: how to build a landing page for Google Ads and Meta ads and contractor website design.
8. Speed to lead: answer first, win the job
Homeowners often contact several contractors. The one who calls back first usually gets the job. Invoca’s 2026 data found 44% of callers to businesses never reach a person. That’s paid-for leads walking straight to a competitor.
How to do it:
- Call new form leads back within minutes, not hours.
- Route calls to someone who can answer during business hours, and use an answering service after hours.
- Run call ads only when someone can pick up.
- Track missed calls weekly and fix the gaps before spending more on ads.
Where to start: my top 4
If you can only do a few things, start here:
- Google Ads: leads now from people already searching.
- Meta ads: reach homeowners before they search.
- SEO: free leads that build every month.
- Google Business Profile: win the map pack for free.
Layer on Local Services Ads, a review system, landing pages and fast follow-up as you go. Most of those make your top four work better.
How to measure what’s working
Leads alone don’t tell you if marketing is working. The numbers that matter:
- Cost per booked job: total spend divided by jobs actually booked from those leads.
- Return on ad spend (ROAS): revenue from those jobs divided by ad spend.
Example (not a quote)If you spend $2,000 on ads, get 50 leads and book 15 jobs averaging $1,500, your cost per booked job is about $133 and your return on ad spend is about 11x. A channel with cheap leads that rarely book can easily be worse.
Marketing should be an investment that pays you back, not an expense you pay every month and hope works. Track by channel and move money to whatever books the most profitable jobs.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the fastest way to get contractor leads?
Google Ads and Local Services Ads. Both can produce calls within days of launch, because they reach people who are already searching for your service.
How much do contractor leads cost?
It depends on your trade, market and setup. In our accounts we’ve seen $29.04 per lead for junk removal and $13.50 per lead for auto glass. See our cost guides for plumbing, roofing, landscaping and junk removal.
Is Google Ads or SEO better for contractors?
Google Ads brings leads fast; SEO lowers your cost per lead over time. Most contractors do best running both. See Google Ads vs SEO.
How do I get more Google reviews?
Ask every customer right after the job with a direct link by text, never offer incentives, and reply to every review. See how to get more Google reviews.
Let’s connect
Want more leads for your contracting business? Altura has generated more than $5 million in revenue for clients in our first 10 months, and you’ll work directly with me, not an account manager. Send a message or call 253-579-3230.
Cole Mello is the founder of Altura Marketing Group. He studied marketing at Washington State University and manages Google Ads, Local Services Ads and Meta campaigns for local service businesses. About Altura