The Ultimate 5-Step Google Ads Strategy for Local Service Businesses (2025 Edition)

Are you a small business owner tired of burning through your Google Ads budget with little to show for it? Discover the ultimate 5-step strategy designed specifically for local service businesses in 2025! From mastering location and keyword targeting to crafting ad copy that pre-qualifies your ideal customers, this guide will help you skyrocket conversions and slash wasted spend. Plus, learn how to effectively use remarketing campaigns to turn past visitors into loyal clients. Don’t miss out on transforming your Google Ads into a predictable growth engine for your business!

Every Entrepreneur and Small Business needs to Pay Attention to this google ads guide!

Are you a small business owner tired of burning through your Google Ads budget with little to show for it?
Good news — today, I’m walking you through the exact five-step strategy we use in 2025 to help local service businesses skyrocket conversions, slash wasted spend, and build a scalable ad funnel that actually works.

📊 We’ll also break things down visually — charts, infographics, and graphs included — so you can easily follow each step from beginner to advanced.

If you are reading this and you haven’t set up your google ads account, read my post on How to Set up a Google Ads Account from Scratch.

Step 1: Always Start with Search Campaigns (Not Performance Max)

Even though Google loves recommending Performance Max (PMAX) campaigns to beginners, resist the temptation.
✅ Start with Search Campaigns because they give you:

Full control over keyword targeting
Flexibility to test and optimize ad messaging
Visibility into what’s actually driving conversions

Pro Tip: Performance Max campaigns only shine after you have robust conversion history. Without it, you're flying blind.

Step 2: Master Location and Keyword Targeting

Most small businesses waste thousands because they trust default settings in Google Ads. Don’t be one of them.

Location Targeting Tip:

Set it to Presence only, NOT Presence or Interest.
Why? You only want ads shown to people physically in your service area, not random researchers from across the country.

Keyword Targeting Tip:

Avoid: Short-tail broad match keywords (e.g., “plumber”).
Instead: Target long-tail keywords with clear intent (e.g., “24/7 water heater repair near me”).
Create and Update:
- ✅ An account-wide Negative Keyword List (example: free, DIY, cheap)
- ✅ Regular weekly sweeps of your Search Terms Report
- Good Keyword Example Bad Keyword Example
  
  "emergency plumbing repair near me" "plumber"

Step 3: Use Ad Copy That Pre-Qualifies Prospects

Your ad copy is your first filter.
It should attract your ideal customers — and repel everyone else.

Real Story:
One local IT company we worked with was attracting home users — but they only serviced small businesses.
Solution:

Added negatives like “computer help near me”
Rewrote ad copy to say:
- “Small Business IT Support Only”
- “Call Our Business Hotline”

Result?
✅ Lower traffic
✅ Higher lead quality
✅ Happier sales team!

Tips to Pre-Qualify in Your Ads:

🏡 Mention your audience (e.g., “Serving Homeowners Only”)
🛠 Highlight your service focus (e.g., “No Repairs – Installations Only”)
💰 Show price ranges if you want to avoid bargain hunters

The right copy turns browsers into buyers. 🛒

Step 4: Set Up Smart Remarketing Campaigns

Remarketing = Goldmine.
It targets visitors who already know you but didn’t convert the first time.

When To Start:
After you hit about 1,000 website visitors, roll out a Display Remarketing Campaign.

Settings for Success:

Target audience: Target (not Observation)
Exclude: Mobile app placements (they suck up budget)
Budget: 5–10% of your total Google Ads spend
Run for: 60–90 days minimum
Key metric: View-through conversions

Learn more about Cost Per Click (CPC and CPL to see more to show real-world averages.

Case Study:
One local IT company dropped their cost per lead from $107 to $69 just by adding remarketing. 💸

Before Remarketing = $107 cost per lead

After Remarketing. = $69 cost per lead

Step 5: Scale Smartly with Performance Max Campaigns

Finally — once your Search campaigns are crushing it, NOW it’s time to leverage Performance Max for scaling.

But only after building strong foundations first.

Click Here to learn more about Search Engine Journal - How Performance Max Works

Track These Early Metrics Closely:

Metrics	Why It Matters
Keywords producing leads	Shows searcher intent
Best-performing headlines	Fine-tune messaging faster
High-intent search terms	Prioritize for budget boost

Settings for Winning PMAX Campaigns:

🎯 Use campaign-specific goals tied to offline conversions (not form fills or random phone calls)
🔥 Target new customers only
🚫 Exclude branded keywords (don’t pay for your own traffic)

PMAX allows you to:

Break through your local audience ceiling
Reach high-intent customers at scale
Expand smartly without destroying your ROAS

🚀 Build first. Scale second. Dominate third.

Final Thoughts: Build Smarter Google Ads Campaigns in 2025

✅ Start with Search
✅ Fine-tune Location + Keyword targeting
✅ Pre-qualify through Ad Copy
✅ Remarket to past visitors
✅ Scale using Performance Max — only when ready

Remember:

Google Ads isn’t magic — but when structured the right way, it becomes a predictable growth engine for your business.

When to Launch Remarketing Flowchart

Kali Runk

Kali Runk is the creator of Creating from Chaos, a lifestyle blog dedicated to empowering busy moms with health & wellness tips, family-friendly recipes, quick workouts, DIY projects, and home decor inspiration. Follow along for practical advice and creative ideas to simplify and elevate everyday life! #MomLife #DIY #HealthyLiving

2 thoughts on “The Ultimate 5-Step Google Ads Strategy for Local Service Businesses (2025 Edition)”

Nikita3756
April 30, 2025 at 1:13 am

Good https://is.gd/N1ikS2

Reply
Cody683
April 28, 2025 at 8:53 am

Very good https://rb.gy/4gq2o4

Reply

Join Our
Newsletter

Sign up to receive exclusive lifestyle tips, early access to new blog posts, and special offers delivered straight to your inbox!

FOLLOW OR SHARE

Recent Blog Post

Recent Blog Post

K / R

Recent Blog Post

Recent Blog Post

The Ultimate 5-Step Google Ads Strategy for Local Service Businesses (2025 Edition)

Table of Contents

Every Entrepreneur and Small Business needs to Pay Attention to this google ads guide!

Step 1: Always Start with Search Campaigns (Not Performance Max)

Step 2: Master Location and Keyword Targeting

Location Targeting Tip:

Keyword Targeting Tip:

Create and Update:

Step 3: Use Ad Copy That Pre-Qualifies Prospects

Tips to Pre-Qualify in Your Ads:

Step 4: Set Up Smart Remarketing Campaigns

Settings for Success:

Step 5: Scale Smartly with Performance Max Campaigns

But only after building strong foundations first.

Track These Early Metrics Closely:

Settings for Winning PMAX Campaigns:

Final Thoughts: Build Smarter Google Ads Campaigns in 2025

When to Launch Remarketing Flowchart

Remarketing Launch

YES

Begin Remarketing Campaign

Kali Runk

2 thoughts on “The Ultimate 5-Step Google Ads Strategy for Local Service Businesses (2025 Edition)”

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Related Posts

Join Our Newsletter

QUICK LINKS

QUICK LINKS

Join Our
Newsletter