Google Local Services Ads for Painters: Get Google Guaranteed!

January 2024 Update:

We received notice from Google last month that the long-awaited “Painter” primary category is now available in Local Services Ads! We expect higher quality leads at a lower price point from this update, averaging around $20/lead, but there are some caveats to be aware of…

Painter Primary Category for Local Services Ads

Starting with the fact that the “Painting Indoors” and “Painting Outdoors” subcategories are still listed under the “Handyman” primary category (whomp whomp). According to our Google Rep, these should be migrated over sometime in Q1 2024.

With that in mind, it is advised to register your business under both the “Painter” and “Handyman” primary categories.

Second, this new primary category may request some additional business documentation. We have yet to find a trend across our accounts, but so far the requests have ranged from Business Insurance to Business Licenses, which may vary by state.

Finally, to avoid confusion, when searching for the new category it will be listed as “Painting” which is also the term Google uses under the Budget/Bidding section, even though it displays as “Painter” on the frontend. This is the category you want!

The new “Painter” subcategories are as follows:

Cabinet Painting
Door Painting
Furniture Painting
Gutter Painting
Other
Spray Painting
Stair Painting
Wallpaper Removal
Window Painting

Great, now let’s get started!

You are probably familiar with the concept of paying for leads.

On paper, it’s a great business model since you ONLY pay for results, but in practice, these are primarily sold as shared painting leads.

Whomp whomp ????????

But what if Google had a pay-per-lead advertising channel that allows you to acquire exclusive, high-quality repaint leads, and you only pay for leads you can quote?

Sounds too good to be true, right? Guess again!

In this article we’re going to discuss Google Local Services Ads, what they are, how to set them up, and the optimizations needed to generate qualified leads.

Yes, this is the exact same SOP we use to run Local Services Ads for our clients!

Before we get to far into this, let’s start with a basic question…

What are Google Local Services Ads?

Local Services Ads Search Results Position

Local Services Ads = Google Guaranteed

Originally beta tested in 2015, Local Services Ads (otherwise known as LSAs) have been around awhile.

You may have seen the Google Guaranteed badge on Google Business Profiles before — These are businesses running LSAs. You cannot have one without the other.

So why haven’t you heard of LSAs? Most likely because there still isn’t a primary category available for Painters yet, but… you can still list your painting business on LSAs.

Keep reading to find out how!

How do Local Services Ads differ from Search Ads?

As a pay-per-lead service, this advertising channel differs drastically from Google’s standard pay-per-click (PPC) search ads you are probably most familiar with.

What makes LSAs so different is instead of paying for clicks, which don’t directly generate results, you only pay for leads you can quote.

Even better, LSAs show up ABOVE the standard Google Search Ads, giving your painting business more visibility at a lower price point.

Here are a few facts about Google Local Services Ads and why they are quickly becoming the best advertising channel for painting companies:

You only pay for quotable leads, which is defined as a lead calling for a service you offer, inside your service area.
Google is currently very forgiving with lead disputes. At the time of writing this article, we have a 100% success rate for disputing unqualified leads.
The average CPL (cost-per-lead) is between $20-$50.
The average close ratio for these leads (lead-to-closed-job) is between 50-60%.
If your customer is unhappy with the quality of your work, Google may offer a refund. This can be a selling point while presenting your estimate.

Why are LSA leads better than shared leads?

So you might be asking yourself how is this different from Angi, HomeAdvisor, and those other shared lead sites we all love to hate?

Simply, unlike shared leads that are typically considered to be a low-quality source of new business, painting leads generated by LSAs are EXCLUSIVE to your painting business.

Caveats to Local Services Ads

While this ad type is about as good as it gets in terms of the quality and cost for repaint leads, there are a few caveats you should be aware of:

Since no primary category is available for painters, you may receive a high percentage of unqualified leads. These can all be disputed, but this obviously takes time out of your day.
There is a background check process that can take several weeks to complete.
The business name you have registered with the state is the same business name you will need to use on your LSAs. Yes, Google verifies this information. If your business name does not contain the word “Painting” or “Painters” you can expect an increased number of unqualified leads (keep reading to find out why).
Similar to the map pack, only three primary ad spots exist in search results, and the number of 5-star reviews on your Google Business Profile (compared to your competition) determines how well your LSAs will perform organically.
LSAs are not available in all markets. This ad channel requires at least THREE registered advertisers in your local market for LSAs to display in search results.
At the time of writing this article, these ads are only available in the United States. (Sorry, Canada!)

How to get your Painting Business Google Guaranteed ✅

1) Start your application

Now that we understand what Local Services Ads are, how they work, and some of the pros/cons, let’s dive into the details of creating and optimizing these ads for your painting business.

Important: Make sure you have a Google Business Profile created for your painting business. This is a requirement.

The Base Coat Marketing Google Local Services Ads Onboarding SOP:

Similar to shared lead services, a background check is involved to get your Local Services Ads up and running. On average, this process can take 2-4 weeks to complete.
Use Handyman for your Primary Category.
Use Painting Indoors and Painting Outdoors as your subcategories. These subcategories will ensure you can dispute any leads unrelated to painting.
Your Business Name should match what’s on your Google Business Profile. This should also match what is registered with the state as Google does verify this information.

Pro Tip: File a DBA with your Secretary of State if you want to use a different business name.

Since you are listing your business under the Handyman primary category, you can expect an increased number of unqualified leads if your business name does not contain the words “Painting” or “Painter”.
Enter “0” for the Total number of workers. Using a number greater than zero will require that you file a background check for every single employee.
For your Service Areas, only enter the zip codes you want to target. This will determine which leads you can dispute.
Change the Ad Schedule setting to All Day, otherwise your Business Hours will determine when your ads display.
If your state requires it, you may be asked to upload Proof of Business Insurance.
A few days/weeks after submitting your application, you will receive a text message requesting that you upload photos of your driver’s license. Do this ASAP to avoid application delays.
We recommend disabling Messages as they tend to generate more spam leads compared to Calls.

Step 1) Click here to begin your application

2) Optimize your ads for performance

Once your ads have been approved, follow the steps below to capture the highest volume of leads at the lowest CPL (cost-per-lead) possible:

Answer your phone! Google records every single call. Missed calls will negatively impact your ad performance.
The number of 5-star reviews on your Google Business Profile compared to your local competition. For best results, aim to capture a new review after every single completed job.
Upload project images to your Local Services Ads. Be sure to include images of your team (human faces build trust) and your logo as well.
Dispute ALL unqualified leads. This ensures you only pay for leads you can quote, plus it feeds data back into Google’s algorithm which helps generate higher-quality leads over time.
Mark leads you can quote as Approved. Similar to the previous statement, this ranking factor helps the algorithm generate higher-quality leads.
Lead flow can take several weeks to kick in. If after 2-3 weeks you determine your phone just isn’t ringing enough, try changing your bidding strategy from Maximize Leads to Set max per lead, and set your cost to something greater than your average CPL.

Looking for a hands-off solution?

While these ads are among the simplest ad type to set up online, they still require time and energy to manage.

Also, because this ad type is relatively new to the Professional Painting Industry, we anticipate big changes in the coming months which can profoundly impact how these ads perform.

If you’re interested in having the professionals take the lead on this one, give us a call at 888-313-1991.

Our experienced team of campaign managers will handle the entire set up and management of these ads on your behalf, so all you need to do is answer the phone and close the job!

Schedule a free strategy call today with Base Coat Marketing today!

Austin Houser

About the Author: Husband. Father. Business Owner. As a Digital Marketer and Data Scientist with over a decade of lead generation experience managing a results-driven marketing agency for Professional Painting Companies, Austin Houser breaks down barriers to help Entrepreneurs have more fun in their business.

Learn more about Austin Houser