Google Ads vs Meta Ads for Trades and Home Services

Trades owners ask me this more than almost anything: should I be on Google or Facebook? The honest answer depends on the kind of job you want more of. A burst pipe and a new deck are both home services, but people go looking for them in completely different ways. Here’s how I decide for trades and home service businesses anywhere in Canada.

The difference in one line

Google catches people who already want the job done. Meta puts your work in front of people who weren’t looking yet. Everything else follows from that.

When Google Ads should come first

If your phone rings because something broke, start with Google. Plumbing, HVAC repair, electrical, roofing leaks, restoration, garage doors, appliance repair. Nobody scrolls Instagram hoping to find a furnace tech. They search, they compare two or three results, and they call. Google lets you show up for those searches in the area you actually serve, at the hours you can answer the phone. The work is in the details: tight keywords, negative keywords so you don’t pay for job seekers or DIY questions, a service area that matches where your trucks go, and a page that makes calling easy.

When Meta Ads earns its spot

Meta works when the job is planned and the result looks good in a photo. Decks, fences, landscaping, kitchens and bathrooms, epoxy floors, custom homes, painting. People don’t always search for these until they’ve already decided. Showing your finished work to homeowners in your area helps put you on the list early. Meta also works for seasonal pushes, like spring landscaping or getting on the books for fall furnace maintenance, and for reaching people who visited your site but didn’t call. It only works if you have real photos or video of your work. Generic stock images of smiling contractors don’t get anyone to stop scrolling.

Running both

Plenty of trades businesses end up on both, but I rarely start there. Each platform needs enough budget to learn, and splitting a small budget in two usually means neither gets a fair test. I’d rather prove one channel, then add the second when it has a clear job. A renovation company might run Google for people searching “bathroom renovation” and Meta to show finished projects to homeowners nearby. That’s two jobs, not the same job twice. For a broader look that includes SEO, I compared all three in Google Ads vs Meta Ads vs SEO.

What it costs to have me run it

My management fee starts at $750 a month for one platform, or $1,300 a month for both, plus a one-time $500 setup. That covers building and running the campaigns, tracking, and a monthly report. Ad spend is separate. You pay Google or Meta directly from your own card, in an account you own, so you can see every dollar. Prices are CAD plus applicable GST/HST. Details are on the packages page.

How much ad spend?

I won’t give you a universal number, because there isn’t one. Click costs vary a lot by trade, city and season, and some trades are expensive to advertise in. Before we agree on a budget, I look at search estimates for your service area and your competitors’ ads, then set a monthly limit you’re comfortable testing for a few months. If the numbers say a channel won’t work for you at a budget that makes sense, I’ll tell you before you spend it.

What wastes money on either platform

The same few mistakes show up again and again. Targeting a whole province when your crews cover three towns. Sending ad clicks to a homepage instead of a page about the service. Running ads when nobody can answer the phone. Not tracking calls and forms, so nobody knows which ads work. On Meta, hitting the Boost button and calling it advertising. I wrote about that one in boosting posts vs real Meta ads.

Get these ready before you spend

A page that matches the ad, loads fast on a phone and has a tap-to-call button. A phone that gets answered, or a quick callback. Call and form tracking so the report shows enquiries, not just clicks. Reviews on your Google Business Profile, because people check. If your site can’t do the first part, fix that first. A landing page from $1,500 is often the cheapest way to make ad spend work. See my web design service.

Real examples

I run ads for trades and construction clients like Apex Concrete Coatings and Copper Pine Homes, and the Herauf Modular case study walks through how I connected their website and Google Ads. Every business is different, so I won’t promise you their numbers. If you want to talk about yours, see Google Ads management and Meta Ads management, or book a free call.