Are your ads working? 5 questions every home service owner should answer

If I asked you right now which ad brought in your last three jobs, could you tell me?

Most owners can't. They know the phone rang. They don't know why. And that means every month, some of the money goes to things that work, and some goes to things that don't, and there's no way to tell which is which.

Here are five questions to answer this week. You don't need a marketing degree for any of them.

1. Are you running ads at all?

Write down everything you pay for to get found: Google ads, Facebook or Instagram ads, Yelp, directories, the truck wrap, yard signs, the local magazine. Next to each one, write what it costs per month.

Many owners find at least one thing on the list they forgot they were still paying for.

2. Do you have clear KPIs?

KPI is just a fancy word for "the few numbers that tell you if it's working." For a home service business, start with three:

• Leads: how many new people reached out this month
• Booked jobs: how many of those turned into an appointment
• Cost per booked job: what you spent on ads, divided by booked jobs

Clicks and likes feel good, but they don't pay the bills. Booked jobs do.

Sample dashboard with made-up numbers.

3. Do you know which ads are performing better?

Look at each ad or platform separately. Google Ads and Meta Ads Manager both show results per campaign. Compare them using your KPIs, not theirs. The ad with the most clicks isn't always the one bringing in jobs.

Give each test a few weeks before you decide. One slow week doesn't mean an ad is dead.

Sample dashboard with made-up numbers.

4. Do you track the traffic on your website?

Google Analytics is free, and it shows how many people visit your site, where they came from and which pages they look at. Your Google Business Profile also shows how many people called you or asked for directions from it.

Check once a month. If lots of people land on a page and leave, that page is where to start improving.

Sample dashboard with made-up numbers.

5. How are your customers learning about you?

The simplest tracking tool there is: ask. "How did you hear about us?" on every new call, text and chat.

Sample dashboard with made-up numbers.

Where an AI front desk helps

Asking that question every single time is the hard part. When you're busy, it's the first thing that gets skipped.

An AI front desk doesn't skip it. It answers every call, text, chat and DM, 24/7, asks "how did you hear about us?" along with the rest of your questions, and saves each answer with the lead in your CRM. After a month, you can see which sources actually bring in booked jobs, and spend accordingly.

If you want to see how that first conversation sounds, try the live demo.

FAQ

What KPIs should a small home service business track?

Start with leads, booked jobs and cost per booked job. Once those are steady, add the average job value and how many leads come from each source.

Do I need an agency to track my ads?

Not to start. The free reports in your ad accounts, Google Analytics, your Google Business Profile, and asking every customer how they found you will tell you most of what you need.