If you’re looking for an effective pool service marketing system that actually delivers results, you need to understand how combining Google Ads and Local Service Ads can transform your lead generation.
Today I’m going to walk you through exactly how we generated over 1,100 leads for a pool service client over the course of their first year working with us. We did this using a combination of Google Ads and Google’s Local Service Ads platform.
Between both platforms, we were able to consistently bring in high quality pool service leads month after month. The best part? These weren’t just low quality tire kickers. These were people actively looking for pool service in their local market who were ready to become customers.
If you’d prefer to watch a video on all of this, you can check out the video above. Or, you can read on to see more of the case study and how you can use these platforms for your pool service business.
Pool Service Marketing Results Overview
Before we get into the specific strategies and how these platforms work, let me show you the actual numbers from this pool service marketing campaign.
Over the course of the first year running both Google Ads and Local Service Ads for this client, we generated a combined total of 1,118 leads.
Here’s how those numbers broke down between the two platforms:
Google Ads: 677 leads
Local Service Ads: 441 leads
Now, these weren’t just contact form submissions or email signups. These were actual inbound phone calls and legitimate inquiries from people looking for pool service in their local market.
The combination of both platforms working together created a consistent flow of leads that kept their schedule packed throughout the entire year.
In fact, we went a little too aggressive early on and had to turn things down because there were too many leads and too much work coming through to keep up.
So, how were we able to generate all of these pool service leads? Let’s break down each platform and how they work.
Why Google Ads Works For Pool Service Marketing
One of the absolute best things you can do for pool service marketing is to leverage Google Ads to generate leads for your business.
The main reason Google Ads works so well for pool service companies is because of the intent behind the leads you generate.
When someone goes to Google and searches for “pool service near me” or “pool cleaning company [city name]”, they’re not just browsing around. They’re actively looking for someone to solve a problem they have right now.
That means they’re much further along in the buying process compared to leads you might get from other platforms like Facebook or Instagram.
The Quality Of Google Ads Leads
With Google Ads, you’re getting people who are ready to take action. They need their pool cleaned, they need pool maintenance, or they’re looking for ongoing pool service.
These aren’t people who might need pool service someday. These are people who need it now.
That high intent means that as long as your pricing is competitive, your service is solid, and you can answer the phone when they call, you’re going to close these leads at a much higher rate than other marketing channels.
The vast majority of the leads that came through this pool service Google Ads campaign were inbound phone calls. This makes the sales process much easier compared to having to chase down form fill leads with multiple follow ups.
Scalability and Control
Another massive benefit of using Google Ads for pool service marketing is that you have complete control over your lead generation.
Need more leads this month? Increase your daily budget.
Need to slow things down while you catch up on work or hire more people? Lower your budget.
With Google Ads, you can dial your lead generation up or down based on what your business needs at any given time.
This flexibility makes it incredibly easy to scale your pool service business without worrying about feast or famine cycles.
How We Generated 677 Pool Service Leads With Google Ads
So, how did we actually generate 677 leads for this pool service client using Google Ads?
There were a few key components that needed to be in place to make this campaign successful.
Running Search Campaigns
The first thing we did was make sure we were running a regular search campaign, not one of Google’s Smart Campaigns or Performance Max campaigns.
Search campaigns are where your ads show up directly on the Google search results page when someone types in a search related to pool service.
This is where the highest quality traffic is going to be. We want to make sure that our pool service ads are showing up when people are searching for things like “pool cleaning near me”, “pool service company”, “pool maintenance near me”, and other high intent search terms.
When someone searches for these terms, our ads would show up in the top three sponsored positions on Google Search, right above the organic results.
Proper Campaign Structure
Getting the right search traffic is only part of the equation. You also need to make sure your campaign is structured properly to convert that traffic into leads.
For this pool service Google Ads campaign, we made sure that every step of the process was relevant to what someone searched for.
If someone searched for “pool cleaning near me”, the ad they clicked on talked about pool cleaning services, and the landing page they were sent to was specifically about pool cleaning.
This relevance at every step of the process is crucial for getting high conversion rates on your campaign.
A lot of people make the mistake of sending all of their traffic to the homepage of their website, but that creates a disconnect. Your homepage talks about everything your business does, not specifically what that person was looking for.
Landing Pages Are Critical
This is where a lot of pool service Google Ads campaigns fail. They send all of their traffic to their website instead of to dedicated landing pages.
Landing pages are specifically designed to convert traffic into leads. They’re focused on one thing and one thing only – getting someone to either pick up the phone and call you, or fill out a form.
For this campaign, we built out multiple landing pages that were each focused on different services and search terms. This allowed us to keep everything relevant and dramatically improved our conversion rates.
On average, most websites convert somewhere around 10% of Google Ads traffic into leads. With our landing pages, we were able to consistently convert 20% or more of that traffic.
Here’s a quick example on how landing pages impact the numbers:
Website (10% conversion rate):
100 clicks at $10 per click = $2,000 spent
20 leads generated = $100 per lead
Landing Page (20% conversion rate):
100 clicks at $10 per click = $2,000 spent
40 leads generated = $50 per lead
Just by using landing pages, we were able to cut the cost per lead in half and double the number of leads generated from the same budget.
What Are Local Service Ads?
Now let’s talk about the other platform we used to generate leads for this pool service company – Local Service Ads.
Local Service Ads (LSAs) are a different type of advertising platform that Google offers specifically for local service businesses like pool service companies, plumbers, electricians, HVAC companies, and more.
Unlike regular Google Ads where you pay per click, with Local Service Ads you only pay per lead. That means you only get charged when someone actually calls your business through the ad.
This makes LSAs incredibly cost effective for pool service marketing because you’re not wasting money on clicks that don’t convert into leads.
How Local Service Ads Work
When someone searches for pool service in your area, Local Service Ads show up at the very top of the search results, even above regular Google Ads.
These ads display your business name, your Google review rating, your phone number, and whether you’re “Google Screened” or “Google Guaranteed”.
The Google Screened or Google Guaranteed badge is huge for building trust with potential customers. It shows that Google has verified your business, checked your licenses and insurance, and done background checks on you and your employees.
This badge helps your business stand out from competitors and gives potential customers confidence that they’re hiring a legitimate, trustworthy pool service company.
Why Local Service Ads Work So Well
There are a few reasons why Local Service Ads work incredibly well for pool service marketing:
Pay Per Lead Model – You only pay when someone actually calls you, not for every click. This makes the platform much more cost effective than traditional pay per click advertising.
Prime Real Estate – LSAs show up above everything else on Google Search, including regular Google Ads. This gives you maximum visibility when someone is looking for pool service.
Trust Factors – The Google Screened badge, combined with your review ratings being displayed prominently, helps build trust immediately. People are much more likely to call a business that Google has verified.
High Intent Traffic – Just like regular Google Ads, people using Local Service Ads are actively searching for pool service right now. They’re ready to hire someone.
Local Focus – LSAs are specifically designed for local service businesses. The platform automatically targets people in your service area, so you don’t have to worry about getting calls from people outside your area.
How We Generated 441 Pool Service Leads With Local Service Ads
Getting Local Service Ads set up and running successfully requires a different approach than regular Google Ads.
Here’s what we did to generate 441 leads for this pool service client using LSAs.
Getting The Account Set Up Properly
The first step was getting the Local Service Ads account set up and verified. This process takes a bit more work upfront compared to regular Google Ads, but it’s worth it.
Google requires you to provide documentation for your business licenses, insurance, and you’ll need to go through background checks for yourself and any employees.
Once you’re verified and approved, you’ll receive the Google Screened badge which will display on your ads.
Setting Your Budget and Service Area
With Local Service Ads, you set a weekly budget and define your service area. The budget determines how many leads you can potentially receive each week.
For this pool service client, we made sure to properly define their entire service area so that leads were only coming from areas they actually serviced.
One mistake I see people make is setting their service area too wide and getting calls from people they can’t actually help. This wastes budget and hurts your lead quality.
Managing Your Profile
Your Local Service Ads profile is incredibly important. This includes making sure you have:
- High quality photos of your team and your work
- A complete business description
- All of your services listed
- Your business hours set correctly
- Quick response times to new leads
Google tracks how quickly you respond to leads from LSAs. If you’re not responding quickly, Google will show your ads less frequently.
This is huge for Local Service Ads, because one of the main downsides of the platform is that you don’t have as much control over it compared to something like Google Ads.
A lot of what determines how many leads you get from the platform is how Google views your business, and if they feel like you’re a good business to send leads to.
If you don’t get back to leads quickly enough, don’t answer your phone, and aren’t managing your leads in the CRM on the backend of your LSA account then Google will most likely send you fewer leads as a result.
Gathering Reviews
Reviews are absolutely critical for Local Service Ads success. Your star rating is displayed prominently on your ad, and people are much more likely to call businesses with higher ratings.
Throughout the campaign, we made sure this pool service client was consistently asking happy customers for reviews. This helped keep their rating high and made their ad more attractive to potential customers.
Tracking and Optimization
Unlike regular Google Ads where you can make tons of optimizations and adjustments, Local Service Ads are much simpler. The platform is largely automated by Google.
The main things we focused on for optimization were:
- Responding to leads quickly
- Disputing any spam or invalid leads
- Gathering more reviews
- Adjusting the budget based on seasonal demand
- Making sure the profile stayed updated
By staying on top of these things, we were able to consistently generate quality pool service leads month after month.
The Power Of Running Both Platforms Together
One of the biggest advantages this pool service client had was that we were running both Google Ads and Local Service Ads at the same time.
This created multiple touchpoints where potential customers could find the business when searching for pool service.
Someone searching for pool service would see the client’s business in the Local Service Ads section at the very top of the page, and then again in the regular Google Ads section below that.
This increased visibility helped establish the business as a major player in their market and gave them multiple opportunities to capture leads.
Different Lead Types From Each Platform
Another benefit of running both platforms is that you tend to get slightly different types of leads from each.
Local Service Ads leads tend to be people who want to talk to someone immediately and are ready to book service right away.
Google Ads leads include those immediate calls, but also people who want to look around your website first, check out your landing page, and then either call or submit a form.
By having both platforms running, you’re able to capture both types of leads and maximize your total lead generation.
Cost Per Lead Comparison
Over the course of the year, we found that Local Service Ads generally delivered slightly lower cost per lead compared to Google Ads.
This might not be the same in every market, but that trend seems to track across the data we’ve seen.
The major trade off with cheaper leads from LSAs is that you don’t have as much control as you would over a Google Ads campaign.
The pay per lead model of LSAs meant we weren’t wasting any budget on clicks that didn’t convert. Every dollar spent went directly toward a lead.
With Google Ads, even though we had strong conversion rates on our landing pages, we were still paying for clicks that didn’t always turn into leads.
However, Google Ads gave us much more control over targeting, messaging, and traffic volume. This made it worth running both platforms side by side.
Need Help With Your Pool Service Marketing?
The combination of Google Ads and Local Service Ads proved to be an incredibly effective pool service marketing system for this client.
By generating 1,118 leads in the first year (677 from Google Ads and 441 from Local Service Ads), we were able to help them scale their business and establish themselves as a leader in their local market.
If you’re a pool service company looking to grow, I highly recommend considering both of these platforms as part of your marketing strategy.
The high intent leads, scalability, and consistent results make them two of the best options available for pool service marketing.
If you’re looking for someone to help you set up and run Google Ads or Local Service Ads for your pool service business, feel free to reach out!
Click the button below to apply for a free consultation. I’ll review your application personally, and if I feel like I can help you out, I’ll reach out to get a consultation scheduled.
Thanks for reading!
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