When it comes to running Google Ads for your tree service business, having the right campaign settings in place can make the difference between a profitable campaign and one that just burns through your budget.

I’ve audited hundreds of Google Ads campaigns over the years, and one of the most common issues I see is that people either skip over the campaign settings entirely or just accept whatever Google recommends by default.

The problem is that Google’s default settings aren’t designed to help you run the most profitable campaign. They’re designed to make Google more money.

Today I’m going to walk you through the exact campaign settings you need to have in place to run a successful tree service Google Ads campaign.

These are the same settings I use for all of my clients, and if you implement them correctly, you’ll avoid wasting money on irrelevant traffic and low quality leads.

1) Run The Right Campaign Type

The first and most important setting you need to get right is selecting the correct campaign type when you’re building out your Google Ads campaign.

Always Use Search Campaigns

For tree service businesses, you want to be running a Search Campaign.

This is the campaign type where your ads show up directly on the Google Search results page when someone types in a search query like “tree removal near me” or “tree service [city name]”.

Search campaigns give you the most control over your keywords, your targeting, and where your ads show up. This control is critical for running a profitable campaign.

When you run a search campaign, you know exactly what searches are triggering your ads, and you can optimize based on that data.

Avoid Performance Max Campaigns

Google loves to push Performance Max campaigns for local businesses. When you log into your account, you’ll probably see recommendations to switch to Performance Max or to create a new Performance Max campaign.

Ignore those recommendations.

Performance Max campaigns give Google full control over where your ads show, what audiences they target, and how your budget gets spent.

You lose the ability to see what search terms are driving your clicks, you can’t control your keyword targeting, and you have very limited optimization options.

For most tree service companies, Performance Max campaigns end up wasting money on low quality traffic that doesn’t convert into leads.

Stick with regular search campaigns where you maintain control.

Don’t Use Smart Campaigns or Express Mode

If you’re setting up a brand new Google Ads account, Google will probably try to guide you into setting up a Smart Campaign or running your account in Express Mode.

These simplified campaign types are designed to make Google Ads “easier” for beginners, but they severely limit what you can do.

With Smart Campaigns, you don’t have access to most of the features you need to run a profitable campaign. You can’t see your search terms report, you can’t add negative keywords properly, and you have very limited control over your targeting.

If you find yourself in Express Mode or with a Smart Campaign, switch to Expert Mode and build out a proper search campaign instead.

The extra time it takes to set up a real search campaign is worth it. You’ll have much better results and won’t waste money on features you can’t control.

2) Turn Off Display Network and Search Partners

Once you’ve selected Search Campaign as your campaign type, you need to make sure you’re not wasting budget on networks that don’t deliver quality traffic.

Disable Display Network

When you’re setting up your search campaign, you’ll see an option for “Display Network”. Make sure this is turned off.

If you leave Display Network enabled, Google will take your tree service ads and show them as banner ads on random websites across the internet.

You’ve probably seen this yourself when you’re browsing websites and see ads from businesses you don’t recognize.

The problem with Display Network for Google Ads is that the traffic quality is terrible. People aren’t actively searching for tree service when they see your banner ad on some random website. They’re just browsing around.

This traffic almost never converts into leads, but you’ll still pay for every click. It’s a waste of money.

Always make sure Display Network is unchecked for your tree service search campaigns.

Turn Off Search Partners

Right above the Display Network option, you’ll see another checkbox for “Search Partners”.

Search Partners will show your ads on other search engines and websites that have search functionality beyond just Google.com.

In theory, this sounds like it could be good because you’re getting more exposure. In practice, the traffic quality from Search Partners is usually much lower than traffic from Google Search itself.

I’ve seen campaigns where Search Partners traffic includes people searching for jobs, looking for equipment to buy, or searching for completely irrelevant things.

My recommendation is to turn Search Partners off, especially when you’re first launching your campaign.

If you want to test it later once your campaign is established, you can always turn it back on and see how it performs. But starting with it off will help you avoid wasting budget on low quality traffic right from the beginning.

3) Set Up Location Targeting Properly

Location targeting is one of the most overlooked settings in Google Ads campaigns, but it’s absolutely critical for making sure you’re only showing ads to people in areas you actually service.

Target Specific Cities or Zip Codes

When you’re setting up location targeting, you have a few different options. You can drop a radius around your location, or you can select specific cities, towns, or zip codes.

For most tree service campaigns, I recommend targeting specific cities or zip codes rather than using a radius.

The benefit of this approach is that you can see exactly which locations are generating leads and which ones aren’t. This data helps you optimize your campaign over time.

If you just drop a 30 mile radius around your location, everything gets lumped together and you can’t see which specific areas are performing well.

Start by making a list of every city, town, or zip code that you provide tree service in. Then add each of those locations individually to your campaign targeting.

Yes, this takes more time upfront, but it gives you much better data and control over your campaign.

Exclude Locations Outside Your Service Area

This is the part that most people forget, and it can end up wasting a ton of money.

After you’ve added all of the locations you want to target, you should also exclude locations that are outside of your service area.

Let’s say you service Austin, Texas, but you don’t service San Antonio which is about 80 miles away. You should add San Antonio (and other surrounding areas you don’t service) as excluded locations.

This helps prevent your ads from showing to people who are outside of your service area.

You might be thinking “but I already set my targeting to only show in Austin, why do I need to exclude other areas?”

The reason is that people can search for tree service in other cities even when they’re not physically in that city. If you don’t have those areas excluded, your ads could show up for those searches and you’ll pay for clicks from people you can’t help.

Take the time to exclude the major cities and areas around your service area that you don’t cover. It will save you from wasting money on irrelevant clicks.

Use The Right Location Options Setting

There’s one more location setting that’s critical to get right, and most people have no idea it even exists.

When you’re setting up your location targeting, there’s a small link that says “Location options” underneath where you select your locations. Click on that.

You’ll see two options:

• “Presence or interest: People in, regularly in, or who’ve shown interest in your targeted locations”
• “Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations”

Always select the second option: “Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations”

If you leave it on the first option (which is usually the default), your ads can show to people who are nowhere near your service area but happen to be searching for tree service in your city.

For example, if someone in New York searches for “tree removal austin texas”, your ad could show up even though that person is thousands of miles away.

By selecting “Presence” only, you ensure your ads only show to people who are actually in or regularly in your service area.

4) Use The Right Bidding Strategy

The bidding strategy you use for your Google Ads campaign will determine how Google bids on clicks and what it’s optimizing for.

Choosing the right bidding strategy depends on where your campaign is at in its lifecycle.

Start With Maximize Clicks

When you’re first launching a tree service Google Ads campaign, you want to start with a clicks-based bidding strategy.

I recommend using Maximize Clicks with a maximum CPC bid limit set.

The reason you want to start with a clicks-based strategy is because Google needs to gather data before it can optimize for conversions.

When you first launch your campaign, Google doesn’t know who your ideal customer is or what types of searches lead to leads for your business.

By bidding for clicks first, you’re allowing Google to gather data about who’s clicking on your ads and who’s converting into leads.

Make sure you set a maximum CPC bid limit though. This prevents Google from bidding too much for clicks and wasting your budget.

Switch To Target CPA When You Have Conversion Data

Once your campaign has been running for a while and you’ve generated at least 30 to 50 conversions, you can switch to a conversion-based bidding strategy.

I recommend using Target CPA (Target Cost Per Acquisition) for most tree service campaigns.

With Target CPA, you tell Google what you want your average cost per lead to be, and Google will automatically adjust your bids to try to hit that target.

For example, if you want to generate leads at $60 each, you would set your Target CPA to $60. Google will then bid higher for searches that are more likely to convert and bid lower for searches that are less likely to convert.

The key here is that you need conversion data first. If you switch to Target CPA too early before you have enough conversion data, the campaign won’t perform well because Google doesn’t have enough information to optimize.

Wait until you have at least 30 conversions (ideally 50 or more) before making the switch to Target CPA.

Track Your Conversions

Obviously, none of this matters if you don’t have conversion tracking set up properly.

Make sure you’re tracking phone calls and form submissions as conversions in your Google Ads account. Without this data, you won’t be able to optimize your campaign or switch to conversion-based bidding strategies.

If you don’t have conversion tracking set up yet, that should be your first priority before you even think about launching a Google Ads campaign.

Need Help With Your Tree Service Google Ads Campaign?

If you’re looking for someone to set up and manage your Google Ads campaign with all of the right settings in place, I can help.

I specialize in running Google Ads for local service businesses, and I know exactly what it takes to generate quality leads at a profitable cost.

Click the button below to apply for a free consultation, and I’ll personally review your application to see if I can help grow your tree service business.

Thanks for reading!

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