Google Ads for plumbers
Emergency and scheduled jobs for $15-50 per lead. Bids that adjust for nights, weekends, and weather.
The challenge
Emergency keywords cost $8-25/click
"Emergency plumber near me" costs $15-25/click. But these searches convert at 15-20% because the caller has water on their floor right now. The ROI is there — if you manage bids correctly.
Emergency searches spike 3x at night and on weekends
Plumbing emergencies don't happen 9-5. Searches spike between 10pm-6am and on weekends. If your bids don't increase during those hours, competitors get those high-value calls.
A 50-mile radius wastes half your budget
Don't target the entire metro. Your actual service area is usually 15-25 miles. Every click from outside your service area is money down the drain.
DIY searches eat your budget
Without negative keywords, you pay for "how to fix a leaky faucet," "plumbing jobs hiring," "plumber salary," "plumbing code requirements," and "plumbing school near me." None of these become jobs.
How Fullrun helps
At $15/click average and 15% conversion rate, you're paying $100/lead. If your average job is $300+, that's a 3:1 return. The math works — but only if you're not bleeding money on DIY searches and out-of-area clicks.
Fullrun builds separate campaigns for emergency and scheduled plumbing services. The AI increases bids during the hours your customers actually call (nights, weekends, storm events), targets your exact service area down to zip code, and blocks irrelevant searches daily: plumbing jobs, plumber salary, how to fix [DIY], plumbing code, plumbing school.
You set the budget and service area. Fullrun handles bid management, negative keywords, ad copy testing, and search term monitoring every day.
Frequently asked questions
- How much should a plumber spend on Google Ads?
- $750-3,000/mo depending on service area size. Here's the math: at $15/click average and 15% conversion rate, $750/mo gets you about 50 clicks and 7-8 leads. At $300+ average job value, that's $2,100+ in revenue from $750 in ad spend.
- What is the typical cost per lead for plumbing?
- $15-50 per lead. Emergency leads cost more ($30-50) but close at higher rates and higher ticket values. Scheduled service leads (drain cleaning, water heater install) cost $15-30 and still deliver strong ROI.
- Can Fullrun target emergency vs. scheduled services separately?
- Yes. The AI creates separate campaigns for emergency and scheduled services with different keywords, ad copy, and bid schedules. Emergency campaigns bid higher at night and on weekends. Scheduled service campaigns run heavier during business hours.
- How long until I see leads?
- Most plumbers get calls within the first 3-5 days. The AI needs 2-4 weeks to dial in bid schedules, build a negative keyword list, and optimize ad copy. By month two, your cost per lead should be stable.