Industry Guide · 3 of 16 chapters published
Google Ads for Construction Companies: The Complete Guide to Winning More Commercial Projects
A commercial builder sells to owners, developers, facility managers and business tenants who hire a few times a decade and often ask an architect or a broker first. Searches that clearly mean commercial work are few in any one market, and the ad space around them fills with residential remodelers and out-of-town specialists. These sixteen chapters build a Google Ads account in the order we build them, using real searches, websites, ads and reviews from general contractors, design-build firms and commercial subcontractors in one example market, the Cincinnati area. Your numbers will differ. The method works for a commercial construction company anywhere in the US.
In One Metro, Clearly Commercial Searches Totaled About 370 a Month. Don't Lose One to a Remodeler.
New account? Chapter 1 comes first. Each chapter uses the setup from the ones before it.
Measure
Count the project inquiry, not every form, and send the signed contract back to Google
Ten of 12 Builder Sites Recruit Workers or Subcontractors. Catch-All Form Tracking Counts Them as Leads.
"TI Allowance" Gets Nearly 3x the Searches of "Tenant Improvement Contractor." Buy the Contractor Search.
A Commercial Client Who Builds Twice Makes the First Lead Worth Twice as Much. Bid Like It.
Build
Ad groups in the owner's words, rival names set aside, exact match on commercial searches, bids set by hand, ads that sell the schedule
Ad Groups in the Owner's Words
Your Name and Your Rivals' Names
Exact Match on Commercial Searches
Bid by Hand, Read Auction Insights
Ads That Sell the Schedule
Launch
The Google defaults to change before the first click, starting with who counts as being in your area
Settings Before Launch
Scale
Performance Max built from your project photos, Demand Gen before the architect call, reviews and the map, and AI Max last
Performance Max From Your Photos
Demand Gen Before the Architect Call
Reviews, Maps and Local Ads
AI Max Last
Construction
Bonus chapters: public bids, license and bond claims in ads, and hiring ads in a campaign of their own
Bonus: Public Bids
Bonus: License and Bond Claims
Bonus: Hiring Ads
The Rollout, Month by Month
The order matters as much as the campaigns. Each step waits until the one before it has taught Google something.
Isolation and brand
Exact match on searches like "commercial general contractor" and the building types you build, bids set by hand, and your company name in a campaign of its own.
Exploration
Broad match with a target CPA once the account logs about 30 quality conversions a month. That is the usual pace, not the rule; many single-market builders stay on hand-set bids longer, and bigger accounts get there sooner.
Performance Max
The usual pace again. It waits until about 30 quality conversions a month hold steady, with signed contracts flowing back to Google and careers and subcontractor pages excluded.
Demand Gen, Local Services Ads and AI Max
Demand Gen once the budget can carry at least 10 times your target CPA, Local Services Ads as a test beside Search, and AI Max last.
How to Use This Guide
Starting a new account?
Read in order. Tracking the project inquiry comes before the first keyword.
Chapter 01 →Bidding public work?
Read the keyword chapters, then the bonus chapter on what search can and can't reach in a public bid.
Chapter 14 →One example market
Examples come from general contractors, design-build firms and commercial subcontractors around Cincinnati, described as we found them. Your numbers will differ; the method is the same.
Chapter 05 →Google Ads for Construction Companies
Commercial Clients Praise the Builder Who Hit the Schedule. Few Builders Say So in Their Ads.
We've run paid ads for 25+ years and seen just about every way a budget goes sideways. Get on the phone with someone who does this every day. Bring your questions, your numbers and your skepticism. You'll hang up knowing what we'd do, whether you hire us or not.
Or see how our Google Ads management works.