Google Ads lets you pay to appear at the top of search results for the jobs you want, in the places you choose, starting the day a campaign goes live. For a BC business that works in more than one region, the single most useful decision is to stop running one campaign for everywhere and give each market its own budget, schedule and message.
BCAgency.ca manages the advertising; you and your crews do the work. We never install, repair or service anything.
Why one province-wide campaign wastes money
When a single campaign targets both the Lower Mainland and the Interior, Google's automated bidding tends to spend where the most searches happen. That is usually Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, where clicks are the most expensive. Your Kamloops or Prince George enquiries get starved even though they might be cheaper and more profitable.
Separate regional campaigns fix that. You decide how much goes to each market, you see the cost per lead in each one, and you can pause a region the week your crew there is fully booked.
What is included
- Account audit or set-up in an account you own. If you already have one, we review search terms, locations and conversion tracking before changing anything.
- Regional campaign structure, usually one campaign per market and one ad group per main service.
- Location settings checked properly. Google's default can show ads to people "interested in" a location, not only those in it. We set targeting to people in or regularly in your areas.
- Ad schedules by region, matched to when your phones are answered and when local demand peaks.
- Ad copy written for each place. A Victoria ad and a Fort St. John ad should not read the same.
- Negative keywords to filter out job seekers, DIY searches and services you do not offer.
- Local Services Ads review where your category is eligible.
- Call tracking and conversion tracking, so we can report cost per call and per booked job.
Who it suits, and who it doesn't
It suits businesses that know their job values, can answer calls during the hours ads run, and want predictable volume. It suits a company opening in a new town that cannot wait for rankings.
It does not suit a company already turning away work, or one whose phone goes to voicemail all day. In those cases we would tell you to fix capacity or call handling first. Strategy and consulting can help with that decision.
Timeline
- Week 1: tracking, account access, budgets per region agreed.
- Weeks 2–3: campaigns live, first search-term clean-up.
- Weeks 4–8: bids and budgets shifted towards the regions and services with the lowest cost per booked job.
- Month 3 onwards: steady optimisation, seasonal adjustments and a quarterly review of whether each region still earns its budget.
How we measure results
The headline number is cost per booked job by region, not clicks or impressions. To get there, we track calls, texts and quote requests from ads, and ask you for a simple monthly count of jobs booked from them. A worked example:
| Lower Mainland | Okanagan | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly spend (example) | $2,000 | $800 |
| Leads | 25 | 14 |
| Cost per lead | $80 | about $57 |
| Booked jobs (half close) | 12 or 13 | 7 |
| Cost per booked job | about $160 | about $114 |
These are illustration figures, not forecasts. The point is that you only find this difference if the regions are measured separately.
Mistakes to avoid
- Sending ad clicks to the home page. Each ad should land on the page for that service and region.
- Running ads after hours with nobody answering. Missed calls are paid clicks thrown away.
- Bidding on your own brand without checking. Sometimes it is worth it; often your free listing already captures those searches.
- Advertising rebates you cannot stand behind. Programs such as CleanBC Better Homes change their rules. Link to the program and let the customer confirm eligibility.
- Judging a campaign in its first two weeks. Give each region enough data before deciding.
Pair ads with local SEO so your cost per job falls as organic visibility grows, and see the pricing page for how management fees work.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a BC trades business spend on Google Ads?
Work backwards from what a booked job is worth to you. If a job brings $1,500 in gross margin and you close half your leads, you can afford far more per lead than a business with $200 jobs. We set a test budget per region from those numbers.
Is the ad budget included in your plan price?
No. Your ad spend is paid directly to Google from your own account. Our plan covers the management, strategy and reporting.
Do Local Services Ads work in BC?
Availability depends on your trade category and location, and Google changes it from time to time. Where it is available, we compare it against search ads on cost per booked job.
Why separate campaigns for each region?
Because clicks cost different amounts, demand peaks at different times, and you may want more work in one area than another. One shared campaign quietly spends most of its budget in the most expensive market.