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Our Ads Stopped Generating Carpet Cleaning Leads, Now What?

Our Ads Stopped Generating Carpet Cleaning Leads, Now What?

by | May 17, 2023 | Article, Paid Advertising

Carpet Cleaner Marketing Masters

Our Ads Stopped Generating Carpet Cleaning Leads, Now What?

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Oh Crap! Our Carpet Cleaning Ads Are No Longer Bringing in Leads

Every savvy Carpet Cleaning Business owner understands the power of paid ads in attracting new leads and driving business growth, all without the long wait associated with traditional marketing strategies.

After all, who wouldn’t want to be at the right place, at the right time, with the right message?

Paid ads can be a game-changer when they work seamlessly… but what if the ads that used to generate a steady stream of carpet cleaning leads suddenly hit a roadblock?

If you’ve been advertising your carpet cleaning business online for some time, chances are you’ve encountered this situation. And if your lead generation heavily relies on these channels, the sudden halt in lead flow can be quite nerve-wracking.

So where do we start?

 

We do not live in a static world…

Whether you’re advertising on Google, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, or some other platform, the only real constant is that things rarely stay the same.

“Algorithms, policies, and best practices are guaranteed to change, so what worked yesterday may not work today.”

Digital advertising leaves you at the mercy of the platform to a certain extent, but there are factors you can control that may give you clues as to why your ads have stopped producing carpet cleaning leads.

Let’s dive into some key questions you need to ask to help narrow down the reasons why your ads have stopped producing leads like they used to.

 

Have you made any changes to your ad campaigns?

It’s common to want to change up the wording in your ads, even if they’ve been producing quality leads. After all, marketing is all about testing and tweaking to help improve your margins, and one of the easiest things to change is the wording in your ads.

“Ad campaign changes generally require at least a month to acquire enough data to determine if that change was positive or negative.”

 

Why does it take so long?

Because we’re relying on an algorithm to determine where your ads fit within their platform.

If you’ve made a change and it’s been less than a month, it’s best to wait a full 30 days to get a clearer picture of the effect your change has had on your ad’s performance.

 

Is it recommended that you make changes at all?

If you do decide to make changes to your ads, it’s best to run an A/B Test (also known as a “split test”) rather than changing what worked in the past.

Why?

Because there could be other underlying issues at play, and having a backup to test against provides you with the ability to revert if needed.

 

What changes should you test?

Your ads should be as engaging as possible and speak directly to your target audience. For best results, test your ad campaigns using the following components:

  • Headings
  • Ad Copy
  • Ad Creative/Images
  • Target Keywords
  • Target Audience

In most cases, those that see your ads are likely already looking for the carpet cleaning services you provide, so don’t over-complicate this. Your ads should be about them, and not about your business.

But what if you haven’t changed your ads but noticed a drop in carpet cleaning leads?

Keep reading…

 

Have impressions dropped?

Running ads online is simply a numbers game. If you show your message to a large targeted audience, it should produce results.

When the bottom of your marketing funnel (carpet cleaning leads) slows down, we should start by evaluating the top of your funnel (impressions).

 

Let’s break this down further…

In order to get a new carpet cleaning lead from online ads, you need a lot of impressions/eyes to see those ads.

If your ad impressions have noticeably dropped, it is likely impacting your lead flow.

So why would impressions drop?

We have ordered these potential issues from most likely to least likely:

  • New competition can impact your ability to reach the same number of eyes at your previous budget. If you notice your CPL (cost-per-lead) going up, that could be an indication that you have new competition online.
  • Seasonal changes can impact search volume and buyer intent. These changes tend to affect the carpet cleaning industry hardest between the spring and fall seasons.
  • Algorithm updates on advertising platforms occur EVERY DAY and they can directly impact campaign performance. These changes are typically posted as documentation in the platform’s release notes.
  • Platform or campaign bugs can occur without warning. We recommend contacting your advertising channel’s support to determine if this is an issue.
  • Market shifts such as high inflation or an economic downturn can impact buyer intent. Ask other carpet cleaning companies in your local market if they are experiencing the same downturn.

If others in your local market are not experiencing issues acquiring leads online, but your impressions have dropped, you may be the victim of an algorithm change on your advertising channel.

“Every platform offers several different ad types. Take Google as an example: They offer Search Ads, Display Ads, and Video Ads, just to name a few.”

To complicate things further, these advertising platforms constantly test and add new ad types all the time.

If this is the case, you may need to adjust your advertising strategy to fit a new ad type that the platform may be pushing without your knowledge.

But what if your impressions look consistent month-over-month?

It’s time to dive further down your marketing funnel…

 

Has your CTR (click-through rate) dropped?

When it comes to running ads online, clicks are the name of the game.

In comparison, impressions are just a vanity number as without clicks, you will have no conversions (leads).

 

How do we measure this?

We use a measurable KPI called click-through rate, otherwise known as CTR.

So if your impressions are consistent, what could impact your CTR?

These potential issues have been ordered from most likely to least likely:

  • Seasonal changes can impact search volume and buyer intent. These changes tend to affect the carpet cleaning industry hardest between the spring and fall seasons.
  • Algorithm updates on advertising platforms occur EVERY DAY and they can directly impact campaign performance. These changes are typically posted as documentation in the platform’s release notes.
  • Market shifts such as high inflation or an economic downturn can impact buyer intent. Ask other carpet cleaning companies in your local market if they are experiencing the same downturn.
  • Platform or campaign bugs can occur without warning. We recommend contacting your advertising channel’s support to determine if this is an issue.
  • New competition can impact your ability to reach the same number of eyes at your previous budget. If you notice your CPL (cost-per-lead) going up, that could be an indication that you have new competition online.

Ok, but what if your impressions and CTR appear to be consistent?

It’s time to investigate your cost-per-click…

 

Has your CPC (cost-per-click) gone up?

Let’s propose this scenario: Your impressions and CTR appear to be consistent, it’s early Spring, and no one else in your market is having issues acquiring new business… so now what?

We have one final KPI to evaluate — Your cost-per-click, otherwise known as CPC.

“Your CPC is impacted by supply (target audience size) and demand (competition).”

If you notice the amount you’re paying for clicks has suddenly gone up, new competition has likely entered your local market, or an algorithm change could be to blame.

If new carpet cleaning companies enter the marketplace with a higher bid strategy, your CPC for the same target audience will rise.

If this happens to you, you may want to consider raising your advertising budget or simply pivot your strategy to target a different segment of the market.

 

What is the Blue Ocean Strategy?

In terms of marketing, the Blue Ocean Strategy is the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost to open up a new market space and create new demand. It is about creating and capturing an uncontested market space, thereby making your competition irrelevant.

Source: https://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/what-is-blue-ocean-strategy/

 

How would you implement a Blue Ocean Strategy?

Instead of targeting the general “carpet cleaning” market, which every other carpet cleaning company is after, you may consider targeting a smaller niche or changing your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) altogether.

“In other words, identify a less competitive market and allocate your advertising budget there.”

Seasonal changes can also impact your CPC, as your target audience size may shrink during certain times of the year.

We have ordered the most likely scenarios that can impact CPC below:

  • New competition can impact your ability to reach the same number of eyes at your previous budget. If you notice your CPL (cost-per-lead) going up, that could be an indication that you have new competition online.
  • Algorithm updates on advertising platforms occur EVERY DAY and they can directly impact campaign performance. These changes are typically posted as documentation in the platform’s release notes.
  • Seasonal changes can impact search volume and buyer intent. These changes tend to affect the carpet cleaning industry hardest between the spring and fall seasons.
  • Platform or campaign bugs can occur without warning. We recommend contacting your advertising channel’s support to determine if this is an issue.
  • Market shifts such as high inflation or an economic downturn can impact buyer intent. Ask other carpet cleaning companies in your local market if they are experiencing the same downturn.

If you have evaluated all these possibilities and are still unsure about the reasons behind your drop in leads, it may be time to seek help from experts.

 

Contact Carpet Cleaner Marketing Masters to Fix Your Ad Campaigns

If you notice a drop in carpet cleaning leads from your ad campaigns, it’s important not to panic. Solving these issues alone may not always produce the desired results. In such cases, we recommend scheduling a free strategy call with our ad campaign experts at Carpet Cleaner Marketing Masters.

Our team has extensive experience in digital advertising and can help analyze your campaigns, identify the underlying issues, and provide effective solutions to get your lead generation back on track.

Don’t let a temporary setback discourage you. With the right expertise and strategies, you can regain the effectiveness of your ads and continue generating valuable leads for your carpet cleaning business.

Remember, advertising is a dynamic field, and staying informed and adapting to changes is key to success.

Need help dialing in lead gen ads for your cleaning business, schedule a FREE strategy call today!

About the Author: As a business owner in the carpet cleaning and cleaning service industry for over 30 years as well as a marketing consultant and author, with well-over a decade of lead generation experience managing a results-driven marketing agency for Professional Carpet Cleaning and Residential Cleaning Companies, John Clendenning is wildly known as a leading Marketing Expert within the Professional Cleaning Industry.

Learn More About John Clendenning

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Google Local Service Ads For Carpet Cleaners – Is It A Waste Of Money?

Google Local Service Ads For Carpet Cleaners – Is It A Waste Of Money?

by | Nov 15, 2020 | Article, Paid Advertising

Let’s talk about Google local service ads for carpet cleaners and home cleaning services (also known as Google Home Service Ads or Google Guarantee). What are they – how do they work – what might expect to pay to use these local service ads – how can you get signed up … and is it actually worth it for you to sign up for these.

So let’s dive right into what are Google local service ads. If this is your first time hearing about it, that’s okay, they haven’t rolled out in every market yet. Essentially, these ads started rolling out in 2019 in the US after testing them in select markets starting in 2018.

These ads are devoted to home service businesses and are different than Google Ads (formerly known as Google Adwords) and also different than your Google My Business listing.  However, they do look very similar, so let’s take a look at what this looks like.

So if we do a search here for Carpet Cleaning companies, Vancouver you’ll, see that there are three different ads here at the top.

Google Local Service Ads for Carpet Cleaners
  1. You have your Local Service Ads.
  2. As you scroll down, you see your regular Google Ads (or Pay Per Click ads)
  3. As you scroll down past that you have your Google My Business listings (sometimes referred to as Map Listings)
  4. And finally just past that you have your organic listings.

So, as you can see at the top here, these ads are front and center. They’re the first thing that you see when you do a search and it’s actually quite hard to tell that these are ads. Sure it says sponsored above the row, but to most we searchers this area is going to catch their attention and get clicked.

And if you pull out your smartphone and do that same search on mobile – you’ll, see that these ads are actually taking up almost all of the real estate on the screen. In fact, you can actually barely see the Google ad below the local service ads until you scroll down, so this is really taking up a lot of space when people do searches and it’s going to be the first thing that they see.

If you were a homeowner, that’s going to be the first thing that catches your eye and most likely the first thing that you’re going to click on.

So how do these Google Local service ads work?

Essentially, these are ads that are devoted to select industries in the US and Canada. These industries cover things such as HVAC, carpet, cleaning, roofing contractors, electricians and other service business categories, but the list is certainly growing as this feature get adopted more and more as a viable marketing channel for local businesses.

You can see which industries qualify right now for home service ads by country at this link HERE

And The Google Guaranteed Badge?

You’ll see that there is a Google Guaranteed checkmark and wording with each of these as, but what is Google even guaranteeing?

Essentially, it means that Google is guaranteeing that your business is trustworthy, that your business is legitimate and you are who you say you are and more than that.  Google is guaranteeing that if your customer is unhappy with the service provided that they can essentially put in a complaint and they can get a up to $ 2,000 reimbursement from Google, now, of course, that amount is going to be whatever amount that they are owed depending on the service that is used.

Now you may be thinking that this is pretty risky for them to do. Why would they pay a customer $ 2000? However, here’s the hidden gem or kind of the the fine print to it.

Google will do a background check on every individual in your company who may go into a customer’s home. This includes the business owner as well as doing a background check for insurance and basically making sure that this business is who they say they are and is qualified to do the job. If you meet all of the criteria, you could kind of take yourself one step higher than those kind of scammy low ballers in your area in the minds of the homeowners looking for the services you offer.

Unfortunately, though, if you or one of your employees, doesn’t pass these background checks, you may not be eligible to qualify for the local service ads now.

This does have some fine print that Google has provided basically on what meets a complaint and how someone can actually ask for this $ 2,000, so it is rather difficult for a customer to do.

  • They have to have made this complaint within 30 days of the service.
  • The complaint can’t be on the price,
  • The complaint can’t be on the timeliness.
  • If you cancel and you don’t show up, they can’t file a complain about that,
  • This also doesn’t work for any future services – so if you do anything extra for that customer afterward, that doesn’t qualify under the Google Guaranteed “guarantee”

So in reality it’s really not that risky for them to do, and it’s, actually not that risky for your business to do either.

If you do sign up you will be given a Google local service ads dashboard.  Inside your calls are classified into categories. You basically move them from left to right to see whether or not these calls get booked and you can actually look at the call recording for each individual call.

So you’re gonna be able to see that these are real people and not just clicks. There is always, of course, those issues with Google Ads (PPC), where it’s hard to actually see whether or not that is a real person who is clicking on your ad or not.  But with Local Service Ads you know who the person who called from this phone number is, the call is recorded and even the service that she booked.

The platform actually pulls in some of your reviews from your Google My Business profile, so if you already have a few hundred reviews on there, it’ll, actually pull right into Google local service ads, which is really great.  As we know, reviews are extremely important nowadays and they’re crucial to ranking your business, both in Google My Business as well as the Google Local Service Ads.

So we’re on to the biggest question that everybody has, and that is what should you expect to pay for these Google local service ads.  Now this works very different than Google ads where it’s a pay per call / per per lead and not pay per click… which to many can be a huge relief and feel better.  And these leads can actually be pretty cheap to get and by not paying for clicks that don’t matter and only paying for calls that actually result in talking to somebody on the phone – this can be a game changer for certain businesses.

How Much Do These Leads Cost?

In the carpet cleaning industry it averages around $20 per lead. And remember, because you will be tracking the calls that come in and you can listen to the recording you will know which ones get booked and therefore you  can actually see whether or not these ads are giving you a return on your investment or not.

Let’s say you booked two out of every five calls at $20. That’s a $50 dollars to sell a job.  Now let’s say you’re average job ticket is $350 then it’s, a really good return on your initial investment to land a ‘new’ client, and that doesn’t even take into account your average lifetime value of your clients.

As a side note, if your average job is not in the 300+ range then you may not be positioning your carpet cleaning company in a way that stands out and attracts the very best customers in your service area. 

If this is the case, we need to talk – you should book a complimentary Strategy Session with me where I can help show you have to properly position your cleaning company to be seen as the local authority and NOT compete on low pricing.

So the next question is…

How do you get signed up and how long does it take to get approved for Google guaranteed?

It’s actually pretty straight forward process and you can learn more about it HERE.

Essentially, the process takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on your area, how many other people are trying to get approved and how many employees that you have that you have to go through this background check with.  But it doesn’t cost anything to start this process, so I recommend that the carpet cleaners we work with consider stating the approval process well in advance of when they are hoping to test out the platform as another lead acquisition channel.

Some added bonuses of using these Google local service ads is that it actually integrates with the Google assistant voice search.  This is going to be really interesting to see how this works and whether or not it actually drives more leads as the voice search expands in usage in the future.

In Conclusion

I think, if local service ads are available in your area already, it would be worth your time to get signed up and give the program a try. The leads are still pretty cost effective, they gets a ton of visibility at the top of the page and it could be another way to generate leads for your business. 

Ultimately, the more exposure you can get and the more qualified leads that you generate at a positive ROI from different sources, the less you will rely on any one marketing channel and the quicker your business will grow.

Get a Free Internet Marketing Strategy Evaluation

If you would like to have me and my team personally review your online marketing strategy and show you where you are ranking, where there is room for improvement and how we can work together to make this your best year ever and finally get your Internet marketing right, then click below to schedule your Leadflow Acceleration Session now.