How pricing works, and what drives your contractor marketing cost
You came here for a number. I get it. Here’s the honest answer: pricing depends on what your business needs.
Your contractor marketing cost comes down to three things I can’t see from this page: which services you need, how many ad platforms you want running, and whether you need a website and how big. A plumber who already has a solid site and just needs Local Services Ads is a very different job from a new remodeling company starting from zero. So instead of a price list, you get a custom proposal after a call, with exact numbers, before you pay anything.
Here’s what moves those numbers.
01
Two parts: setup and monthly management
I quote them separately so you can see what each one pays for.
Setup: one time, paid up front
Setup depends mainly on how many pages I build and how many accounts I set up from scratch. Depending on what you need, that can include:
- Website pages and landing pages
- Domain and hosting
- Google Business Profile cleanup and setup
- Call tracking, Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager
- A business email address
- Ad account builds: Google Ads, Local Services Ads, Meta
- Connecting your leads to the CRM you already use
If you already have a good site and working accounts, setup is smaller. If you’re starting with nothing, it’s bigger. Either way, everything I set up is in your name.
Monthly management: depends on how many ad platforms I run
The monthly fee depends mainly on how many ad platforms I’m managing for you. The ones I run are Google Ads, Local Services Ads and Meta ads on Facebook and Instagram.
More platforms means more to manage, so it costs more. You probably don’t need all of them. I’ll tell you which ones I’d skip for your trade, and why.
02
What’s always included
These come with every monthly plan. They’re not add-ons, and I don’t upsell them.
- Google Business Profile management. Keeping your profile accurate, active and set up the way Google wants for a service-area business. More on that under Google Business Profile management.
- Review requests and review responses. Asking happy customers for reviews, and answering the ones that come in.
- Competitor spam reporting. Reporting fake listings and rule-breaking competitors on Google Maps.
- Conversion tracking upkeep. Making sure every call and form still gets counted, month after month.
- A monthly lead and cost-per-lead report. Leads and what each one cost. Not a pile of “impressions” you can’t take to the bank.
- A monthly strategy call with me. Not an account manager. Me.
This is the work that’s easy to skip because nobody sees it. It’s also the work that keeps the phone ringing.
03
Ad spend: you pay the platform, not me
Your ad spend goes straight from your card to Google or Meta, in your own account, once the ads are set up. I never mark it up, and it never shows up on my invoice. You can log in and see every dollar any time you want.
How much you should spend depends on your trade, your area and how many jobs you can take. That’s part of the proposal too.
04
No long-term contracts
Once the monthly fee starts, it’s month-to-month. If you want out, give me 30 days’ notice. No year-long contract, and you keep everything I built. If I’m not earning it, you should be able to leave.
05
How the 30-day pilot changes when you start paying
If you start with the 30-day pilot, here’s how it changes the bill:
- You pay setup up front.
- The monthly management fee doesn’t start until day 30 or your first qualified lead, whichever comes later.
- The 30 days start the day your ads go live.
- A qualified lead is a lead from my marketing that you send a quote to.
- Setup is non-refundable. Before the monthly fee starts, you can walk away with no notice.
- Ad spend is paid by you, directly to the platform, once the ads are set up.
- After that, it’s month-to-month with 30 days’ notice.
So you’re not paying a monthly fee for marketing that hasn’t put a job on your quote list yet.
Questions
Why don’t you list prices?
Because a price on a web page is a guess about your business. Two contractors in the same trade can need completely different setups. A custom proposal is the only honest number.
Do I pay the monthly fee during the pilot?
Not until day 30 or your first qualified lead, whichever comes later. Setup is paid up front. See how the 30-day pilot works.
Is setup cheaper if I already have a website?
Usually, if it’s working. Setup moves with how many pages and accounts I have to build. If your site does its job, I leave it alone.
Can I add a platform later?
Yes. The monthly fee moves with the number of ad platforms I’m running, so adding one changes it and dropping one changes it back.
Do you charge extra for reviews or my Business Profile?
No. Business Profile management, review requests and responses, and spam reporting come with every monthly plan.
Next step
Want your actual number?
Tell me what you’ve got and what you need, and I’ll put together a custom proposal. More questions first? Try the FAQ.